Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Will be Making and/or Eating Deviled Eggs this Easter (2024)

FAQs

What percentage of Americans like deviled eggs? ›

According to a new online survey¹, commissioned by McCormick, nearly 61 percent of Americans plan to make and/or eat deviled eggs this Easter. While 45 percent of consumers will enjoy the classic recipe, with mustard and paprika as go-to flavors, many are "eggs-perimenting" with different ingredients.

There's a religious connection to these eggs, as fish is of course common for Lent—another reason that it's a perfect dish to make for Easter.

They're delicious, filling, and easy to make. Why wait for a picnic? Deviled eggs are often considered a picnic and party food.

Deviled eggs have been a popular dish in the United States dating as far back as the 1920s.

To no surprise, eggs topped the list of most popular breakfast dishes with 42% of respondents selecting it as their top pick, followed by Omelets at 37%.

As a country we're really, really into eggs right now. In fact, egg sales are at a 50-year high, according to The Washington Post, and the average American eats 279 eggs per year (that's like three omelets a week, or a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich roughly every workday). But it wasn't always like this.

It was so common for shoebox lunches to include deviled eggs. that they're part of the reason. the dish remains so popular in the black community today.

The term likely comes from the connection between spiciness and the presumably hot temperatures in hell. Since the word "devil" does have negative connotations, though, some groups of people prefer to call the dish "stuffed eggs," "salad eggs," or "dressed eggs."

According to The History Channel, deviled eggs go all the way back to ancient Rome, where eggs were boiled, seasoned with spicy sauces, and then served at the beginning of meals. In the 13th century, stuffed eggs began to appear in the southern, Andalusian regions of Spain.

In some regions of the South and the Midwest, deviled eggs are also called salad or dressed eggs when they are served at a church function, to avoid the term "deviled."

Why are deviled eggs so popular? ›

Deviled eggs became natural for outdoor entertaining. Once automobiles allowed Americans to take food with them, these church picnics and rides to the country for family reunions were good reasons to prep food and go. Cooks were advised to be frugal and economical in planning their moveable feasts.

The most popular theory attributes its birth to Mahon, in the Balearic Islands, in 1756. During the French siege, the Duke of Richelieu allegedly requested his chef to create a sauce with the few ingredients available. From “Mahon” to “Mahonnaise” (sauce made in Mahon), the step was very short.

Further data from this survey shows that when it comes to eating eggs, Americans tend to like scrambled eggs the best. More than one-third (36%) say this is their most preferred way to consume eggs for breakfast. Other popular choices include eggs over easy (18%), sunny side up (12%), and eggs over medium (11%).

“Deviled,” a term first used to describe spicy foods in late 18th century Britain, presumably because the “heat” of the seasoning was associated with the fires of hell, refers to the eggs' picant flavoring.

Most Americans Prefer Boiled Eggs Over Any Other Egg Preparation, New Study Finds.