Hard vs. Soft — How Long Does It Take to Boil an Egg?

Boiled eggs are a tasty and affordable way to supplement your diet with high-quality protein and a range of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (1Trusted Source). Since eggs are both versatile and healthy, many home cooks view knowing how to boil them as a fundamental skill.

How Long Does It Take to Boil an Egg?

The ideal cooking time for boiling eggs largely depends on your taste preferences and the purpose for which you'll be using them.

Boiling time varies

A fully cooked, hard-boiled egg, for instance, is perfect as a portable snack or in egg salad. The exact opposite is true; a boiled egg with a soft, jammy yolk is the ideal way to top a piece of toast, a crunchy salad, or a bowl of homemade ramen.

Boiling time varies

Regardless of the outcome you want, begin by completely submerging the eggs in a large pot of water. You can boil as many eggs as you want at once, provided that they are all completely submerged in water.

Boiling time varies

The water should then be brought to a full boil before the heat is lowered to a simmer. Place your eggs carefully into the water, then turn up the heat so that the water comes back to a slow, rolling boil.

Boiling time varies

Avoiding excessive water bubbles will lessen the likelihood that the shells will crack.

Boiling time varies

Although it may seem counterintuitive, you can achieve the same taste and quality of boiled eggs without boiling them at all.

More ways to ‘boil’ an egg

You're in luck if you don't like to wait for a pot of water to boil but still want to eat a hard-boiled egg. Whole eggs can be steam-cooked to have the same taste and quality as boiled eggs while using a lot less water.

Steaming

Just add a steamer basket to a pot with one to two inches of water, then heat the water until it boils. Your eggs should be carefully placed in the steamer basket, covered, and cooked for 5 to 6 minutes for soft-boiled eggs and 12 to 15 minutes for hard-boiled eggs.

Steaming

Similar to when you boil eggs, once they're finished cooking, immediately cool them under cold running water or put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Steaming

Pressure cooking is appealing in part because it makes some difficult culinary tasks easier, and boiling eggs is no exception.

Pressure-cooking

Simply place a steamer basket inside your pressure cooker and add 1 cup of water. Depending on the size of your cooker, put up to 12 eggs into the basket and close the lid.

Pressure-cooking

Depending on how soft you like the yolk, cook eggs on the low pressure setting for 2-4 minutes. Increase the cooking time to 7-8 minutes for hard-boiled eggs.

Pressure-cooking

Manually open the pressure valve on the lid when your timer goes off to let all the steam out. Open the lid slowly and cool the eggs in an ice bath or under cold running water.

Pressure-cooking

It should be noted that this technique may need some experimenting and is meant for electric pressure cookers. Depending on the pressure cooker model and the number of eggs you cook at once, the cooking time may need to be adjusted.

Pressure-cooking

Having boiled eggs on hand is a tasty and wholesome necessity, but the boiling time varies depending on the desired result.

The Bottom Line

Boil large eggs for around 7 minutes to achieve a soft yolk. You can boil them for up to 13 minutes the traditional way. Remember that smaller eggs cook more quickly and that higher altitudes may require longer cooking times due to changes in atmospheric pressure.

The Bottom Line

If boiling is not your preferred method of preparation, you can achieve the same results by baking, steaming, or applying pressure to whole eggs.

The Bottom Line

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