How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs
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Last updated on Apr 02, 2024
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How to make hard boiled eggs including cooking time variations, tips for perfect eggs every time and ways to use hard boiled eggs.
I have a staple recipe for you today! It’s such a simple recipe, but something that I get asked all the time.
How to make hard boiled eggs.
Boiling eggs was something my mom taught me how to do early on, but there was a period of time where I definitely had to Google to be reminded of the cooking time. Now it’s second nature to whip up a batch of hard boiled eggs and I do it often as part of my weekly meal prep!
In this post I’m sharing the methods I use to make hard boiled eggs, cooking time variations, tips for perfect eggs every time and ways to use hard boiled eggs.
Table of Contents
Why Hard Boiled Eggs?
If you didn’t grow up eating these, you might be wondering why make hard boiled eggs? There are so many reasons!
- Quick meal or snack – Need a quick breakfast or snack on-the-go? Hard boiled eggs work perfectly!
- Protein – One egg is packed with 6 grams of protein. I like to try to have protein with every meal and snack and adding a hard boiled egg is the perfect way to do that!
- Meal prep stars – I love meal prepping a batch of hard boiled eggs for the week. I’ll eat them plain or enjoy them in a variety of ways throughout the week.
What You Need
- Eggs
- Water
- Ice bath
How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs
There are actually a bunch of different ways to make hard boiled eggs, but I like using the method my mom taught me which involves boiling the eggs with the water, removing the heat and letting the eggs sit in the hot water to “cook.” This method is pretty fool-proof and makes for easy hard boiled eggs every time. Here’s how to do it:
Boil water and eggs – Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with water by at least 1 inch. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Let the water rapidly boil for 30 seconds, cover and remove from heat.
Let eggs sit – Let eggs sit in the hot water for 4-12 minutes, depending on how boiled you want the eggs.
Cool – After eggs have sat for the allotted time, carefully drain the water or use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the hot water. Transfer the eggs into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and cool the eggs.
Peel – Peel the eggs by tapping all over to crack and then carefully remove the shell.
How Long Should I “Cook” the Eggs?
This depends on your personal preference or what you’ll be using them for!
6 minutes – Jammy eggs (the whites will be fully cooked but the yolk with have a jammy consistency).
8 minutes – Mostly jammy but some more cooked areas of yolk.
10 minutes – Mostly cooked but some jammy areas of yolk.
12 minutes – Fully hard boiled eggs with a firm yolk.
I personally like to let the eggs sit in the hot water for 6-8 minutes if I’m eating hard boiled eggs for breakfast or on a salad. I like to boil the eggs for 10-12 minutes if I’m using the egg for tuna or egg salad.
Hard Boiled Egg Tips
Don’t use fresh eggs – Sounds counterintuitive, but super fresh eggs will be harder to peel. For easy-to-peel hard boiled eggs use eggs that are about a week old.
Don’t skip the ice bath – Don’t skip the ice bath! This is super important to stop the cooking process and helps with peeling the eggs. Don’t attempt to peel the eggs until they are completely cool.
How to Store Hard Boiled Eggs
You can store peeled or unpeeled hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I feel like they stay fresher and become easier to peel as they sit in the fridge do I typically store them in the shell until I’m ready to use them for a recipe or eat as a snack.
How to Eat Hard Boiled Eggs
Oh my goodness, there are so many great ways to use hard boiled eggs. Here are a few ideas:
- With sea salt and pepper – keep it simple and just enjoy with salt and pepper… can’t go wrong! Maldon flaked sea salt is so good on hard boiled eggs.
- Avocado Toast – I love spreading avocado on my toast, adding a sprinkling of seasoning of choice and then topping with a hard boiled egg and a splash of hot sauce. Such a filling and delicious breakfast! This Cobb salad avocado toast is amazing.
- Make egg salad – egg salad is one of my favorite ways to use hard boiled eggs. Try my healthy egg salad, avocado egg salad or this curried egg salad. I love this spicy take on traditional egg salad.
- Brussels Sprout Chopped Salad – another tasty salad with hard boiled eggs!
- Blackened Chicken Cobb Salad – one of my all-time favorite salads to make with hard boiled eggs.
- Healthy Deviled Eggs – my traditional deviled eggs with a healthy twist!
- Avocado Deviled Eggs – my take on traditional deviled eggs that are so good! Perfect for a simple kiddo (or adult!) lunch.
- Hummus Deviled Eggs – these deviled eggs are made with just two ingredients!
- Hard Boiled Egg and Avocado Bowl – Aka the easiest meal around.
Everything You Need to Make Hard Boiled Eggs
Le Creuset Tri-Ply Stainless Steel 3 Quart Saucepan, Medium
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OXO Good Grips 16 Piece Glass Smart Seal Airtight Everyday Container Set
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OXO Good Grips Nylon Slotted Spoon, Black
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If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
How to Hard Boil Eggs
Ingredients
- 4-6 eggs
- Water
- Ice
Instructions
- Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with water by at least 1 inch. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Let the water rapidly boil for 30 seconds, cover and remove from heat. Let sit 4-12 minutes. 4 minutes for jammy eggs or 12 minutes for fully hard boiled eggs and 8 or 10 minutes for somewhere in between. I like 6-8 minutes for hard boiled eggs that I’m going to eat for breakfast or but some where around 10-12 for hard boiled eggs I’m using for egg salad or tuna salad.
- Once eggs have sat for the allotted time, drain water or use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the hot water. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water or place the eggs in a colander and run cold water over them. Either of these methods will stop the cooking process and cool the eggs.
- Peel eggs by tapping all over to crack. Remove shell, starting at the larger side of the egg (with the air pocket). Serve/use immediately or peel + chill and enjoy once cold.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
This is the only way to get perfect results every time. I opt for 12 min as the sit time.
I love your chart for time/preference of doneness. Very helpful.
So glad this method works perfectly for you, Donna! Love that you found the chart helpful. Thanks for sharing and for leaving a review—I really appreciate it.
Good recipe. I have an electric stove and the plate turns on and off as it “thinks” where high heat is. So it actually soft boils for a minute or two before it gets to what I consider is a “rapid boil”. I assume that’s calculated into the total cooking time. I was going for the 4 minute look but ended up with the 8 minute look. Guess I need to play with the soft boil time.
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, Art! Electric stoves can definitely be tricky to work with sometimes. I’m sure you’ll get the timing just right next time! Thanks for making the recipe and for leaving a review. I really appreciate it.
Like you, this was just a reminder of the cooking times for me, but I really like your explanation and photos of the cooking times as they are as clear an explanation I’ve ever seen which would be so helpful for new cooks.
Thanks so much, Laurel!