How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs (2024)

There are several ways to make hard-boiled eggs but I like the hot water bath method the best because it doesn’t require a lot of attention and it’s pretty forgiving if you can’t tend to the eggs right when your timer goes off. Here are the basic steps for hard-boiling eggs:

1. Add cold eggs to a pot and cover with water: Place cold, large eggs straight from the refrigerator into a saucepot in a single layer. Add enough water to cover the eggs by one inch.
2. Bring to a boil: Place a lid on the pot and bring the water up to a boil over high heat.
3. Turn off the heat: When the water reaches a full rolling boil, turn off the heat and leave the pot on the burner (lid still on). Let the eggs sit in the hot water for about 12 minutes. The water will slowly cool as they sit, which helps give you some flexibility before the eggs overcook (green-tinged yolk=over cooked egg).
4. Cool the eggs: After 12 minutes, transfer the hard-boiled eggs to a bowl of ice water for about 5 minutes.
5. Peel and enjoy!

There’s nothing more frustrating than a hard-boiled egg that is difficult to peel, so here are some tricks that may help make your hard-boiled eggs easier to peel:

• Old eggs peel easier than fresh eggs
• Add cold eggs to boiling water instead of bringing them to a boil together (this is the method used in our steaming method listed above)
• Tap the egg on a solid surface, then gently roll to crack the shell on all sides before peeling rather than just crushing one part of the shell
• Peel eggs under running water (the water flow helps separate the white from the peel)
• After removing part of the shell, slide a spoon between the shell and the egg white to separate them
• Place the eggs in a covered container and gently shake to crack the shells until they fall off
• Add baking soda to the water (about ½ tsp per pot)

Have you had success with any of these methods? Share which one works best for you in the comments below.

Have you ever peeled a hard-boiled egg only to find that the yolk has turned green? Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean the egg is rotten! Egg yolks turn green when overcooked due to a chemical reaction that occurs between the sulfur in the egg white and the iron in the egg yolk.

To prevent green yolks, make sure to not boil the egg longer than needed and transfer the eggs to an ice bath directly after cooking to prevent carryover cooking.