Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs

How to cook whole eggs with no more than an everyday pot, water and a kitchen timer plus. of course, eggs still in their shells. This is Cook's Illustrated method for hard-boiled eggs. I've used it for years and never have trouble with overcooking or undercooking the eggs. The eggs are easy to peel and cook without green rings around the yolks.

Real Food, Fresh & Fast. Great for Meal Prep for Egg Salad, Deviled Eggs and On-the-Go Snacks. Weight Watchers Friendly. Low Carb. Naturally Gluten Free. High Protein.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

How to Avoid Common Problems with Hard-Boiled Eggs: Precise Timing

On My Mind ♥ KitchenParade.com, an old-fashioned egg timer

I wonder: how many people even recognize an old-fashioned egg timer? Anyone??

My mom kept one on a shelf above the kitchen sink. The fine sand streaming from one end to the other was a fascination ...

There are all kinds of tricks out to avoid issues with cooking whole eggs in boiling water, problems like eggs that won't peel, eggs that develop green rings around the yolks.

But here's my simple trick: just mind the clock.

I really do set the timer for each step and time after time, produce perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs with golden-yellow yolks.

That's it! Timing is the trick! We have so many ways to easily set timers now, our phones, our watches, even our Alexa devices. No more excuses!

The Short Version: How to Hard-Boil Eggs

Bring the eggs and water to a boil and boil hard for exactly one minute. Cover the pot and remove from the stove. Rest off heat for exactly 10 minutes. Move the eggs to a bowl to cool for 5 minutes in ice water. Peel to eat while warm or cool eggs with their shells on to refrigerate for eating later.

Let's Bust the Myths About Hard-Cooked Eggs

Brown, Blue & White Farm-Raised Eggs ♥ KitchenParade.com

Fresh eggs are harder to peel. FALSE. With this method, use beautiful, just-laid farm eggs to weeks-old grocery store eggs. Whatever their age, the eggs will peel easily.
It's impossible to prevent green rings around the yolks. FALSE. Overcooking causes the green rings. With this method, the yolks neither undercook nor overcook.
It's just too hard to cook eggs. FALSE. With this precise method, you'll be producing perfect eggs like a champion!

So Many Ways to Cook with Hard-Cooked Eggs

Spinach Soup with Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs ♥ KitchenParade.com, homemade spinach soup on the table in 30 minutes, including still-warm easy-to-peel hard-cooked eggs.

Keep cooked eggs in the refrigerator, they are useful to have on hand and easy to use up. I love to add just-cooked, still-warm eggs to Spinach Soup but always cook a few extra too, just to have on hand.

Egg salad, Mini Egg Salad Sandwiches with Rhodes Multi-Grain Rolls
Deviled eggs, Estonian Deviled Eggs
Potato salad, Mom’s Potato Salad
A portable, on-the-run high-protein snack
Impromptu salads, just slice or chop into the salad
Dye Easter eggs! Or – more Easter fun – make some gorgeous Ruby Eggs!
Looking for still more ideas? Cooked Eggs

You Might Wonder Be Wondering ...

Have another question? Ask away, I'll do my best to answer!

Do You Need a Special Pot to Cook Eggs With Their Shells On? No. Absolutely not. Some home cooks rely on their Instant Pots and pressure cookers for cooking hard-boiled eggs. But no special pot is necessary. I use a large pot to cook a dozen eggs and a smaller saucepan for fewer eggs, the idea is to keep them in a single layer without too much room to bound around in.

Do You Need to Use "Older" Eggs When Cooking Eggs for Deviled Eggs? No. There's a myth out there that hard-cooked fresh eggs are hard to peel. Not true, not when using this recipe.

What If You Discover an Egg Whose Shell is Cracked or Even Indented? Should You Still Cook It? No! As you put uncooked eggs into a pan for cooking, watch for cracks, nicks or anything that could allow "bad stuff" to get inside the protective shell. If you find one, throw it away! It's just not worth the risk of food poisoning. #ExperienceTalking

How Do You Store the Hard-Cooked Eggs? Leave the cooked eggs in their shells until ready to use and store them in the refrigerator. To avoiding mixing up the cooked eggs and the raw eggs, some times I'll add a drop of food coloring to the cooking water. Otherwise I mark cooked eggs with an X using a Sharpie, then store in an empty egg carton.

How Long do Hard-Cooked Eggs Last? Use up cooked eggs within a week. You might actually use that Sharpie to note the date, right on the eggs! If you crack open an egg and notice an "off" odor, throw it away.

Bookmark! PIN! Share!

How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this technique for cooking eggs hits the mark, go ahead, save and share! I'd be honored ...