Simple and delicious Japanese egg salad sandwich with mayo, salt, and pepper. Pack the sandwich neatly in your kid’s favorite bento box for their on-the-go lunch.
I am usually pretty good at organizing and following my constantly updated to-do list. But once in a while life does get overwhelmingly busy and I fail to plan ahead especially when juggling too many things at the same time. What ends up happening is I call my husband at the office asking him to meet me and the kids at a restaurant for dinner at the last minute.
One of the drawbacks of not cooking dinner at home is that I don’t have “leftover” to pack for my son’s bento (lunch box) the next day. I try to save some leftover in the freezer for an emergency like these, but sometimes no luck. On those days, the easy sandwich comes in handy.
Now for those living in the States, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich might be a common menu for children’s school lunch. However, both of my children always preferred hot panini sandwich than typical soft bread sandwich like these.
The turning point was when we were in Japan last April. My mother loves bakeries and we often visited many local bakeries to pick up fresh bread.
My children really enjoyed freshly baked bread from Japanese bakeries and they especially loved Egg Salad Sandwich, or we call it Tamago Sando (たまごサンド). Japanese sandwich usually uses crust-less white bread slices, probably from British influence. Compared to typical American egg salad sandwich, the Japanese version is very simple – there are no celery, chives or green onions. The eggs are seasoned simply with Japanese mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and sugar.
Now speaking of mayonnaise, I receive several questions from some of you about Japanese mayonnaise. What’s the difference from regular kind? Well, you can read more about it here.
My son loves this Egg Salad Sandwich and this menu is now one of my favorite backup bento plans. I hope you will give it a try and enjoy this simple egg salad sandwich!
Check out my latest Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando) recipe and video!
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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- 2 slices bread of your choice
- 1 soft/hard-boiled egg (peeled)
- 1 Tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
- pinch sugar (optional, see Notes)
-
Gather all the ingredients. (Make a hard boiled egg on the previous day to save time in the morning.)
- In a small bowl, mash the boiled egg with a fork.
- Add 1 Tbsp. of mayonnaise and mix well. If it's not moist, you can add 1/2 Tbsp. more.
- Season with salt and pepper (and sugar if you like). I like to add salt and pepper a bit more than what I usually add to give good flavor.
- Spread the egg mixture on top a piece of bread and put another slice of bread on top.
- (Optional) Cut off the edges of the bread. Japanese sandwiches usually don’t have edges.
- Cut the sandwich into 2-3 parts depending on the bento box size.
- Pack the sandwich in bento box and put some fruits and vegetables in the empty space.
Sugar: A little bit of sugar is a typical ingredient for Japanese egg salad, but I usually don't add it.
[Please read FOOD SAFETY TIPS.]
This lunch is for my 6-year-old son.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
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Thank you for this! I love egg salad sandwiches, but the recipe I’ve used in the past takes too much time to prepare for a quick lunch. Your recipe is perfect for when the craving for egg salad comes on, but I have less than an hour for lunch.
Hi Eleanor! Thank you for your kind comment! I hope you will give it a try. It’s a very simple “egg” taste with creamy mayonnaise. Hope you can find Japanese mayo too because that makes it so much better! 🙂
The sandwich looks so scrumptious. Just perfect for the lunch box 🙂
Thank you Nandita! 🙂
That looks like a fantastic and simple sandwich! I originally thought that the filling was scrambled eggs, but when you mentioned boiled, that seems much easier in terms of advanced preparation. And the bento-ware is very cute. =) Thanks for sharing this quick lunch bento recipe!
Hi Kimmi! That reminds me – my mom also made the sandwich with scramble eggs! Wow how could I forget about it. I need to make that really soon and evaluate which one is actually faster. 😀 Thanks for your kind comment. Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Nami-san, I have only recently discovered your blog and I LOVE IT!!! Great recipes and photography!! I live in the UK, so sourcing some ingredients can be difficult, not to mention pricey. Thanks for coming up with alternatives for some of the condiments that are vital to achieve that authentically Japanese taste. I bought some konniyaku a week ago but have no idea what to use it for. Any suggestions? Marianna
Hi Marianna! Thank you for finding my blog, and welcome! 🙂 I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes already. I’m glad the alternatives I mentioned helped. I’m still (yes still….) working on the Pantry page and hope to improve it so readers can utilize the page better.
