Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs (Four Ways!)

By Bree Hester Jump to Recipe

Treat yourself to Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs with beautiful yolks and easy peels every time! We cover four methods – rolling boil, quick boil, oven, or Instant Pot – to get the best result.

It never fails that when my children and I are ready to dye Easter eggs, I always have to look up how to properly hard boil an egg. It is the one time a year that I do it, and I can never seem to remember the best method to get a perfectly cooked egg.

So this year, I decided to do a little experiment. I looked in two trusty sources, The Joy of Cooking (the cooking bible, in my humble opinion) and The Betty Crocker Cookbook to see what method they suggested. And of course, a Google search.

The one that intrigued me the most was a baked, hard “boiled” egg. To put these methods to the test, I had to decide what made a perfect hard-boiled egg.

My conclusion – the winner had to be easy to peel and the egg had to be well cooked, without the grey ring to be a contender.

The Secret To Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

There isn’t really one secret that will produce perfect hard-boiled eggs every time, but there are a few simple tips you can follow:

• Older eggs are easier to peel. if you’re planning on making deviled eggs or any other recipe that features hard-boiled eggs as the star, look for eggs that have a closer expiration date.
• Shock in cold water. As soon as the cooking time is up, make sure to transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water or place under cool running water. This prevents the eggs from overcooking.

Which Method Makes The Best Hard Boiled Eggs?

The most consistent eggs were the Quick Boil and Let Sit eggs. Every egg that I cracked peeled easily and had a perfectly cooked yolk.

Alternatively, the Instant Pot hard-boiled eggs were equally good.

There you have it. The best way to hard-boil eggs.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs (Four Ways!)

Bree Hester

4.58 from 7 votes

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Prep Time 2 minutes mins

Cook Time 7 minutes mins

Total Time 9 minutes mins

Course breakfast and brunch

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 5 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• Eggs
• Water

Instructions

 

Method 1 – Rolling Boil

• Bring 2 to 4 quarts of water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Gently lower the eggs into the water using a slotted spoon.
• Return to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 14 minutes for large eggs, 12 minutes for medium and small eggs, and 15 minutes for jumbo eggs
• Transfer eggs to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking.
• Super hard to peel.
• The membrane stayed on the egg and it was a big ol' mess. It completely fell apart and this was the third attempt at peeling. All of the others split open.
• Eggs were undercooked

Method 2 – Quick Boil and Let Sit

• Place large eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Cover with water, at least 1-inch over eggs. Cover and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and let stand, covered for 15 minutes.

  (12 for medium and small, and 18 for jumbo)
• Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool.
• Easy to peel
• Perfectly cooked
• Pretty much a perfect hard boiled egg.
  

Method 3 – Baked in Oven

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place eggs in a muffin tin. Bake for 30 minutes Transfer to a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.
• Really easy
• No mess
• Easy to peel
• Nice, evenly cooked eggs.
  
• Tip: If you are concerned about the presentation, there is a little brown spot where the egg sits on the muffin tin. If you are making egg salad, it might not matter. But if you are going to make deviled eggs, I would not choose this method.

Method 4 – Instant Pot

• Add rack to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add eggs in a single layer. Pour 1 cup water over eggs. Cook on HIGH pressure for 7 minutes.
• Manual release and transfer eggs to bowl of cold water and cool completely.
• Perfectly cooked eggs
• Easy to peel
• If you have an Instant Pot, this is the way to go.
  

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 5kcalCarbohydrates: 0.03gProtein: 0.5gFat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 5mg

Keyword instant pot, quick boil, snack

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