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- Boiled eggs are the centerpiece in a number of delicious dishes, including everything from egg-salad sandwiches and deviled eggs to boiled eggs in soups and salads.
- Although you don’t need to attend culinary school to learn how to boil eggs, it does take some basic kitchen smarts, as well as some sort of container in which to do the boiling.
- And that’s where the fun starts, because thanks to modern technology, you are no longer limited to a basic saucepan on top of the stove to turn out a perfectly boiled egg.
- Whether you prefer to go old-school with a saucepan and an egg timer, use an electric egg boiler, or pop your eggs into the microwave, here’s how to do it right.
I’m a big fan of egg-salad sandwiches – I mix plenty of mayonnaise, a splash of spicy brown mustard, a dash of paprika, and a little bit of curry powder into my blend, and then spread it thickly between two slices of potato bread before topping it with a couple of lettuce leaves, slicing it in half, and enjoying my tasty lunch.
Because I love egg salad so much, I hard-boil plenty of eggs. My hubby likes to take them to work as a snack, and my son enjoys one post-workout. Needless to say, we eat a lot of eggs each week in our household, including those that get whipped up for Sunday bacon-and-egg breakfasts.
That’s why I’m here to teach you the best way to turn out perfectly boiled eggs every time, whether you prefer them slightly soft or very firm. It’s not rocket science; it mostly comes down to timing, along with a few basic tools.
Here are the tools you need to boil eggs perfectly:
- Best saucepan: Farberware Classic Stainless Steel 4-Quart Saucepot with Lid
- Best egg timer: Norpro Egg Perfect Egg Timer
- Best slotted spoon: OXO Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Spoon
- Best electric egg cooker: Dash Rapid Egg Cooker
- Best egg cooker for the microwave: Home-X Microwave Chicken Egg Boiler
Learn how to boil an egg three different ways with the right tools in the slides below:
How to boil eggs on top of the stove
Here's the traditional way to boil eggs, and my preferred method:
- Start with a saucepan or pot that is large enough to hold all of your eggs in a single layer; you don't want to stack eggs on top of each other. Put your desired number of eggs into the pot. Need a new saucepan? The Farberware Classic Stainless Steel 4-Quart Saucepot with Lid wins rave reviews on Amazon.
- Cover the eggs with cold water. Don't skimp. You need enough water to cover all of the eggs to a depth of one inch.
- Set the pot over medium-high heat, and let it come to a full boil.
- This is the crucial part: turn the flame off within a minute or two of the water reaching full boil, move the pot off the heat, and cover the pot with its lid. Letting the eggs boil too long is what turns the yolk that unappealing, grayish-green color.
Now set the timer, because when it comes to the perfect level of hardness (or softness) of your boiled eggs, minutes count. You can also pop this nifty egg timer into the boiling water when you start your eggs to get the right hardness. The timer looks like a red egg, and as it heats up, it'll start changing color to purple from the edges inward. There are three hashmarks on the time: soft, medium, and hard.
As a general rule, let the eggs sit in the hot water in the covered pot for:
- Two to four minutes for soft-boiled eggs with a runny yolk and semi-firm white
- Five to six minutes for medium-boiled eggs with a yolk the texture of custard
- Seven to eight minutes for hard-boiled eggs with a bit of creaminess left in the yolk
- Nine to 10 minutes for hard-boiled eggs with firm yolks
Once they're done cooking, follow these steps:
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the eggs out of the hot water, and into a bowl filled with ice water. While not a guarantee, this generally makes it much easier to peel the eggs, which can be a very frustrating endeavor otherwise. Let the eggs rest in the ice water until they are completely cool to the touch.
- Unless you are saving the eggs for later, in which case you can store them in the fridge for up to one week, it's best to peel the eggs right out of the ice bath. Rap one end of the egg against the counter or another hard surface to crack it, and then roll it a bit on the counter to further shatter the shell. Now hold the egg under running water to peel it, starting at the cracked end. The running water usually makes it much easier to fully remove the shell, although again, some eggs are simply more stubborn than others.
- Enjoy your healthful snack!
Buy the Farberware Classic Stainless Steel 4-Quart Saucepot with Lid on Amazon for $26.99
Buy the Norpro Egg Perfect Egg Timer on Amazon for $6.15 to $10.38
Buy the Wrenwane Digital Kitchen Timer on Amazon for $8.97
Buy the OXO Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Spoon on Amazon for $9.99
How to boil eggs in an electric egg boiler
If you really like to make a lot of hard or soft-boiled eggs, and don't want to be bothered with careful timing, it's worth investing in an electric egg boiler. Our favorite, the Dash Rapid Egg Cooker, lets you cook up to six eggs at a time, and you can also use it to poach eggs or make a small omelet.
- Use the included measuring cup to pour water into the base of the electric boiler. The water level determines the firmness of the boiled eggs, as well as the number of minutes until the timer goes off.
- Carefully puncture the larger tip of each egg with the pin at the bottom of the measuring cup. This reduces the chance of an egg explosion, and also makes the eggs easier to peel once boiled.
- Set your eggs in the boiling tray, and insert the tray into the appliance. The Dash Rapid Egg Cooker also includes trays for poaching eggs and making omelets, greatly increasing its versatility.
- Turn the device on. It will time your eggs based on the amount of water, and switch itself off when they are done. Generally, that will be around ten minutes for six hard-boiled eggs.
- Remove the eggs from the boiler, and cool them in ice water before peeling, if desired.
- Enjoy!
Buy the Dash Rapid Egg Cooker on Amazon for $16.99
How to boil eggs in the microwave
No stovetop? No problem! You can boil eggs in your microwave, as long as you have the appropriate holder - simply boiling the eggs in an open bowl is likely to lead to exploded eggs.
We love the adorable Home-X Microwave Chicken Egg Boiler, which looks like a cute little white hen.
- Fill the base of the microwave egg boiler with water up to the line.
- Set up to four eggs in the holder.
- Cover the boiler with its top.
- Stick the device in your microwave, and turn it on. While you might need to experiment to find the perfect timing, it's typically around six minutes for soft-boiled, and nine minutes for hard-boiled eggs.
- When the microwave goes off, remove the eggs from the egg boiler - be careful, because it will be hot - and cool them down in ice water before peeling and enjoying.