Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs are the BEST and ONLY way to make PERFECT hard-boiled eggs. Eggs are cooked to perfection EVERY SINGLE TIME!
How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
I will never forget my first Easter I spent away from my family.
We were living in Georgia at the time and invited friends over for an Easter Egg hunt and Ham Dinner. While the ham and scalloped potatoes were delicious, the eggs were a complete disaster.
After coloring the eggs, our guests cracked a few open for a snack to find that they were not fully cooked!
But I used the same stove-top method for cooking hard-boiled eggs that I had for years. That method worked MOST of the time, but clearly, it was not fool-proof. And frankly, I became a bit fearful to ever cook hard-boiled eggs again--well at least for company!
By cooking eggs in my Instant Pot, I no longer have to worry about embarrassing accounts of under-cooked (or over-cooked) hard-boiled eggs. Pressure cooked hard boiled eggs are FOOL-PROOF. You will have golden, set centers without green rings, and these hard-boiled eggs peel like a dream!
5-5-5 Method for Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs
The perfect technique for cooking hard boiled eggs in the pressure cooker is the 5-5-5 method.
- 5 minutes to come to pressure
- 5 minutes cook time
- 5 minutes natural release
But to really get PERFECTLY cooked hard boiled eggs that peel like a dream, I have added another step:
- 5 minutes in a water bath.
So really, the PERFECT method for hard-boiled eggs is 5-5-5-5 method!
This means in 20 minutes, you will have hard-boiled eggs that peel perfectly and are perfectly set and bright yellow (no green rings here!!)
How to Cook Hard Boiled Eggs in Instant Pot
- Place 1 cup of COLD water in the inner pot of pressure cooker (liquid is ALWAYS needed for the pressure cooker to be able to reach pressure.)
- Place eggs in egg rack or carefully on top of the rack that the Instant Pot came with.
- Seal pressure cooker.
- Set cook time to 5 minutes (5 minutes on high pressure--push the manual button and adjust the timer to 5 minutes)
- After cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes (I suggest setting a timer that will beep at 5 minutes so you don't lose track of time. )
- Once 5 minutes has elapsed, release any remaining pressure in Instant Pot by using a wooden spoon or kitchen towel to knock vent knob to vent position.
- Carefully, remove eggs from the pressure cooker and place it in an ice bath. Eggs are VERY hot, so use potholder if your fingers aren't made of steel!
- After eggs have been in an ice bath for 5 minutes, remove eggs from the ice bath.
- Peel and enjoy your PERFECT hard-boiled eggs.
How to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs
Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs are the easiest eggs to peel EVER!
- Once eggs have cooked and cooled in the ice bath, crack them open by rolling them on a kitchen counter.
- The peel will come right off--and will NOT take any egg white with it!
Storing Hard Boiled Eggs
- I find it is best to PEEL eggs before storing them in the refrigerator.
- Once eggs are peeled, place in a sealed container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. If unpeeled, they can be stored for 7 days.
How Long are Hard Boiled Eggs Good For?
- Hard boiled eggs will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator when peeled, 7 days if unpeeled.
- Hard boiled eggs will last for up to 2 hours at room temperature. So be sure that Easter Bunny doesn't leave the eggs hidden too long!
- Hard boiled eggs do not freeze well! Cooked egg whites will become rubbery.
- You can freeze the cooked egg yolks if desired by placing cooked yolks freezer bag and freezing for up to 3 months.
Are Fresh or Old Eggs Best for Hard Boiled Eggs?
Isn't this an age-old question?! While everyone has their theory, I can tell you I have tested older eggs and farm fresh eggs in my pressure cooker and both came out perfectly and peeled with the same ease.
Instant Pot Basic Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (Fresh or Frozen)
- Instant Pot Yogurt
- Instant Pot Quinoa
- Instant Pot Beans
Instant Pot Hard Boiled Egg Recipe
I would love to know how you enjoy this recipe! Be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Or snap a picture and tag @amindfullmom on Instagram and hashtag it #amindfullmom
Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 12 eggs
- water for cooking
Instructions
- Place 1 cup of COLD water in the inner pot of Instant Pot for a 6 quart instant pot and 1.5 cups COLD water for an 8-quart Instant pot.
- Add in egg or steam rack and carefully set as many eggs as desired on or in the rack.Â
- Place lid on the pressure cooker and set for cook time for 5 minutes on high pressure.Â
- Once cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release for 5 minutes. Then do a quick release and carefully remove eggs from Instant Pot and place in ice water bath.Â
- Let eggs sit in water bath for 5 minutes.Â
- Remove eggs from the water bath.Â
- Store in the fridge for up to 7 days unpeeled or peel and use within 3 days.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- You can use as few as 1 egg and up to 16 eggs in a 6-quart pressure cooker.Â
- I find it is best to peel eggs right from the water bath, the shell comes off beautifully every single time.Â
- To help prevent your eggs from cracking during cooking, let your eggs come to room temperature before pressure cooking.
