Here’s how to serve oeufs-mayo (oeufs dur mayonnaise, or hard-cooked eggs with mayonnaise), one of my all-time-favorite classic French Bistro dishes. Scroll and learn–these babies can round out a meal in minutes.
I’ll never forget the first time I had oeufs-mayonnaise in France. We were in a touristy little town (Eze Village up above the Côte d’Azur). We figured the food would be middling, but when Dave ordered a first course of oeufs-mayo—eggs with mayonnaise—I thought, really, how ordinary can it get?

Eze Village—have you been? It’s a spectacular place, and it’s also where I tasted my first oeufs-mayo. Thank you Paul Mead, for the photo, via Flickr.
But what came to the table was a revelation. Indeed, the dish simply comprised hard-cooked eggs with a little Dijon mustard-flavored mayonnaise, which I’m pretty sure came straight from a tube. But the accompaniments—a little lettuce, a few cornichons, and some olives—made it all into this really lovely knife-and-fork appetizer.
Since then, and especially during the summer, I keep hard-boiled eggs on hand in the refrigerator; that way, whenever I make one of my fresh-and-simple French salad, whether veggies, grains, or legumes, I have something to pop onto the plate so that I can call it a meal.
My version of oeufs-mayo goes a bit beyond squeezing mayo from a tube onto some eggs–I like to doctor these cuties up with a few other ingredients: fresh herbs, lemon juice, Dijon mustard—the recipe is here.
So, here goes. A few of my favorite ways to serve oeufs-mayo:
1. As part of a sit-down appetizer spread.
Roast some asparagus, set out some olives and prosciutto. Add some breadsticks. Then pass the platter for a great sit-down appetizer course. If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere where you can pick up some good pâté, substitute that for the prosciutto.
2. To Round Out a Light Lunch or Dinner of Fresh French Summer Salads
The other day, I made my French Green Lentil Salad (it’s in the book!), and a little mushroom-celery salad. Served simply with a good cracker spread with tapenade (which I always keep on hand) and oeufs-mayo, it was a great summer lunch. (PS: Here are some other ways to serve tapenade.)
Okay–this is cheating, because I didn’t make any of these salads. I got them at the traiteur in Collioure. Tabbouleh, carrots râpé, and celeris remoulade, plus some charcuterie. If you happen to live near a French deli, this could be dinner tonight. If not, you’ll have to make these goodies yourself. (Yes, the recipes are in my book!)
Another variation on the theme, this time with my Butterhead Lettuce Salad with Walnuts and Comté (one of my favorites!), my Chick Pea Salad Provençal, a little prosciutto, and that cracker-tapenade song-and-dance.
3. With Ratatouille
Ratatouille can be a bit of a mystery: Is it a side? A starter? A garnish? I serve it a lot of different ways, but here, it stars in an ensemble with my French Tabbouleh, a few ouefs-mayo, and some crackers with a little semi-ripened goat cheese. (And if you don’t know the difference between semi-ripened and regular goat cheese, maybe you should check out my Goat Cheese Primer!).
Okay, mes amis! It’s your turn. Tell me how you like to serve Oeufs-Mayo! Post here, or join the discussion on my Facebook page.
PS: If you enjoyed this post, I bet you’d like my book, The Bonne Femme Cookbook: Simple, Splendid Food That French Women Cook Every Day. Please click on the link and give it a look! If you order it through this link, you’ll help support this site–and it won’t cost you any more at all. Thanks for your consideration!
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Oh this looks amazing. Going to try it. Beth
Made this today for last day of French Class. We shall see how the teacher likes it.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I am teaching a cooking workshop tomorrow on a French brasserie lunch for a small group here in Minsk, Belarus. I had decided on a vinaigrette until I saw that first gorgeous photo of the Oeufs Mayo salad, and so I stopped at the huge farmers market to grab some loose lettuce, green olives and cornichons. I also finally found chives after scouring each market stall that sold anything green.
That, with steak-frites, horseradish sauce, mushrooms in a cream sauce and an apple pastry will round out the menu. And your other ideas look super. I think I will share your website with my students tomorrow so they can explore on their own.
Thanks again
So glad you found the recipe promising. Honestly, I don’t know why we don’t make oeufs-mayo more often. It’s so easy and just so darned good.
Cheers!