Instant Pot Boiled Eggs (original) (raw)

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A perfectly cooked (and peeled!) soft- or hard-boiled egg is a work of simple beauty that can be difficult to get right. Instant Pot Boiled Eggs make it easy! The peels fall right off, and you can cook the yolk exactly how you like it.

a plate with instant pot boiled eggs: 5-5-5 hard boiled, jammy eggs, and instant pot 2 minute eggs

Why You’ll Love This Easy Boiled Eggs Recipe

Simple Way to Make Boiled Eggs. Cooking eggs in the Instant Pot is uncomplicated and requires less attention than stove top methods. With pressure cooker boiled eggs, it doesn’t matter if the eggs are fresh or old—the peels come off easily every time and they have bright yellow yolks (and NO gray/green).
Ideal for Meal Prep. Whether you choose to make a few boiled eggs or a dozen, you’ll love having them on hand throughout the week. They’re delicious added to pasta, salad, sandwiches, and more (like Miso Ramen)!
YOU Choose How Your Eggs Turn Out. Prefer a less runny yolk? This recipe can make perfect hard-boiled eggs. Love a runny yolk? You can do that too! Whether you want jammy soft-boiled eggs for a Niçoise Salad, firm yolks to make hard-boiled eggs for a healthy snack, or an extra runny egg to dip with toast, you can make boiled eggs in the pressure cooker.

Soft boiled and hard boiled eggs on a plate with seasonings

How to Make Instant Pot Boiled Eggs

Below, you’ll find my tried-and-true method to cook boiled eggs in the Instant Pot (or similar pressure-cooker or multi-cooker) three ways:

Hard-boiled
Soft-boiled with jammy yolks (think of these as Instant Pot medium boiled eggs)
Soft-boiled with extra runny yolks (Instant Pot 2-minute eggs).

The Directions

A pressure cooker with food inside

Add Water to an Instant Pot. Place eggs and the trivet inside.
Prepare an Ice Bath. Make sure it’s large enough for all the eggs.
Cook Soft Boiled Eggs. Cook on HIGH for 3 minutes for jammy yolks and cook for 2 minutes for runny yolks. Perform a quick pressure release. OR…
Cook Hard Boiled Eggs. Cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. Perform a natural pressure release, then vent to release any remaining pressure.

Four eggs in a bowl of ice water

Add the Eggs to a Bowl of Ice Water. Peel them. ENJOY!

Meal Prep Tip

Prepare a batch of Instant Pot boiled eggs at the beginning of the week, leave the peels on, and use them for easy meal prep all week long. No Instant Pot? No problem! Use my Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs recipe.

Seasoned Instant Pot hard boiled eggs

How to Use Instant Pot Boiled Eggs

Salad. Add the boiled eggs to any salad, or use them in a recipe that calls for them like Avocado Egg Salad, Healthy Egg Salad, 7 Layer Salad, Harvest Salad, or Healthy Potato Salad.
Sandwich. Add eggs to a Turkey Salad Sandwich.
Pizza. Jammy, soft boiled eggs make a scrumptious topping for pizzas (like Carbonara Pizza) and flatbreads.
Pasta. These eggs would be delicious in a carbonara pasta or Shrimp Pasta Salad.
Toast. Swap the egg in this Easy Kale Feta Egg Toast for a soft boiled egg, or keep things simple with a slice of Magic Multigrain Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread or English Muffin Bread and a runny, soft boiled egg.
Deviled Eggs. For a fun and delightful twist on the classic appetizer, try my Curried Deviled Eggs or Avocado Deviled Eggs.

