This method is tried and true for perfect hard boiled eggs every time! With bright yellow yolks and shells that easily slip off, these no-fail eggs are perfect for meal prepping, snacking, or your favorite egg recipes.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Hard-boiled eggs have a mild, creamy flavor with smooth whites and rich yolks.
- Why Make It: This no-fail method gives you bright yellow yolks without the grey ring, and the eggs peel easily for snacks, salads, and meal prep.
- Time Saver: Make a batch at the start of the week for quick snacks, breakfasts, and lunches.
- Serving Suggestions: Boiled eggs are perfect for deviled eggs, egg salad, Cobb salads, or an easy high-protein snack.
How to Cook a Perfect Hard Boiled Egg
- Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water (full recipe below).
- Bring water to a rolling boil, cover, remove from the heat, and let the eggs rest.
- Place in a large bowl of ice water for 5 minutes before peeling.
Hard Boiled Egg Timer: A Guide to Doneness
Timing works best with large eggs straight from the fridge. If using medium, extra-large, or room temperature eggs, adjust the resting time by a minute or two as needed.
| Doneness | Time |
| Soft-Boiled Eggs | 6 to 8 minutes |
| Jammy Eggs | 8 to 10 minutes |
| Hard-Boiled Eggs | 15 to 17 minutes |
Storage and Leftovers
Keep unpeeled eggs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Peeled eggs will keep for up to 5 days. Add a barely damp paper towel to help prevent drying. Whole boiled eggs do not freeze well, but you can freeze cooked yolks.
Keep the eggs in a single layer in the pot for the most even cooking. If you’re making a bigger batch, use a wider saucepan so the eggs have room to cook evenly.
If an egg cracks while cooking, it’s still fine to eat, it just may not look as pretty. A gentle boil and starting with eggs in cold water can help reduce cracking, and this method is designed to cook them gently once the water comes to a boil.
Yes! Using an ice bath stops carryover cooking and helps prevent gray-green rings. This will help to give you the perfect yellow yolks.
It all comes down to science! The pH levels of fresh egg whites differ from those of older ones. As the egg ages, the pH becomes more alkaline, so it doesn’t stick to the membrane, which in turn makes it easier to peel.
Yes. This same method works for softer yolks, too. As mentioned in the chart above, let the eggs sit covered for 6 to 8 minutes for soft-boiled eggs or 8 to 10 minutes for jammy yolks.
My Favorite Boiled Egg Recipes
Did you try making these Hard Boiled Eggs? Leave a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- water
Instructions
- Place a single layer of eggs in a saucepan. Fill with cool water to at least ½-inch above the eggs.
- Bring water to a rolling boil over high heat. Cover and remove from heat.
- Let stand covered for 15 to 17 minutes (for large eggs).
- Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of ice water. Once the eggs have rested, transfer to the ice water for at least 5 minutes.
- To peel, gently roll the egg on the counter until the shell cracks, and then peel the eggs under cold running water.
Notes
- This recipe is made using large eggs. If using medium or extra large eggs, cooking time will vary by a minute or two.
- Older eggs will peel better than fresh eggs
- There is no need to add anything to your boiling water (like vinegar or baking soda).
- Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and then water. This helps stop the eggs from cooking and helps them to peel nicely.
- Allow the eggs to sit for 15 to 17 minutes (for large eggs) for hard boiled eggs.
- Allow the eggs to sit for 8 to 10 minutes (for large eggs) for jammy yolks.
- Allow the eggs to sit for 6 to 8 minutes (for large eggs) for soft boiled.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Very nice tutorial chef . Thank you for your effort
Holly, I might suggest you try to steam the eggs. I have been using various steamers and steam for 12 minutes. The eggs taste great and they are much easier to peel.
I haven’t tried this method but my hubby’s is faster and peels easily.
*boil water put a tblsp of baking soda in
*add eggs – turn down temperature to slight boil
*boil slowly for 10 – 12 minutes
*pour cold water over several times to cool
Peeling is a BREEZE!!
Thank you for the tips Donna!
Donna, you are right! Boiling water method is the best way to have eggs that are easy to peel. My daughter gave me this method and it works!
Since going air fryer for hard “boiled” eggs I’ll never go back, never ever have problems peeling….air fryer, cold water, fridge, peel as needed….so much easier.
An air fryer is such a great way to make boiled eggs!!
Perfect hard boiled eggs. And the egg shell peeled right off. Will always use this recipe for my hard boiled eggs. Can’t wait to try some of her other recipes.
Spend With Pennies (Holly Nilsson) is my go-to website for reliable, delicious recipes that use ordinary ingredients.
Thanks for the how to, I always had the hardest time peeling eggs. Now I understand the correct process. I don’t understand what’s wrong with the egg yolks having a little green. It’s still good to eat. The Mayo and Pickle Relish, that I use, makes them just as pretty and delish. I would think that is how they created the book, Green Eggs and Ham. My opinion. Never used an ice bath before, b/c we don’t have or use ice. So, I did the next best thing, I put water in a bowl in the freezer to kinda freeze. It worked great. Thanks!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Thank you for the simple reminder on the best way for hard boiled eggs. As some of us get older, we need a quick reminder on timing. The younger “know-it-alls” should respect that some cook on stoves without the new fangled cooking devices
Thanks for this; Good to make for camp.
A side note, try making hard boiled eggs in your instant pot! So easy, perfect every time, and they peeled beautifully. No blow outs either!
