It’s no secret that I’m an egg fanatic (check my logo). Hard-boiled eggs are easy to cook and so extremely versatile. In fact, my favorite budget meal hack has always been to just “put an egg on it.” So follow this easy, fool-proof tutorial on how to make hard-boiled eggs so you can keep a stash in the fridge and add an egg whenever you need to make a meal or snack more hearty. And don’t worry, I’ve included plenty of tips for peeling the shells and a long list of recipes that use hard-boiled eggs!
“Thank you!! I feel ridiculous but my husband and I could never do these right. Neither of us were taught how to cook by parents, much less boil eggs. We tried before to make hard boiled eggs using a different method and horribly failed and wasted a dozen eggs. This worked like a charm!!!!! My husband thanks you for his deviled eggs.”
Rebecca
There are so many ways to make hard-boiled eggs, from using the air fryer to keeping the pot at a rolling boil the entire time. But this hot water bath method is the one I always use. It’s simple, reliable, and gives me perfectly cooked eggs each and every time. The trick is turning OFF the heat once the water boils and letting the eggs sit in the hot water with the lid on. No overcooked yolks, no green rings…just consistently great results!
So, let’s get right to the nitty-gritty of what everyone wants to know…
I personally like this method the best because it doesn’t require a lot of attention, and it’s pretty forgiving if you can’t tend to the eggs right when your timer goes off. Here are the basic steps for hard-boiling eggs:
The easy answer: Boil large eggs using the hot water bath method for about 12 minutes to make hard-boiled eggs.
The long answer: The amount of time needed to hard boil an egg can vary depending on several factors, including:
You can start with my time guide below, but you may need to experiment a little to find the exact time needed to make perfect hard-boiled eggs using your equipment, your eggs, and your altitude.
The image above shows results after boiling eggs for 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 minutes.
I also like to steam my eggs, as seen in my tutorial for 6-minute soft-boiled eggs. This method is super fast because you only use about an inch of water, which comes to a boil very quickly. To make hard-boiled eggs using the steaming method, simply let them steam for about 10-12 minutes. I also find that steamed eggs tend to peel very easily. See the steaming tutorial here.
A hard-boiled egg will stay good for about a week when refrigerated in its shell. A peeled egg should be eaten within two days.
There’s nothing more frustrating than a hard-boiled egg that is difficult to peel, so here are some tricks that may help make them easier to peel:
Have you had success with any of these methods? Share which one works best for you in the comments below.
I love adding hard-boiled eggs to just about everything, but if you need a little inspiration for how to use your eggs, here are a few of my favorite ideas:
Have you ever peeled a hard-boiled egg only to find that the yolk has turned green? Nope, it doesn’t mean the egg is rotten! Egg yolks turn green when overcooked due to a chemical reaction that occurs between the sulfur in the egg white and the iron in the egg yolk.
To prevent green yolks, I recommend not boiling the eggs longer than needed and transferring them to an ice bath directly after cooking to prevent carryover cooking.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Our Hard Boiled Eggs recipe was originally published 11/6/21. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 4/13/25.
The post How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs appeared first on Budget Bytes.
