Best way How To Hard Boil Eggs perfectly

So you want to know how to hard boil eggs and how long to boil eggs? Look at the next paragraph below for fast information. This page will explain in detail how to boil eggs the way they should be boiled. It also explains how to cook farm-fresh eggs so that when you peel them a lot of the egg white won’t stick to the peels. In other words, boiling eggs the right way.

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Perfectly Hard Boiled Eggs

Look at the steps below to start boiling your eggs. If you want perfect hard boiled eggs (this is for the perfectionists :-)) the secret is to roll the eggs 5 minutes by hand in any direction on a work surface before they are cooked so that the white and the yolk are not up against the membrane inside the shell and won’t stick during the cooking process. After rolling, put a pot of water on the fire along with a pinch of salt and vinegar. The vinegar keeps the egg’s contents from leaking out if the egg when it happens to crack while boiling it. Then
boiling eggs in a pan
follow the following steps:

  1. Find a pan big enough to support the amount of eggs you want to boil
  2. Carefully place the eggs inside the pan without cracking them
  3. Pour cold water inside the pan so that the surface of all eggs are covered with water. Preferably add 1 inch of water on top
  4. Add a little salt to the water
  5. Bring the water to a boil on high heat
  6. When the water boils, turn off the heat but leave the pan on the stove and leave the eggs inside the water
  7. Remove the eggs from the pan after:
    - 10 minutes for Small eggs
    - 12 minutes for Medium eggs
    - 15 minutes for Large eggs
  8. Drain and cool the eggs under cold running water
  9. Serve and peel them immediately for the best results and least amount of peeling problems
  10. To make it easier to peel them, add a little pressure to the eggs and roll them on the table until the shell is full of little cracks. This loosens it up and makes the shell easier to peel off and less of the egg white should stick to the peels.
  11. You’re done. Enjoy your eggs!


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Cooking Eggs in the Microwave

Unshelled eggs cannot be cooked in the microwave because they will explode due to the pressure within the eggs. This means that the only way you can cook eggs this way is to crack them into a microwave safe cooking dish. Here is how to microwave eggs: Crack the eggs and put them into a glass or bowl and gently prick the yolks. Cover the eggs and cook them on the lowest setting for about 1 ½ minutes, and then let stand for. Serve with slices of toast.

Eggs with ham-cheese sauce

Cut a thick slice of ham into small cubes and get some meltable cheese such as Emmentaler. Place these into a bowl and make a sauce with a little white wine, cream and milk. Let this cook for 3 minutes at 600 watts or less. Stir in some cornstarch to thicken it and season it with salt, pepper and chives. Let it cook for another 2 minutes at 600 watts. Then, break the eggs into a cup and pierce the yolks gently. Let this cook about 1 ¼ minutes. Put the eggs onto a plate and pour the sauce over them. Serve with boiled potatoes and a fresh salad for a nice lunch or light dinner. You can also get good scrambled eggs or omelets by cooking them in the microwave.
cracked egg

Boil Eggs without Cracking the Shells

Simply put: you boil eggs in boiling water. But even this simple procedure can be discussed infinitely. There are two battle points. What do you do to prevent the eggshell from cracking and how long do you cook an egg. The most accepted method is to submerge the eggs completely in cold water, place the pan onto the stove and once the water starts to boil, set the timer for the length of time needed to cook the eggs to the desired consistency. For instance, if you want a soft-boiled egg, cook it for about three and a half minutes, and cook a slightly harder egg for about five minutes. If you prefer your egg yolk to be hard and have a slight green color, then cook it for 10 minutes.

General Rules For Boiling Eggs

Do you pierce a hole in the egg before you boil them?

You do not have to do this, only if you prefer it. So you can choose if you want to do it or not by yourself. If you do it, there are special egg sticks that you can buy that are especially made to make a small hole in the egg shell before you start cooking. This releases the air that is inside the egg. If this is not done, then sometimes during the cooking of the egg that air is heated and expands, thus cracking the egg open during cooking and causing it to leak out into the boiling water.
cold or hot water

Cold or hot water?

Do you put the eggs in the pan first, fill the pan with cold water and then bring the water to a boil or do you bring the water to a boil first and then add the eggs? If you put the eggs into cold water first and then slowly heat them, then the egg whites cook more slowly. This ensures that your egg whites remain soft and not rubbery, as can happen if you cook it too long. An advantage of adding boiling water to the eggs is that it is easier to control the precise amount of cooking time for getting the eggs to the desired doneness. Cooking the eggs with cold water seems to be the best option. Make sure the eggs are completely submerged under the water with a few inches of water above them.

Should you put salt into the water?

To prevent your eggs from falling apart when you crack them, you should add some salt to the water. Salt ensures that the egg white rapidly coagulates and doesn’t crack during cooking.