Instant pot eggs served on a plate

Recipe Tips and Tricks

Use Room Temperature Eggs. It’s important that you start with room temperature eggs, as they’re less likely to crack during cooking—ESPECIALLY for soft-boiled eggs. If they are room temperature, the whites may still be undercooked when the yolks finish. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.
Start Small. Every pressure cooker is different, and yours may run hotter or cooler than mine. I recommend starting with just one egg to see if the Instant Pot boiled eggs time I suggest works well for your specific model.
Keep the Peel for Longer Storage. If you’re planning to enjoy some of your eggs later in the week, go ahead and leave the peels on for now. Peeled eggs need to be consumed faster than unpeeled eggs.
No Trivet? No problem! You can make soft boiled or hard boiled eggs in a pressure cooker without a basket or trivet. The trivet helps to keep the eggs nicely arranged so they don’t collide during cooking and risk cracking, but the eggs should cook just fine without it.
About That Egg Button. I have not tested this recipe using the egg button on an Instant Pot, so I can’t offer any advice. I recommend following the instructions listed in this recipe, as I have tested them and know the eggs turn out perfectly.

a visual guide for how to cook instant pot boiled eggs and instant pot boiled eggs time for a pressure cooker

How to make hard or soft Instant Pot Boiled Eggs. Easy to peel and yolks are cooked to your liking! 5-5-5 method, 3-minute and 2-minute eggs.

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1 to 12 large eggs at room temperature*
1 cup water increase to 1 1/2 cups if using an 8-quart Instant Pot**

Place the trivet that came with the Instant Pot inside of it, ensuring that it is positioned so that the rack where the eggs will be sitting isn't touching the bottom of the pot. (If you do not have a trivet, see the FAQs section above for suggestions.) Pour the water into the bottom of your Instant Pot: use 1 cup for a 6-quart Instant Pot or 1 1/2 cups for an 8-quart (see notes if using a 3-quart mini Instant Pot). Add the eggs in a single layer on top. You can cook between 1 and 12 eggs in a 6-quart.
Prepare an ice bath large enough to hold the eggs you are cooking comfortably. Cover and seal the Instant Pot

FOR SOFT BOILED EGGS:

Set to manual pressure and cook on HIGH for 3 minutes for soft, jammy yolks (reduce to 2 minutes if you'd like your yolks extra runny. Be sure your eggs are room temperature. If cooking for two minutes, note that they may fall apart a little when peeling because the inside will be so tender.) The pressure will take about 5 minutes to build, then the time will start. As soon as the time has elapsed, vent to release any remaining pressure.
Use tongs to lift the eggs into the ice bath and let sit 5 minutes.
To peel, roll gently on the counter to crack. Peel and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or leave the peels on and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

FOR HARD BOILED EGGS:

Set to manual pressure and cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. The pressure will take about 5 minutes to build, then the time will start. As soon as the time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then vent to release any remaining pressure.
Use tongs to lift the eggs into the ice bath and let sit 5 minutes. To peel, roll gently on the counter to crack. Peel and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or leave the peels on and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Every pressure cooker is different! If this is your first time using your Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker for hard boiled eggs, I suggest starting with 1 egg so you can test things out.
ALTITUDE NOTE: If you are making these eggs at a higher altitude, they will need to cook longer. The exact time will vary based on your particular elevation and your pressure cooker model, so it may take some trial and error. The general guideline for high altitude Instant Pot cooking is to add 5% to the cook time for every 1,000 ft. you live above a 2,000 ft. elevation. You can experiment with letting the eggs naturally release for longer or increasing the cook time.
*While you can cook eggs directly from the fridge, cold eggs are more likely to crack during cooking and may need an additional minute of cook time for the whites to fully cook through, especially if you are making soft boiled eggs. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes, then drain. If you are using extra large eggs, increase the cook times in this recipe by 1 minute.
**Be sure to use an actual measuring cup to measure the liquid, not the markings on the inside of the Instant Pot. If using a 3-quart Instant Pot, the cooking method will be different—resources I found online suggested 1 cup of water and 5 minutes of cook time on LOW pressure, followed by an immediate release. If you try this with a 3-quart Instant Pot, I’d love to hear how it goes!
TO STORE: Refrigerate unpeeled eggs in an airtight storage container for up to 7 days. Refrigerate peeled eggs in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days.

Serving: 1eggCalories: 63kcalCarbohydrates: 0.3gProtein: 6gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 164mgPotassium: 61mgSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 238IUCalcium: 32mgIron: 1mg