Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs (+ Video)

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These Instant Pot hard boiled eggs turn out great every time! They only cook for 6 minutes, so you’ll have perfectly cooked eggs for your egg salad or an easy snack for the whole week.

An egg carton is loaded with speckled, brown, fresh, farm eggs.

Have you ever thought something should be simple – like cooking hard boiled eggs, or grocery shopping – only to find out that when you actually do it yourself, it’s a lot harder than it looks?

It seems like everyone has a trick to make “perfect hard boiled eggs,” and lately, I’ve heard of quite a few using the Instant Pot!

Is all the jazz about Instant Pot hard boiled eggs legit? Or is it all hype and I’m better off using the stove top? I tested different methods for making Instant Pot boiled eggs, and here’s what I found out.

Spoiler: Instant Pot hard boil eggs are really easy and turn out perfectly every time!

INGREDIENTS AND TOOLS TO COOK HARD BOILED EGGS IN THE INSTANT POT

Image containing recipe ingredients eggs and water.

Most Instant Pots or an electric pressure cooker have trivets, like the one shown below, but if you happen to not have one, this works great!

You can use farm fresh eggs. I tested medium, large, and extra large eggs from a friend who has backyard chickens, and they all came out perfectly every time. If you’re not sure how your eggs will turn out, I suggest cooking just one as a test batch.

HOW TO MAKE HARD BOILED EGGS IN INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS

Here’s exactly what I did to make perfectly cooked Instant Pot hard boiled eggs.

Step 1. Pour one cup of water into the Instant Pot.

Step 2. Place eggs in a single layer on the trivet or rack and seal the lid.

Brown eggs sit atop a trivet inside the Instant Pot.

Step 3. Manual cook on “high” for 6 minutes.

Step 4. Turn the valve to “release” to quick pressure release. (Don’t use the natural release as that will make the eggs cook too long.)

Step 5. Using tongs, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water bath. This is simply a big bowl of cold water with ice cubes. I used just one cube per egg and that was fine.

Three boiled eggs sit in a glass bowl, encased in water and ice cubes.

Step 6. Let the eggs sit for as long as you like, or at least until the ice melts (about 5 minutes or so).

Step 7. Peel and serve or store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days for peeled eggs, or 7 days for unpeeled eggs.

EGG HARD-BOILED TIPS

For easy peel hard boiled eggs, let the eggs cool completely. This will make them much easier to peel.
You can peel the egg in water – whether in an ice bath or under running water – and that helps a little bit too, but not enough to include it in my own Instant Pot hard boiled egg method.
A couple of these Instant Pot hard boiled eggs sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper make a delicious protein-filled snack.

Psst! Want to kick this up a notch? Try topping your eggs with a pinch of finishing salt! I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because it doesn’t have microplastics (gross, right?) and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a bag for FREE!! Just add a pinch and enjoy! (Get your 8 oz bag of salt on this page. – Just pay shipping)

Hand holding an egg with half its peel removed.

HOW TO MAKE SOFT BOILED EGGS IN THE INSTANT POT

While testing all the various cook times, I found that you can make a pretty good Instant Pot soft boiled egg if you follow the same method in the recipe but cook for just FOUR minutes instead of six.

In fact, here’s what I found when I experimented with different cook times:

3 minutes on high pressure: Just barely cooked yolk and fully cooked white. This would be good if you wanted a runny yolk boiled egg for yourself. I don’t recommend this if you’re feeding a crowd because two of the three eggs I boiled cracked in half while trying to peel.
4 minutes on high pressure: Perfect soft boiled egg. These looked really good and were easy to peel. I’d definitely use this method for serving guests.
5 minutes on high pressure: Slightly underdone hard boiled egg. This is not a bad option if you like your egg yolks to be slightly soft, but this wouldn’t work for deviled eggs or any other recipe that calls for hard boiled eggs.
6 minutes on high pressure: Perfectly cooked hard boiled egg! Firm white, just done yolks, with no green on the outer edge of the yolk.
7 minutes on high pressure: Slightly overdone hard boiled egg. Slightly green on the outer edge of the yolk, and I wouldn’t recommend this unless you personally prefer your yolks to be very firm.

Boiled eggs, ranging from runny, soft-boiled eggs, to fully hard-boiled eggs, are displayed on a white tray.

SERVE WITH INSTANT POT BOILED EGGS RECIPE

A classic egg salad with homemade mayo is my go-to, but these recipes pair perfectly with your Instant pot boiled eggs:

Make sure you’re saving your eggshells to use as free fertilizer if you have a garden.

HARD BOILED EGGS INSTANT POT FAQS

How long does it take to boil eggs in an Instant Pot?

It takes only 6 minutes to boil eggs in an Instant Pot.

How many eggs can you hard boil in an Instant Pot?

I have this 8 quart Instant Pot and I can easily fit a dozen large eggs in a single layer on my trivet. However, if you have a 6-quart Instant Pot, I’ve heard you can use a steamer basket (this is the one I have) and pile it high with eggs and they’ll all come out cooked perfectly.

Can eggs touch in an Instant Pot?

It’s perfectly okay to have your eggs stacked on the trivet. The eggs shouldn’t be touching the walls of the Instant Pot.

How do you keep eggs from exploding in the Instant Pot?

If your eggs are cracking, they may be cooking for too long. Try 6 minutes for perfect Instant Pot eggs. Then use the quick pressure release NOT the natural pressure release.

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WATCH HOW TO MAKE PERFECT INSTANT POT HARD BOILED EGGS