Easter is right around the corner. So today let’s see how to make the most perfect, soft-boiled and hard-boiled eggs, and this method is pretty fool-proof.
Most online tutorials will have you placing eggs in a pot of cold water and bringing that to a boil for hard-boiled eggs, yet for soft-boiled eggs you place those in a pot of hot water, and that can get pretty confusing and make it difficult if you wanna cook soft-boiled and hard-boiled eggs at the same time.
Our next method not only super easy, but it also prevents you from accidentally over-cooking your eggs, and ending up with that green tinge around the yolk.
You’ll end up with perfect eggs, every single time. So, let’s start.
The main reason don’t cook hard-boiled eggs starting from cold water is this right here.
Pots made from aluminum, stainless steel, and cast-iron can vary quite a bit in how quickly they come to a boil and retain their heat.
Those discrepancies can greatly affect how your eggs turn out, especially when it comes to soft-boiled eggs or accidentally over-cooking hard-boiled eggs.
So for the most consistent eggs
Instuctions
How to Boil Eggs Perfectly
- Boil water
Fill your pot with enough water that it’ll cover the eggs by about an inch, then bring it to a boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, remove eggs from the fridge, which gives them just a couple of minutes to warm up. - Prepare icy water
Next, you wanna prepare an icy, cold, water bath for your eggs, as this is what will immediately stop them from cooking and retain the texture that you’re aiming for.
- Add eggs to boiling water
Now that our water is boiling, we can add our eggs.
Turn the heat to low while you add the eggs, as this will stop them from bouncing around and cracking.
But once you’ve placed them all in, you can turn the heat back up.
You can use stainless steel skimmer, as it makes adding and removing the eggs from the pot super easy.
As soon as the eggs have been added to the water we start a timer. - Remove eggs
If you want see a variety of eggs, remove them at six, eight, 10, 12 and 14 minutes, which spans a pretty wide variety of soft-boiled and hard-boiled eggs.
- Put to cool water
After they’ve had a minute to cool down in the ice water bath.
Let’s slice open these eggs
Many people say that you should use at least
When it comes to peeling the egg and removing the shell, it’s easiest to start at the thick end of the egg.
There’s usually a bit of an air bubble on that end, and it’s easier to get under the membrane that separates the shell from the egg. Running the egg under cold water while you’re peeling helps as well.

Alright, let’s slice open these eggs, and see how they turned out. This first egg is our
For our eight minute egg, the yolk will still be soft, but it’s not liquid or jammy anymore.
10 minute egg is the softest of what we consider hard-boiled and there’s just a smidge of softness left in the yolk.
Our 12 minute egg is a bit firmer, with a lighter yolk, and this is the time we cook most frequently, when I make hard-boiled eggs.
Lastly, our 14 minute egg is your traditional, hard-boiled egg, with the lightest yolk and a firm white, but it’s not overcooked and there’s no green tinge around the yolk.
By starting all of the eggs at the same time in boiling water, you can easily cook an assortment for the entire family, including six, eight, 10, 12, and 14 minute eggs.
Six minute eggs if for serving up soft-boiled eggs in an egg cup.
Six and a half minute eggs are soft but slightly jammy you can put to top on toast and salads.
For hard-boiled eggs you can use 12 minute eggs in potato salad recipe or for deviled eggs.