Under cooking… I did not see how long you let them sit after they start boiling & you take them off the heat. I only saw that you let them sit a couple minutes shorter if using medium eggs???
The full recipe is a little further down. Hope that helps!
Let stand covered for 15-17 minutes (for large eggs).
when i finally found the simple recipe instructions after navigating around the superfluous text, pop ups and ad banners it was informative and to the point. simple recipes like this don’t really need a lot of explaining.
thanks for sharing! they always come out great this way but i do find them easier to peel with salt water. might just be my altitude/tap water quality.
Hi Tina, glad you enjoyed it. You can always use the Jump to Recipe button at the top to skip straight to the recipe :)
I’m SHOCKED, that anyone would actually need a ‘recipe’, in order to make Hard Boiled Eggs! But I guess so, just by reading the comments. Sad, isn’t it? Wow, unbelievable!
Everyone has to learn sometime. :) Plus it’s always fun to hear everyone’s tips and how different people create the same food.
I agree with you – some people do not grow up watching and helping in the kitchen so even making boiled eggs could be hard for them- my daughter is 6 and can make many things under adult Supervision of course- But she has been in the kitchen with me since she was about four months old
Some of us are new to cooking and were not raised to know these things. I’m SHOCKED that your closed mind would believe otherwise. Sad, isn’t it? Wow, unbelievable!
Thank you, Holly, for these helpful tips!! I’m 24 and completely new to the cooking world. I was raised on scrambled eggs only and had never even eaten a hard-boiled egg until today. Delish!
Glad the tips helped Maddy! Have fun cooking :)
Not everyone grew up with someone teaching them to cook. At least they are trying to learn. What’s sad is that theirs people in this world who get on a post just to judge someone.
As a 20 year old who has been shuffled through foster care system for 16 years, please count me amongst the “sad” ones who need help. Check your privilege before trashing people who want to learn how to cook.
Thank you Holly for the help, I cried when they turned out perfectly!
I’m so happy to hear that these worked perfectly for you Justine! You made my day :)
Holly :)
Thanks a bunch for this really easy way to hard boil eggs..I made mine today and voila they came out great ! ..am using them as an addition for a healthy salad with lots of veggies.
It work wonders with my need to hard boil eggs without a hassle.
Y’all talk abt egg salad boiled eggs how to but few down right recipes I thought this was a recipe site !
Here are some recipes for egg salad. You can also use the search function at the top of each page.
Best Egg Salad
Avocado Egg Salad
Tuna Egg Salad
Classic Deviled Eggs
Pimento Deviled Eggs
Avocado Deviled Eggs
Dill Pickle Deviled Eggs
More Recipes with Eggs as Ingredients
Pickled Eggs
Chef Salad
Cobb Salad
Cobb Pasta Salad
Easy Potato Salad
Finally, a recipe that answered all my egg questions in a short concise format; great results…Thanks!
Amazing that this exact same recipe is posted by several experts – but one expert swears that 10-12 minutes is perfect (or maybe 6 if you like them soft) and another expert suggests 15-17 minutes.
It’s a fairly standard technique. I personally find 15-17 produces the best results for large eggs.
Perfect!!
Everyone should check out the new
Egg Stripper I purchased on QVC
Peels 5 eggs under 10 seconds
It works great and I hated peeling the shells
Cheers!
Thank you, thank you! Well here it is the early morning of Thanksgiving and I just remembered I had to make Deviled Eggs for our Family and Friends Bounty of Delicious and Different food from the internet. I have to say the timing was perfection and I will forever more use this method. However, I can not say that to using the older egg part on ONLY MY behalf. I did a little experiment and bought 6 freshly bought eggs yesterday and I had a 6, 40 day old eggs in the fridge which I used seperate pots and started at the same time, I brought to a rapid boil and quickly covered and put on back burner to rest for 17 mins. then both went into ice water bathes using seperate bowls. I waited 10 mins to peels, perfect temp. However, at that point I wish I had more of the freshly bought eggs. The new eggs were so easy to peel and the old ones, not so much. But I can not compete with science, but only my opinion and this still gets a 10 in my book. The yolk, a beautiful yellow with none of the green i use to get and the egg was perfect to the touch. That doesn’t change the method….thank you again!
I’m so glad this method worked for you! Thank you for sharing the information about your old and new eggs!
Aawwhhh Stacie, I am SO sorry – I forgot ALL about you!
I didn’t mean to keep you waiting for so long. But now it’s true confession time.
After you got the two pots of eggs boiling … I SWITCHED the two sets of eggs w/out you knowing!!
And that’s why you thought new eggs peel easier than older ones!! Oh man, I forgot to tell you what I did. Yes – I am a Kitchen Troll, LoL!
A nice/fun one of course, not a mean one!
I sure hope you’ll forgive me if you hadn’t figured it out yet! Heh, heh, heh … Sorry!
the only way to cook hard boiled eggs is in an instant pot
I have been hearing that the Instant Pot is a game changer for eggs!
What is an instant pot
Hey Sharon,
Since you wrote this on my birthday (yes, no foolin’!) I thought I should answer you.
An Instant Pot is another new wonderful cooking invention that is a successor to, and hence improvement of the Abra-Cadabra Pot.
With the Instant Pot you don’t need to say a single word or need a magic wand or anything – it just cooks by itself in an instant! This means it’s also better than the Magic Chef which requires all kinds of accessories & secret commands. But not the Instant Pot. Isn’t that wonderful !