Roasted Garlic Chipotle Deviled Eggs

Easter is over, and I’m just now bringing you my new favorite deviled egg recipe. Timing isn’t always my strong suit.

I will always be a sucker for the original deviled egg, when well prepared, but sometimes it’s fun to change things up just a bit. Like at the last major holiday, when Toryn and I plotted just how awesome the vegan chipotle mayo we bought at Wal-Mart would be in deviled eggs, instead of on the brisket sandwich condiment bar at Christmas. On a subsequent Facetime chat, we had virtual happy hour as we sipped wine and she put together the said chipotle deviled eggs, allllllll the way down in Oklahoma, aka, not anywhere close to my Connecticut home. I was so jealous! First, because she has a Wal-Mart down the street that carries this heavenly, spicy mayo for less than $4 a bottle (and I ordered mine for something like $10 on Amazon), and second, because she was about to have a tray of deviled eggs all to herself to kick off the weekend. Why hadn’t I planned like that???

Months later, I’ve finally acted on Tor’s genius idea, and I threw in a few highly delicious and complementary additions to the chipotle flavor. First, I roasted some garlic in the background of a million different kitchen tasks last Saturday. I didn’t include the roasting time for the garlic in the recipe cook time below, because you can really do it any time with under five minutes of prep. Just shy of an hour later, you have beautiful, sweet, golden cloves, no fussing or constant checking involved. Instead of adding sweetness to my deviled eggs by way of the more conventional sweet pickle relish, the roasted garlic adds a super subtle sweetness tinged with all the garlic flavor goodness and none of the pungent, breath killing raw garlic effect.

Next, and this was one of those ingredients that came to me as I was drifting to sleep the night before testing the recipe, I replaced the perfectly acceptable, but a little tired, tang of vinegar with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, saving the zest for a colorful garnish that hints at what you’re about to bite into. Just note that it is much easier to zest a lime before juicing it. Don’t ask me how I know.

Deviled eggs proved to be the perfect canvas for my flavor experiment, and I’m no longer jealous of my sister’s snack. I have my own huge tray sitting in the fridge, a husband who despises hard boiled eggs in any format, and the most fun addition to any meal, or just a snack all on its own. The only annoying part is having to remind myself that it’s highly irresponsible to down more than four of these indulgent bites in one sitting. But you don’t have to hoard them all to yourself. I may have missed Easter, but luckily picnic season is still upon us, and I challenge you to find a single picnicker, besides my hubs, who can turn down a flavor-packed, smoky chipotle deviled egg topped with that nearly neon lime zest.