For Your Next Egg Salad, Substitute Ricotta For Mayo And Thank Us Later
Egg salad is a staple of summertime barbecues, springtime holiday menus, and anytime sandwich cravings. The dish is light and bright, with its rich, creamy textures livened up by sprinklings of herbs and a mustard kick. Although egg salad is enjoyed around the world with every ingredient from apple slices to curry powder, the classic egg salad recipe is composed at its base of hard-boiled eggs, mustard, and mayonnaise. At that point, chefs will often include diced pickles or capers, herbs like dill and chives, and any number of experimental add-ins.
Sometimes, though, the experimentation comes at the very foundation of the egg salad — because mayonnaise is a divisive condiment. For one, it's high in fat and calories, so if you're trying to create something healthy in the kitchen, it can cause a challenge. There is also a vocal group of mayonnaise dissenters, and if you or your dining guests are among this number, egg salad is just off the table.
But it doesn't have to be. Egg salad can take on new life if you stick the mayonnaise back in the refrigerator and reach instead for the ricotta. Since ricotta is a cheese, it may sound like an odd substitute for a traditionally cheese-less dish, but its rich and creamy taste and texture make it the ideal alternative to mayonnaise. It doesn't sacrifice consistency, and it does add its own faintly nutty, zesty flavor to the mix.
A lighter, fluffier mayo alternative
Ricotta, which can be made from really any kind of milk but is most frequently available made from cow's milk, is a type of cheese called "whey cheese." This means that ricotta cheese is traditionally made from the whey that's left over when making other cheeses — and it comes out fresh, fluffy, soft, and spreadable. This consistency alone makes it perfect for an egg salad, and its light, mostly neutral flavor means it won't overwhelm the other mild ingredients. Ricotta also contains less salt and fat than most cheeses and about a third of mayo's calories, so your egg salad will get a healthy boost.
Depending on the cheese you choose, your ricotta may be slightly thinner than mayo, so it's usually best not to do a complete 1:1 substitution in an egg salad recipe (who wants a runny egg salad?). If you're only looking to cut down on some of mayo's calories or taste, then you can swap half of the mayonnaise for ricotta, or if your goal is a healthy egg salad, then use plain coconut or Greek yogurt or even cottage cheese alongside the ricotta instead.
Embrace ricotta as a creamy substitute
Ricotta will bring richness to an egg salad recipe, but that isn't the only dish where the cheese can take center stage. Ricotta makes an easy alternative for cream cheese in baking — whether you're frosting a cake or filling a pastry — and because it's so spreadable, ricotta can replace cream cheese on bagels and toast as well. The similar flavor profiles and consistencies ensure a quick and simple swap, no matter what you're cooking up.
On the more savory side, ricotta can easily take the place of cottage cheese in dishes like pasta and dips, and it can also be used as a substitute for sour cream — just be aware that sour cream is much thinner, so you may have to adjust the liquids in your recipe to get the right consistency. If creamy richness is your goal, though, ricotta cheese can become your mild, flavorful alternative to lots of ingredients.