TikTok's Solution For No-Peel Egg Salad Is Pretty Clever Actually

If you've ever made an egg salad and spent far more time wrestling with stubborn eggshells than you planned to, listen up, because this hack is for you. A TikTok has cracked the code (get it?) on making eggs for egg salad that require absolutely no peeling whatsoever. Instead of going down the traditional boiling route, this technique involves baking eggs in a loaf pan instead. 

Crack about seven eggs directly into a greased loaf pan, then place the pan in a larger baking dish filled with water to roughly the same height as the eggs. No need to scramble the eggs — just pop the whole setup into a pre-heated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 30 minutes. What you'll pull out is a rectangular loaf of eggs that is ready for you to get chopping.

It's a clever method because, in addition to avoiding the peeling situation, you also avoid that dreaded rubbery boiled egg consistency that you don't want in your egg salad. And the rectangle loaf shape is perfect for cutting uniformly, whether you want thin square slices, little cubes, or to simply mash it all up. These clean little egg chunks could be another secret to a lighter and brighter egg salad.

One of the issues with using the boiled egg technique is that it isn't always a guaranteed success. Sometimes eggs crack while they're in the pot, and sometimes they peel like a dream. Other times, it feels like you're peeling forever and still end up with little flecks of eggshell in your sandwich — gross. But this clever baking method eliminates all these issues altogether, cooking the eggs gently, which helps them achieve a lovely creamy texture. 

If you're wondering how long to bake eggs to keep the yolk jammy, reducing the bake time to about 15 to 20 minutes will leave a perfectly soft center. Or add a few extra minutes to the 30 minutes to make sure it's hard-cooked all the way through; this method allows you to better control the eggs' doneness to your preferences. 

If you need to increase this recipe for a big crowd, then simply double or triple the recipe using multiple loaf pans at once. And food prepping in advance becomes simpler too — the cooked egg loaf will keep its shape in the refrigerator and can then be taken out and sliced up fresh as and when you need. Plus, if you want to experiment with adding herbs or spices directly to the raw eggs before baking, that may even save you some time with seasoning the egg mayo dressing down the line. In fact, there are many ways to upgrade an egg salad once this cooking technique has become your go-to. And beyond egg salad, there's no reason why you couldn't use this baking method for breakfast sandwiches or even a clever protein addition for salads and grain bowls.