How to Cook Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
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Learn how to cook perfect hard-boiled eggs every time. No more rubbery eggs or green ring!
It’s that time of year when many of us are hard boiling eggs for deviled eggs and dyeing Easter Eggs.
Since hard boiled eggs are notoriously easy yet difficult to master. I thought I’d share some of the information I have found to cook your hard-boiled eggs perfect every time.
Table of Contents
How to Cook Hard-Boiled Eggs
So…..let’s get cracking!
Did you know that it is called hard-cooking? That’s right! I’ve always called it hard boiling, but according to the American Egg Board, it’s actually called hard-cooking eggs.
Hard-cooked, not hard-boiled. Although the cooking water must come to a full boil in this method, the pan is immediately removed from the heat so that the eggs cook gently in the hot water. This produces tender, not rubbery, eggs and minimizes cracking, perfect for avocado deviled eggs or spicy deviled eggs.
Tips for Cooking Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
Get perfect hard-boiled eggs every time with these tips. (printable recipe at the end of this post)
Banish the greenish ring
This harmless but unsightly discoloration that sometimes forms around hard-cooked yolks results from a reaction between sulfur in the egg white and iron in the yolk. It occurs when eggs have been cooked for too long or at too high a temperature. Cook eggs in hot, not boiling, water, then cool immediately to minimizes the greenish ring.
Don’t use very fresh eggs
Hard-boiled eggs can be difficult to peel. To ensure easily peeled eggs, buy and refrigerate them 7 to 14 days in advance of cooking. This brief “breather” allows the eggs time to take in air, which helps separate the membranes from the shell, making it easy to peel the shell from the cooked egg.
To peel a hard-cooked egg
Gently tap the egg on countertop until the shell is finely cracked all over. Roll the egg between your hands to loosen the shell. Starting peeling at the large end, holding the egg under cold running water to help ease the shell off.
So there you go! If you’d like more information on eggs, check out the American Egg Board
Egg-citing Hard Boiled Egg Recipes you might enjoy!
- Colored Deviled Eggs Recipe
- Bacon Cream Cheese Deviled Eggs
- Dill Pickle Deviled Eggs
- Loaded Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs
- Buffalo Deviled Eggs
How to Cook Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
Follow these simple steps to make perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs every time. And no green ring!
Ingredients
- 12 Eggs, room temperature
Instructions
- Set your eggs in a layer in the bottom of a saucepan.
- Cover with water, 1" over the eggs.
- Cook over medium-high heat until boiling, do not over boil
- Remove from burner and cover, letting eggs stand for 15 minutes (12 minutes for medium eggs, 18 minutes for extra large).
- Run cold water over the eggs to cool them
Notes
Cook 1 dozen eggs or less at one time for more even cooking.
To make sure that the eggs are easy to peel, buy your eggs 1-2 weeks ahead of time (fresh eggs are harder to peel)
Hi there, I'm Cheryl!
As a wife, mom, and caffeine enthusiast, my journey has taken me from bustling mornings with my family to sharing delicious recipes, home care tips, and heartfelt decorating insights with wonderful readers like you. My love for baking, photography, and tidiness shines through every post I craft. Dive into my world and discover the art of homemaking, one tidy moment at a time. Read more...
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Great tips for eggs! We skipped dyeing eggs this year…too many cookies, I guess!
I think I have overcooked mine for years! Thanks for the tips.
Thanks for the tips. Our problem is that we have chickens and get fresh eggs everyday. If I need to hardboil some, they are very hard to peel because they are right from the chicken.
Happy Easter
This is how you cook fresh eggs so that they are easy to peel and still tender with no green ring. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the eggs to the boiling water and then immediately turn the heat down so the water is just simmering. Cook for 13 minutes then remove the eggs from the pot into an ice bath. I have my own chickens and this method makes perfect hard boiled eggs every time that peel very easy.Â
I really appreciate these tips! I love hard-cooked eggs!
Thanks for posting the great tips! I cracked my eggs the other day while I was "hard cooking" them. It didn't matter anyways because my 2 year old just wanted to eat them anyways…putting them in egg dye was really confusing for him lol
Happy Easter!
Need a way to use all your perfectly hard cooked eggs? Here's a recipe that I've perfected over the years for deviled eggs: http://www.heidisfullplate.com/2009/06/deviled-eggs-recipe.html. Enjoy!
Thanks! I always wondered why my shells sometime stuck to the egg when cracking. I just discovered your blog and love it! Thanks!
Great post! I wish I had read it sooner. I was coloring eggs with my brother and his family and we were debating over the best way to cook the eggs. Well when we women were not looking, my brother seeing that the eggs were finished could not figure out how to get hot eggs out of the pan (he is a dentist you think he would know to let them cool). Anyway, he poured the cooked hard-boiled eggs into a strainer. Needless to say he cracked about a dozen. We had a good laugh. Next year I will give him your recipe. Thanks.
This cracks me up (get it?!?! CRACKS haha. sorry. been round the kiddos too much!)
Anyways – I have been meaning to do a post on hard boiled eggs because my boys eat SO many of them! It's not unheard of for my 3 year old and almost 2 year old to eat 1 dozen in a day. Crazy.
Anyways, I make sure to run them under cold water for a while and it makes peeling them a breeze.
I have to send this post to my daughter Bethany, she made deviled eggs on Easter and had to do them twice. She said she would NEVER do them again !
But once again…you make it look EASY!!!
xoxo
I always have to catch myself when I say “hard boiled” now instead of “hard cooked.” And yeah, those fresh eggs are a pain to peel. Who would’ve thought? Thanks for the tips.
Great information! I’ll definitely make sure to follow these tips when I hard cook my eggs for Easter!
We love hard boiled, I mean cooked eggs, all but two of us…I even like them soft cooked! Great tips. I can often manage to mess this up out of impatience…one question. Both of my grandmas add vinegar to the water before cooking. Do you know why?
Hi, sorry to intrude, but i believe the reason for the vinegar is that it prevents the water staining the pot, therefore limiting the scrubbing afterwards to have the pot shiny again. My mom always put lemon slices in the water when cooking eggs. =)
This is a brilliant post Cheryl. It seems as though it should be a simple thing, but I think people often over boil their eggs. This will be very useful!
Intuitively, I know this, but don’t follow it. Thanks for posting this, Cheryl. I will remember this next time I make eggs!
Thanks I like that post
This is how my Mother taught me and it works every time!
Love this post, my two daughter love hard-boiled egg!!!! Thank you Cheryl!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are perfect!
These look perfect!! Very helpful! Thanks!
Such great tips! Trying them soon!
Great tips to making hard cooked eggs! Just in time for all those Easter eggs!