Bring the water containing the eggs to under a low fire so that the water just stays bubbling.
timing the boiling of your eggs

How long should eggs be cooked?

The following table applies to eggs taken cold from the fridge. In order to determine the cooking time, it is also of importance to consider the size of the eggs. This is indicated on the packaging. The larger the egg, the longer amount of time it will take get cooked to the consistency you desire. Remember to not boil the eggs but leave the eggs inside an unheated pan after you’ve brought the pan to a boil.(see the above list for more info). Here’s the amount of time to leave the eggs inside an unheated pan per egg size:
- 10 minutes for Small eggs
- 12 minutes for Medium eggs
- 15 minutes for Large eggs

What happens if you cook it too long?

The egg white will be tough and rubbery and the yolk gets a greenish or grayish haze.

Alternative method

Put eggs into a pan of cold water and bring the eggs to a boil. Cover the pan with a lid and remove the pan from the heat. Let the pan stand for 25 minutes. Rinse the eggs under cold water.

Can you easily peel an egg?

The easier an egg is to peel, the older it is, as the shell of a fresh egg is harder to remove.

Should eggs be rinsed under cold running water?

If you run eggs under cold water after the have been cooked the desired length of time, it stops the cooking process. In addition, eggs will be easier to peel

  • Jessica Lays

    Thanks for these tips! I tried it out myself yesterday and out of all the pages I found on the net this is one of the most detailed pages I found explaining how to get hard boiled eggs in a perfect way. They were delicious. 1 good extra tip is to add some salt to the water when boiling!

  • GirlCook

    Does anyone know how to soft boil eggs the perfect way like hard boiling eggs are explained here? You need less time I think (obviously) as when you hard boil eggs which I already did.

    • mariany

      Hi! It’s almost the same as to hard boil an egg as explained on this page but instead of about 10 minutes of cooking you only need to cook the eggs for about 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how soft you want your egg to be!!

    • slaterade

      You just need to lower the time you cook the eggs as when you hard boil the eggs. I wouldn’t advise to REALLY soft boil them though, when you don’t boil them long enough you’ll end up with watery egg yellow which can be quite nasty when you don’t boil them the right way!

  • cristaalbana1

    this hard boiled eggs list really worked for me1! i served it last night to my parents when they came over for a brunch and they said it were the best hard boiled eggs they’ve eaten ever!! (i hope they weren’t just saying that though ;-0)

    • ugandanese34

      You sure it wasn’t just your parents being nice?? I mean regardless of how good your eggs were boiled and prepared; they’re still just eggs you know. But I could be wronG!!

      • cristaalbana1

        Well my father is a really big egg fan, that’s why I searched for more information about hard boiling eggs in the first place. He takes it very seriously so I think the compliment of him liking my eggs this much really says something. Anyway, you’re right though, it’s still just eggs :)

  • jennyfromtheblock

    My niece recommended this page to me saying it was the best guide she found for hard boiled eggs cooking. I agree, it worked like a charm! So thanks from me and my niece :)


    I found that the easiest way to to peel an egg is to lightly hit it on the table so the shell breaks. After breaking the shell you can easily pull the shell from the egg white. Just remember to find a way to break the shell without damaging the egg! And remove all egg shell pieces from the egg white before eating them, otherwise people will have a bad taste in their mouths which is not what we want, is it!!

  • netsta

    this was of great help to me! thanks for such a great guide/list, it’s the best i found so far on the net.

  • shanemakeitrain

    Hard boiled eggs is my favorite food in the morning when taking breakfast. I usually boil them even a little longer as is advised in the 10-step guide on this page so that they really are “hard boiled eggs”. You got to watch out though because when you boil them too long their taste rapidly decreases.

    • usadabest

      Really? It’s your favorite food??? It’s one of the worst, nastiest foods for me but I need to know how to make them because my boyfriend loves eggs.. He uses them for the protein after he works out and stuff. But for me they are YUK!!

      • Maya

        Why can’t your boyfriend just cook his own eggs?

  • DAN

    Thanks for this guide!! The 10 steps were perfect, I got my hard boiled eggs just the way I wanted them.

  • Angrry Birrd

    well I can surely tell you how not to boil eggs

  • sher

    Can you boil your eggs, peel them, but not make them deviled eggs until the next day? I guess I am asking can boiled eggs be kept over night and still be good?

    • EggTutor

      You can keep boiled eggs but they should always be kept in a refrigerator. If you don’t, they can get bad within a few hours.

      Some important notes:
      - Hard-cooked eggs can be refrigerated 1 week max.
      - Peeled hard-cooked eggs can be saved for 1 week in water (refresh the water daily) in a refrigerator.
      - Never peel the eggs beforehand unless you’re going to use them for your deviled eggs.

    • EggTutor


      Some important notes:
      - Hard-cooked eggs can be refrigerated 1 week max.