Easter Salad with Deviled Quail Eggs

I love Easter recipes! They’re so easy to make “lovely.” With tiny details, light colors and delicate flavors, I’m inspired to use gentleness and grace when I plan my menu. This salad is simple, elegant and with such a sweet surprise on top!

I have another deviled quail egg-topped salad recipe that I love to make for winter that uses Brussels sprout too if you want to adapt this idea to a cold-weather salad.

Why This Recipe is Special

It’s easy to prepare ahead of time – You can sauté the asparagus and prepare the little deviled eggs a whole night before, save the filling in a bag and then easily fill them right before serving. More info on how to do this below in the “Common Questions” section.

It combines traditional Easter recipes in such an original way – A fresh, lightly-colored salad with everyone’s Easter favorite: deviled eggs! 

It’s a lovely gluten-free salad for guests with sensitivities – No wheat-based ingredients are used in the recipe. Just fresh veggies, fruit, parmesan and eggs.

Ingredient Notes

frisée – I love frisée for this salad, but sometimes, it can be a little tricky to find. If so, feel free to use a nice spring mix or arugula.

quail eggs – These can also be a little tricky to find in a traditional grocery store, but you should easily find them in Whole Foods or other specialty grocery stores.

parmesan – Fell free to use parmesan or other hard cheeses like Manchego, American Grana or Pecorino Romano.  

chicken eggs – Aside from quail eggs, you’ll also use 2 chicken egg yolks in your deviled quail eggs because there’s so little yolk in the tiny quail eggs that having a few bigger yolks makes it easier to fill the whites.

asparagus – Don’t include the entire asparagus stalks in your salad. They’re a bit too big to make the salad look nice and dainty. Slice them in half, and save the halves without spears for another recipe.

How to Make This Recipe – Step by Step

1. Make your deviled quail eggs. Follow this simple deviled quail egg recipe, and store them in a sealed, refrigerated container until the salad is finished.

2. Slice ½ apple into sticks. If you want to prevent them from browning, dip them in some fresh lemon juice immediately after slicing.

3. Thinly slice 3 radishes and slice each piece in half.

4. Slice 20 asparagus stalks in half. Use only the pieces with spears for the salad.

5. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil to a sauté pan with asparagus spears. Sauté until gently seared. About 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Use an apple peeler to shave about 1 oz. fresh parmesan into thin slices. Assemble salad, and place 2-3 deviled quail eggs on top.

A Few Tips

1. Don’t fill the deviled eggs until ready to serve. 

They really are best when filled right before serving. Ideally, follow the tip above about how to prepare them ahead of time. However, if you really need to have them all filled and ready to go, place them in a sealed container and refrigerate, but don’t fill them more than 1 hour before serving, or they get a little “un-fresh.”

2. Dress the salad before adding the deviled eggs. 

You don’t want them covered in salad dressing. They’re best “naked.”

3. Here’s a great salad dressing suggestion!

Use any salad dressing you like, but if you want a PERFECT, light and healthy dressing, here’s my favorite recipe:

• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. honey