Regarding konnyaku, I have only three recipes that I used so far on my blog:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/konnyaku/
I highly recommend tonjiru. I need to update that picture, but if you enjoy miso soup, this is my most favorite miso soup. 🙂
Hope this helps!
Dear Nami San,
I really love your site especially to cook Japanese food for people like us who just love it. My family love the food and have made a point to have any kind of OIWAI in a nearby Japanese restaurant.
Like your TAMAGO SANDO, I also make potato sandwich in a similar manner and pack a mixture of egg sandwich with potato sandwich which enlightens my kids lunch box.
I would love to know how to make okhonomiyaki so that I can serve my kids with the same.
Thank you
Hi Aruna! Thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂 I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. I do make (Japanese) potato salad sandwich too! My favorite is to put that in Japanese butter (dinner) roll. Arhhh so good! I need to make it this weekend since I now crave for it!
Okonomiyaki recipe here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/okonomiyaki/
Healthy, simple and quick! Just in time for my lunch to bring to my office on Monday! 🙂
Thank you Alicia! Oh yes quick is right, but I’m happy that it tastes really good (thank you to Japanese mayonnaise) and I don’t mind eating often. 🙂
Hi, do u mash the egg the prev. day and reheat it in the morning? How to reheat it?
Hi SK! Yes, you can mash the egg previous day and make into sandwich following day or even, make sandwich previous night (as long as you keep it refrigerated). This sandwich is supposed to be eaten cold or at room temperature. 🙂
Hi Nami.. is it okay to make this a day in advance? do i need to store the sandwich in the fridge after i make it? cause i dont have time to make it in the morning..
Thanks..
Hi Devie! Sure, you can make a day in advance (like previous night, preferably), but make sure to keep in the refrigerator and keep it cool till lunch time. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Will the bread get soggy if I make the sandwich the night before?
Hi Anna! Nope. At least it doesn’t happen to mine. It’s not very wet filling. I’m not too sure about American mayo, though… If you use Japanese mayo, and make the egg mixture like I do, you’ll be okay. 🙂
Thanks so much Nami!! I made it last night and wasn’t soggy at all when I had it for lunch the next day!
Hi Anna! Aw so glad to hear that! Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
Love this recipe! Came out awesome! Thanks 🙂
Wish I could post a picture…
Hi Gabriella! Awesome! So happy to hear yours came out well. I check Instagram pictures if you hashtag #justonecookbook. 🙂 Or, if you post on Facebook page. 🙂
Hi Nami
What should I do to avoid the bread get soggy by the time we eat in the afternoon? I use English mayo (instead of Japanese mayo) and it is moist.
Really like your recipes – makes me want to cook more!
Thank you.
Hi Amy! May I recommend using Japanese mayo? Unlike English or American mayo, Japanese mayo is thicker texture and not watery or liquidy. And the best part is that it tastes so much better and I hope you’ll enjoy this egg salad sandwich with Japanese mayo. 😉
I love all the quick and simple recipes you provide! I always hated egg salad growing up but I decided to try yours since its so simple and I enjoyed it! So now I have a super simple sandwich option for when Im short on time. Thank you 😊
Hi Mei! Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m glad you liked my recipe and thank you for trying it! 🙂
Who knew something so simple would be so delicious? My husband got spoiled with eating tamago sando in Japan and now I try o remember to trim off the crust. I think the Kewpie mayo makes all the difference, too!
Hi Donna! Yeah, I agree. Without the kewpie mayo, tamago sando won’t be the same! 🙂
Thank you for your recipe! I went to my local Japanese grocery store and bought the Japanese imported mayonnaise. I couldn’t find Japanese Pullman bread so I’ll use some soft white bread to try. Egg salad is my favorite.
Hello! You’re very welcome! I hope you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
I love Japanese egg salad more than almost anything else. I use 1/2 regular hard boiled eggs and 1/2 soy/marinated ramen eggs. It is so delicious!
Hi Candace! Wow, I LOVE your creativity on mixing two types of boiled eggs! Thanks so much for sharing your cooking experience with us!