- Be sure to use cold water, warm water or hot water will change the cooking time.Â
- If you live at high altitude, be sure to use Instant Pot Altitude Adjustments.Â
Erin Whitcraft
I'm not sure what I did wrong! 1/3 of the eggs blew right out of the shell; this would have been fine had they been for egg salad, but they were for dying.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Erin! I am so sorry this happened to you. While some cracking can be possible, I have never heard of the eggs blowing right out of the shell unless they were cracked to begin with. Be sure to use room temp eggs and cold water. Also, it may just have been that your eggs were cracked before--sometimes it is really hard to see those hairline cracks.
Kara
Hi there! I followed the recipe exactly using eggs from our chickens, however, they are all very undercooked when I went to peel them. I did a dozen eggs in our 6qt pot. Not sure where it went wrong but do you recommend increasing cook time when more eggs are cooked at once?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kara! It may be that your chickens eggs a bit on the larger size, as the cooking time does not need to increase when cooking more eggs at time. 5-5-5 is a great start to the recipe, but just as ovens vary, so do instant pots. Be sure eggs are room temp and water in the inner pot is cold, If that was the case you will want to try 6 minute cook time, 6 minute release. Sometimes you need to adjust for altitude as well. If that is the case, you can follow my Altitude Conversion.Â
Rick
IFollowed your recipe exactly like you said. The easiest way ever to make hard-boiled eggs! They were absolutely perfect! I will never try any other way. Thank You for sharing!
Michele
I have had gray around the yolks in the past, so I decreased the cook time to 4 min. The yolks are still gray. I did put them in the IP directly from the refrigerator. Any ideas?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Michele! I would allow the eggs to come to room temp, be sure to use COLD water and if you still have a gray yolk, decrease cook time to 4 minutes. I hope that helps!
Peggy L
Hi everyone, this is the second time I have cooked boiled eggs in my 6 qt. Instant Pot. I will NEVER boil eggs on the stove again! Unless my IP tears up. Then I’ll definitely be going to Walmart to get a new one! I use the 5-5-5 method. Starting with cold water. In a steaming basket. Just now cooked 14. Piled on top of one another.Actually, both times my eggs were not at room temp when I started, Straight out of the fridge. They turned out perfectly, and they almost peel themselves! Awesome!
Amber
Just tried this using a double egg rack with 12 eggs in my IP to get eggs ready for coloring for Easter. I taste tested one before we got down to coloring and they’re absolutely perfect! The yolk is set beautifully, no discoloring ring, the white is a great texture, and it peeled like a dream. Thank you so much for sharing this method; it will be my go to from now on!
Michele
Follow the instructions and the tips! On my first dozen, I forgot and left them for too long in the instant pot....I turned the whites of the egg to brown. So on the second dozen used the same water which was warm...nope, they turned brown too. I have done this recipe and they will turn out eggsellent, but don’t get busy with something else.
Harriet Detweiler
I'm excited about trying the instant pot method to hard boil my eggs! I have a small farm and typically can gather 6 to 7 eggs every day. The chicken eggs are the same size, but my duck gives me 1 twice the size each day. Will this recipe work for both sizes together? And, how many can I cook in a 6 quart pot?
I will try to send photos once I cook them!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Harriet. I would only cook one variety of eggs at a time as the timing would be quite different. I have personally not made duck eggs in my Instant Pot so I can not direct you on timing.
Whitney
My eggs crack while pressure cooking? Any advice on how to prevent this from happening? I’m following all directions and using an egg rack inside the IP. Thanks
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Whitney! I recommend letting your eggs come to room temperature before pressure cooking--that should help prevent cracking.
Peggy
I wanted to upload pics but I don’t see a way to do that
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Peggy! I am SO SO happy you love this method (saw your comment below) There is no way to upload pictures here, but you can share on Facebook or Instagram and tag @amindfullmom.
Kathy
Yesterday, I did one dozen duck eggs and one dozen hen eggs at the same time, and they all turned out great!
Anonymous
I followed this recipe EXACTLY and my eggs were soft boiled and some of them the whites weren’t even all the way set.
Kristen Chidsey
I am sorry you had issues. Be sure eggs are room temp and water in the inner pot is cold, If that was the case you will want to try 6 minute cook time, 6 minute release moving forward. Also, if you live at higher elevation be sure to follow my Altitude Conversion.Â
Natalie
Hello!
Thanks for the great tips! My IP just came up to pressure and I realized I don't know if it will work with a double egg rack. I have 14 eggs in there! Do you think this will make a difference? Last year we had some runny ones from the IP, but I can't remember what my husband set it at. Thanks for any advice!
Kristen Chidsey
You should be fine! If you have runny eggs, it would be that you would need more time--regardless of how many eggs you cook. I use a double rack all the time with great success.
Tara
The process says to let IP come to pressure for 5 minutes. Mine takes 9-10min. Do I have to adjust the cooking time down?
Kristen Chidsey
No it will still work perfectly.