How to make Hard Boiled Eggs (perfectly)

Here’s just the easiest way to make a batch of hard boiled eggs. I’ve been doing mine this way for years, and they come out with perfectly cooked yolks every time!

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Welcome to the next installment in our new cooking basics series: How to make hard boiled eggs (perfectly). Middle School Guy is a fiend for hard boiled eggs (in the photo above, he ate half an egg in one bite to show off the perfect yolk…). I’m actually OK with this, because you could do a lot worse than a protein-packed egg as a snack to help fill up the bottomless pit that is a teenage boy!

Whether you’re using your hard boiled eggs as snacks, in salads, for breakfast, or to make deviled eggs or egg salad, here’s the easiest way to cook up a batch of hard boiled eggs. I’ve been making mine this way for years, and they come out with perfectly cooked yolks every time.

How to make perfect hard boiled eggs

So: How do we make hard boiled eggs that peel easily, and have a perfectly-cooked yolk? Here’s the method I’ve been using for years.

Place your eggs in the bottom of a medium saucepan. Don’t overcrowd them.

Add enough water to the pot to cover the eggs to a depth of about an inch. Don’t sweat it. If they’re all underwater with a bit of room on top, you’re good.

Turn the heat under the pot to high and bring it to a hard boil.

Once the water is boiling, turn the heat all the way off and put the lid on the pot. Leave the pot on the warm burner, and set a timer for ten minutes.

After ten minutes, drain the pot and immediately run the eggs under cold water until they are cooled.

You may, by the way remember this humble, yet mighty, old saucepan from such previous installments in this series as how to cook rice on the stove top. The point is: You don’t need fancy cookware or kitchen gadgets to cook well for your family. Sometimes we get caught up in wanting all the gadgets and all the shiny — but there’s something to be said for the basics that have worked for years.

Store your hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator until ready to peel and use. They’ll peel a little more easily once they’ve been refrigerated, but if you’re like Middle School Guy and can’t wait, go for it.

Note: This method works nicely on a gas stove, where the burners retain some heat even after you turn them off. If your burners do not, you may wish to turn the heat down to low after the water is boiling, cover the pot, and leave it on low for a couple of minutes before turning off the heat. Do you like your yolks a little more done? Just leave the eggs in the pot another minute or two. 🙂

Older eggs boil up better

Here are a couple of things to know about the dates on your eggs.

• Older eggs work better for hard boiling than fresh eggs.
• Eggs are good weeks past the date on the carton (I hard boiled mine the other day — yes, during the first week of May, even though the date on the carton is 4/30).

How do you tell if your eggs are still good? Drop them into cold water. If they sink, they’re fresh. If they float to the top, they’re not good. If they flip themselves around to point down, they should be used darn soon. Here’s a handy visual guide!

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How to make Hard Boiled Eggs (perfectly)

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Here’s just the easiest way to make a batch of hard boiled eggs. I’ve been doing mine this way for years, and they come out with perfectly cooked yolks every time!

Course Snack

Cuisine eggs

Keyword cooking basics, eggs, hard boiled eggs, how to, how to hard boil eggs, how to make hard boiled eggs

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 8 eggs

Author Rachel Singer

Equipment

saucepan

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs

Instructions

• Place your eggs in the bottom of a medium saucepan. Don’t overcrowd them.
• Add enough water to the pot to cover the eggs to a depth of about an inch. Don’t sweat it. If they’re all underwater with a bit of room on top, you’re good.
• Turn the heat under the pot to high and bring it to a hard boil.
• Once the water is boiling, turn the heat all the way off and put the lid on the pot. Leave the pot on the warm burner, and set a timer for ten minutes.
• After ten minutes, drain the pot and immediately run the eggs under cold water until they are cooled.
• Store your hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator until ready to peel and use. They’ll peel a little more easily once they’ve been refrigerated, but if you’re like Middle School Guy and can’t wait, go for it.

Notes

This method works nicely on a gas stove, where the burners retain some heat even after you turn them off. If your burners do not, you may wish to turn the heat down to low after the water is boiling, cover the pot, and leave it on low for a couple of minutes before turning off the heat. Do you like your yolks a little more done? Just leave the eggs in the pot another minute or two. 🙂