I Tested 5 Hard Boiled Egg Methods, and This One Was Hands-Down the Best

I love having hard boiled eggs on hand for quick snacks or turning into egg salad for lunches. They’re great for topping toast or hearty dinner salads too. While I have a cooking method I’ve been using regularly for a few years, recently a friend mentioned slow cooking a big batch to keep her stovetop free while meal prepping. I was intrigued. 

Realizing I’d never considered other methods for hard boiling eggs, I decided to try out more popular methods to see if I’d been missing out on the best technique all my life. 

How I Tested These 5 Hard Boiled Egg Methods

I focused on hard cooking methods that included water. Baking eggs is a popular way to hard cook big batches of eggs, but it didn’t fit what I’m looking for in a hard boiled egg technique. My goal is a fail-proof hard boiled egg that’s flexible to different doneness, if needed, and doesn’t require a long time in the kitchen.

I shopped for eggs with the same best-by date and kept them cold until cooked. I cooked six eggs with each of the methods. For the three stovetop methods, I used the same 4-quart saucepan for cooking to keep things consistent.

After cooking, each batch went straight into an ice bath for five minutes. Each batch was then chilled in the fridge for an hour before I peeled and photographed the results.

Method 1: Slow Cook

I was really excited to try this method mostly because of how novel the idea felt. A friend raved that she loved this method for big-batching eggs. The recipe I followed called for covering the eggs with water by at least an inch, covering the slow cooker, and setting it to high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. You begin checking the eggs after 2 1/2 hours. When done, remove them from the slow cooker to an ice bath for five minutes before chilling.

Results: I was pleasantly surprised to see my slow cooker simmering along when I went to check the eggs at the two hour mark, I was less excited about the finished eggs. They were discolored and overcooked despite me checking the eggs a full 30 minutes earlier than called for. I do think this could be a great method, especially for large batches of eggs but I simply don’t have the time or grocery budget to figure out the right cooking time for my slow cooker.

Rating: 2/5 

Method 2: Pressure Cook

Technically this method, whether you use a stovetop pressure cooker or a multicooker like an Instant Pot, is pressure steaming.

You fill the pressure cooker with a cup or two of water, add a steamer basket, and add the eggs. With the lid sealed, you set the pressure cooker for five minutes and let it come to pressure. After the pot comes to pressure (takes between five and eight minutes) and the cook time is up, you let the pressure cooker sit for five more minutes before releasing the pressure. Finally, move the cooked eggs to an ice bath for at least five minutes.

Results: Pressure cooked eggs are extremely easy to peel and these came out perfectly hard cooked—no grey ring, no rubbery egg white. It was also the fastest method of the five I tried. This method does require special equipment (I borrowed the Instant Pot from a friend), and soft boiled or jammy eggs require some finagling to get the timing right, making this a less flexible method.

Rating: 4/5

Method 3: Boil, Then Remove From the Heat

This method is wildly popular for chefs and home cooks as it promises to never over cook the eggs. You start by covering your eggs by at least an inch with cold water, more if you plan to cook more than a dozen eggs. The uncovered pan is set over high heat and brought to a boil.

As soon as the water boils, cover the pan and remove it from the heat. The eggs continue cooking in the hot water but with less agitation and gentler heat, they are less prone to overcooking. I let my test batch sit for 10 minutes. The eggs are plunged in an ice bath for five minutes after the timer goes off.

Method: I do dislike waiting around for a pot of water (and eggs) to boil, but the resulting eggs are both easy to peel and cooked through. This method seems to work really well for jammy or soft boiled eggs or if you tend to get distracted and need to leave the eggs for a bit in the pot on the stove.

Rating:  4/5 stars

Method 4: Boil 

This is the method I’ve used for the last few years now. It starts with bringing a few quarts of water to a boil and then you carefully add the eggs to the boiling water. How long you boil the eggs will impact the doneness of the white and the yolk.

I like nine minutes for a yolk that isn’t completely opaque but isn’t jammy or soft boiled. You can do more time for truly hard cooked eggs, or less time for a creamier or more runny yolk. Immediately after my timer goes off, I move the eggs to an ice bath for at least five minutes before peeling.

Results: This method takes less than 25 minutes depending on your doneness preference. It also doesn’t require any special equipment, though I really like a stainless steel spider for adding and removing the eggs from the boiling water and ice bath.The eggs are always perfectly cooked and easy to peel. 

Occasionally, I’ll accidentally crack an egg or two when I add them to the boiling water, which results in lots of bits of egg white in the pot or a weirdly shaped egg. Still, this method has worked for me at home, friends' houses, and vacation rental homes, regardless of the stove or pot available. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Method 5: Steam

Steaming is an incredibly gentle way to cook anything, and I worried this method would take longer because of it. You fill a pot with a cup or two of water, add a steamer basket, cover the pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, you add the eggs, cover and steam the eggs for 10 minutes. You can remove the finished eggs to an ice bath for five minutes and repeat the process as needed to cook more eggs.

Results: Steam cooking the hard boiled eggs made for the best eggs overall. The steamed eggs were as easy to peel as the pressure cooked eggs but had a wonderfully silky, but still firm texture. The smaller pot of water came to a boil very quickly and I liked that once going, I could steam a few batches in a row one after another. An inexpensive steamer basket is all you need for this method.

Rating: 5/5 

While it's likely that I’ll keep using the boiling method and timing that I’ve come to rely on, having another easy method on hand will be helpful too. I plan to use steaming at least a few times a year when I need larger batches of hard cooked eggs for holiday deviled eggs.