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.
- Place lid on the pressure cooker and set for cook time for 5 minutes on high pressure.
- 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.
- Let eggs sit in water bath for 5 minutes.
- Remove eggs from the water bath.
- 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.
- I find it is best to peel eggs right from the water bath, the shell comes off beautifully every single time.
- 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.
- If you live at high altitude, be sure to use Instant Pot Altitude Adjustments.
Paula
Perfect eggs! Thanks honey❤️💜my go to girl!
Kristen Chidsey
Awe! I am so glad you find my recipes so spot on Paula! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂
Kim
Eggs were perfectly cooked, and most importantly every egg peeled with ease. THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY! I am so happy you had success Kim!
Cole
My 5-5-5-5 eggs turned out perfectly!! Thankyou!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you had success Cole! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
James
It seems as to what ever I want to cook in my instant pot I always end up using your recipes. They always seem to turn out perfect.
Kristen Chidsey
That makes me so happy James! I am so glad you find such success in my recipes!
Nicole Fernschuss
I have a pretty decent handle on cooking and baking, but hard boiled eggs has always been impossible for me. These came out practically perfect! Only a few stuck to the shell but most of them peeled perfectly! Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you had success Nicole. I have always hated making hard boiled eggs until perfecting this method!
Mark Young
PERFECTION! I have tried many methods of so called "perfect hard boiled egg" recipes and none gave perfect results, until now.
Thank you Kristen
Kristen Chidsey
You are so welcome Mark! I am glad you had such success with this recipe.
Bridget Wells
What if I don't have a rack?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Bridget. I have had many people tell me they place the eggs right in the water. This will make your eggs more prone to cracking though.
Ginger
Do you leave the “keep warm “ feature on or turn it off? It comes on automatically when you press “pressure cook”.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Ginger! I leave it on. That way if pressure releases and I am busy, my food is kept at a safe temperature.
Angel Womack
So I've tried this twice now and I have had broken/cracked eggs both times. My daughter has the crock pot instant pot, and she said she rarely has any crack. She was here and helped me do them. The first time I did 8 and one oozed out, and two cracked. The second time I did 4 and two cracked. The first set were older and not room temperature so I made sure to get to room temperature on the second set. They do peel easy though. Can you still eat the ones with small cracks?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Angel! I am sorry you had some eggs crack. A few tiny cracks won't hurt anything 🙂
Brenda Eck
Never have I ever! These eggs were PERFECT! The shell literally rolled off and the yolks were fluffy. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so happy you are as amazed as I continue to be with making hard boiled eggs this way Brenda! Game changer for sure.
Taylore
I canceled my Costco membership and decided to start making my own h.b. eggs instead of buying them prepackaged. The stars must have aligned because a friend was gutting her pantry and gave me her 6qt Instant Pot. I followed your steps and had “egg-celent” results! Thank you!
P.S.- I buy eggs for $0.58/dozen at Aldi and this is a fraction of the cost of the $11 for 32 h.b. eggs at Costco. It doesn’t bother me that they’re not organic because the rest of our food is as clean as we can find. Happy $aving$, Mom’s!
Kristen Chidsey
WAHOO!! What a savings! I love that you had success with this recipe and that it will save you money!
Kevin
Did just what it proposed. I will have to use it again.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you found success using this recipe. And enjoy many more times.
Katie
I can’t find my rack 🙁 can I still make them in the instant pot?? Christmas Eve mission is at risk!!!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Katie! DO NOT PANIC! Some people have told me they don't even use a trivet at all--your eggs may crack easier, but it is worth a try!
Cynthia
My first time using an Instantpot, followed your instructions. Perfect eggs and a dream to peel. Will be looking to you for more recipes, too.
Kristen Chidsey
Oh I am so glad you had success Cynthia! And I hope you find many more recipes here to enjoy!
Page
Perfect! I followed the recipe with the exception that I used 8 qt pot and added 1/2 water because of that
I only tried 4 eggs because I just wanted to test they turned out perfectly! And agree so EASY to peel!
I just put one on the counter and pushed with the palm of my hand she’ll practically fell off!
Thank you so much!
I used “egglands best” because that’s what I had the we’re not super fresh
Page
Forgot to add that I didn’t see that the eggs had to be room temperature mind were not
Kristen Chidsey
Great! I often find that I may have a few more eggs crack at room temp.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you had success Page! And yes, you need 1.5 cups of water for the 8 quart.
Susan Peery
Hi,
I've tried several times to do the 5-5-5 method of cooking hard boiled eggs in my Instant Pot. Every time they were runny and not edible, at least to me. I like mine with a solid light middle. I took into account that as we're living in Calgary Alberta, we're at 3800 feet altitude. So, I increased the time. I used the "egg" setting, high pressure, set time for 8 minutes, let vent naturally for 8 minutes and used the ice bath for 8 minutes. They were absolutely perfect! So silky and easily peeled. My IP is now my egg machine!
Kristen Chidsey
I am glad you found the altitude conversion I have helpful 🙂
Tracy
Thank you, Kristen, for the recipe, especially the video (I had never used an IP before and the video was very helpful). And thank you Susan for sharing your adjustments for high altitude. I live at high altitude as well and would have never thought to adjust the times had I not read your comment. I did your 8-8-8 method and they were perfect!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Tracy! I am so glad you found this recipe, video and Susan's tips helpful! You can use my altitude chart in the future to help with other recipes.