How To Make Hard-Boiled Eggs
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Perfect hard-boiled eggs, every time! With tender whites and creamy yellow yolks, this foolproof method makes them easy to get just right.
Hard-boiled eggs are one of those kitchen basics that should be simple, but getting them just right can be surprisingly tricky. Cook them too long and the yolks turn dry and chalky (sometimes with that telltale green ring); cook them too little and the centers won’t fully set. This foolproof method makes perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs with tender whites and creamy yellow yolks every time. An ice bath stops the cooking and helps the shells come off more easily.
Once you’ve got the technique down, you’ll always have a great source of protein at the ready. Use hard-boiled eggs for egg salad, potato salad, deviled eggs, or Cobb salad; add them to avocado toast; or simply sprinkle them with salt and pepper for an easy snack.
If you’re interested in other simple ways to cook eggs, check out my soft-boiled eggs and poached eggs.
“Perfect every time – and I’ve made them many times!”
How To Make Hard-Boiled Eggs
Step 1: Bring the water to a boil. Arrange the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover them with about an inch of cool water. Starting with cold water lets the eggs and water heat up together, which helps them cook evenly and reduces the chance of cracking. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then immediately remove the pan from the heat.
Step 2: Let the eggs cook. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. This timing gives you fully set whites and creamy, fully cooked yolks. If using smaller or larger eggs, adjust the time by about a minute in either direction.
Step 3: Cool the eggs. Transfer the eggs immediately to a bowl of ice water and let stand for about 10 minutes. This stops the cooking and helps prevent a green ring around the yolks. (If you don’t want to bother with an ice bath, simply drain the hot water, run cold water over the eggs until the pan is cool, then refill with cold water and let them stand until cooled.)
Step 4: Peel and serve. Gently tap the eggs on the counter to crack the shells all over. Start peeling at the wide end, where there’s usually an air pocket, and peel under cool running water. Use the eggs right away or refrigerate in an airtight container. Peeled eggs will keep for up to 3 days; if you leave them in their shells, they’ll keep for up to a week.
Pro Tips for Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Use slightly older eggs. Eggs that have been in the fridge for a week or two are generally easier to peel than very fresh eggs, so this is a great way to use up a carton that’s been hanging around.
- Try this trick for stubborn shells. Start peeling at the wide end of the egg, where there’s usually a small air pocket. If the shell still won’t cooperate, crack off a small piece to expose the membrane, then pop the egg back into the ice water (or cool water) for a minute or two. The water can seep underneath the shell and help loosen it.
- Don’t worry about a green ring. A greenish-gray ring around the yolk is harmless—it simply means the egg was cooked a little too long or at too high a temperature. It may not look as pretty, but the egg is perfectly safe to eat.
More Egg Recipes You May Like
Hard-Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 6 to 12 large eggs
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a saucepan in a single layer, and fill the pan with enough cold water so that it covers the eggs by about an inch.
- Over high heat, bring the water to a full rolling boil—big, vigorous bubbles should be breaking all over the surface—then remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the eggs immediately to a bowl of ice water and let stand until fully cooled, about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, carefully drain the hot water, then place the pan in the sink and run cold water over the eggs for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, refill with fresh cold water, and let stand until the eggs are room temperature, about 10 minutes.)
Notes
- Peeling Hack: Start peeling at the wide end of the egg, where there’s usually an air pocket. Peel off a small piece of shell at the bottom to expose the membrane, then slip the egg back into the water (ice water or room temperature water both work) for a minute or two. The water seeps under the shell and helps release it more easily.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: Eggs can be cooked and peeled 3 days ahead. If you keep the eggs in their shell, they can last for up to a week. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Well, I followed the instructions completely. The shells were difficult to peel leaving not a whole egg as a result. Disappointing. Someone, needs to post how to hard boil eggs through to the end, perfectly.
I add vinegar to the water before I start boiling the eggs. This has worked very well for me. Have you ever tried using vinegar?
I haven’t ever tried it, but I’ve heard that vinegar can make the eggs easier to peel. Good to know you’ve had success with it!
Rolling the eggs between your hands after cracking them helps me to easily slide the shells off. Under cool running water helps as well!
Oh my gosh! My hard boiled were hit and miss before now but finally, perfectly cooked eggs!
I did leave them covered as suggested by one commenter, for 12 minutes instead of 10.
Peeled easily. I think the trick is covering the pan. Proof that an old gal can learn new tricks.
Thanks, Jenn!!
Hi Jenn, thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes and cooking methods. My family has enjoyed all of the ones I’ve used and several are no in my regular rotation. We only eat brussels sprouts roasted with honey and balsamic vinegar now. The very best!!!!
I’ve been using the cold water bath for the eggs for a long time and it really helps get the shells off. Another tip I learned from a co worker, starting at the large end of the cracked egg shell, slide a teaspoon carefully under the shell and the membrane over the whites. You can work the spoon around the egg and slide the shell off. No accidental pokes, scratches, etc. Works for me. Might take a practice egg or two, so great to try out if making egg salad.
I agree with the spoon method to release egg. Who would have thought you need a recipe for hard-boiled eggs but it helps. Cooking as I write for Jenn’s cobb salad.
Hi Jenn, do you have any tricks for successful peeling of the eggs. I lose so much of the egg white when I peel them. It’s extremely frustrating. Thanks in advance. 😊
Hi Lori, there are a couple of things I do – sometimes it helps and sometimes they’re still pretty challenging! I usually crack my egg a bit on the bigger of the two ends then roll it with my palm on the counter to gently crack the shell all over. I start peeling it at the bigger end while holding it under cold running water. Hope that helps!
We used to raise chickens and found that you can’t boil really fresh eggs and peel them. Just doesn’t work. I rinse the eggs under warm/hot tap water (my extra storage fridge is kept at 35 degrees +/-) then add them to a steamer basket. I set my timer for 15 min and steam away. After 15 min I put them into an ice water bath and they peel perfectly.
If you add baking soda to the water…your eggs will peel beautifully… Along with her instructions..
The perfect way to hard boiled eggs . And now, the only way I boil eggs
I have been using this technique for a while now. I love how the yolks are slightly soft and how the whites are fully cooked , yet tender and never rubbery. I often use these eggs in bowls with a grain and vegetables. (So many wasted years with chalky yolks and grey rings!) Thanks for this, Jenn!