In my family, Easter was always a favorite holiday.

I recall a family friend asking me what I loved most about the celebrations. My reply was “the egg salad.” Of course, I loved the bunny part but since my parents refused to get me a rabbit, it seemed wiser to focus on the egg part.

I loved dyeing the eggs crazy colors and hiding them in the yard, but I was especially excited about hunting and eventually feasting on much-anticipated egg salad sandwiches, the mark of an excellent ending to an excellent Easter. If you love Easter but aren’t sure what to do with all the leftover eggs, I’ve got some great ideas and egg salad is only the beginning.

You can enjoy leftover boiled eggs for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack. They’re a quick, delicious source of high quality protein, they’re nutrient dense and provide vitamins B2 and A as well as iron. We’ve got more about eggs in our Eggs 101 Guide. If you intend to eat your cooked and dyed eggs, only have them out of the refrigerator for no more than two hours, and that includes hiding and hunting time. Any longer and the eggs are not safe to consume. Keep eggs with the shell on in the fridge for up to one week; they’ll stay fresher that way and you can easily peel them just before you need them.

Here’s a selection of creative, delicious ways to enjoy those leftover boiled Easter eggs:

• Enjoy them sliced with a little salt and pepper.
• Make that delicious egg salad sandwich with one of our savvy selections: Potato and Egg Salad, Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches or our beloved Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches with Pistachios and Arugula.
• Stuff egg salad into celery, bell pepper “boats,” carved out zucchini or endive.
• Make a Salade Niçoise, a Grilled Tuna Niçoise, a Tuna Salad Niçoise or a Cobb Salad.
• Chop finely and serve over steamed greens, broccoli, zucchini or asparagus.
• Chop or mash and scatter over baked potatoes, rice, pasta or any favorite cooked grain.
• Boiled eggs make a great addition to potato salad, tuna salad or shrimp salad. Chop and add to our German Potato Salad, Russian Potato Salad, Classic Potato Salad or German Sausage Potato Salad.
• Chop and toss with vinaigrette and serve over crackers, toast or biscuits.
• Cook up a pan of hashed brown potatoes. Sprinkle with chopped boiled eggs; warm in the pan before serving.
• Chop and scatter on a leafy green salad. I love this Scandinavia Salad.
• Bake whole or halved boiled eggs in the middle of a meatloaf for a wonderful, colorful surprise.
• Mash and blend with cream cheese or ricotta cheese, herbs and spices; use as a dip for veggies and chips.
• Mince and stir into salad dressing; great in Thousand Island, Ranch or Blue Cheese.
• Make divinely delicious deviled eggs. Here’s a selection of our recipes: Watercress and Green Onion Deviled Eggs, Deviled Eggs with Shrimp, Mediterranean Deviled Eggs, Crab Stuffed Deviled Eggs, Spanish Deviled Eggs, Chickpea Deviled Eggs and Traditional-Style Deviled Eggs.
• Try our Pickled Eggs and Beets for a sweet, tangy treat.

Happy Easter! Got a great idea or two for using leftover Easter eggs? We’d love to hear.