Knowing how to make a perfect hard-boiled egg is basically a must for every human being. Whether you’re making deviled eggs, Easter eggs, or just want to make perfect hard-boiled eggs to have around as a quick, healthy, protein-packed snack, we’ve got you! You need a shell that peels off easily, and a perfect yolk — not overly jammy (though there is a time and a place for six minute eggs!) and not all gray and powdery. After many, many eggs, we’ve perfected the technique! Get yourself some eggs, some ice, a slotted spoon and a kitchen timer (or your phone), and let’s make perfect hard-boiled eggs.
How To Make Hard-Boiled Eggs
Lay a folded kitchen towel on the bottom of a large pot, and fill the pot with cold water. Why the towel, you ask? It will help keep the eggs from cracking as they boil.
Bring the water to a rolling boil.
Lower your eggs into the pot all at once. A slotted spoon is really handy for this. Make sure that the water covers the eggs by at least 1 inch. If you need to add a little, add very hot water now.
Set a timer for 13 minutes.
Make an ice bath. AKA a big bowl of ice water. This ice bath will stop the eggs from cooking when you remove them from the water.
When the timer goes off, kill the heat!
Immediately move the hard-cooked eggs — the slotted spoon strikes again! — to the ice bath.
Give the eggs at least five minutes in the ice bath before you try to peel them—letting them cool may help make it easier to peel them, but it’s also so you don’t burn your hands.
Tips + Tricks For Peeling Hard-Boiled Eggs
If you’re having trouble peeling your hard-boiled eggs, well, welcome to hard-boiled eggs. Older eggs are often a bit easier to peel, so if you’re working with super farm-fresh eggs, that might be the reason you’re finding them hard to peel. There are a few tricks to make it a little easier to peel them:
Gently roll the cooked and cooled hard-boiled egg on a cutting board or countertop with the palm of your hand, to make cracks all over the shell.
Then, use the side of your thumb to gently push the cracked shell away from the egg.
When you’ve got a really stubborn hard-boiled egg, use the running water trick. Hard-boiled eggs are easier to peel under a steady stream of running cold water! It’s a little painful to think about the water bill, but if the shell is being really difficult, turn on the faucet and peel fast!
What To Do With Hard-Boiled Eggs
Make Deviled Eggs! This might just be our very favorite use for hard-boiled eggs.
Use them to make a Classic Cobb Salad, or Spring Cobb Salad.
You’ll need perfect hard-boiled eggs to make a Niçoise Salad, too!
They’re pretty make-or-break for our beloved Shrimp Louie, too!
Chop them up to make the Best Egg Salad Sandwich ever.
Everyone knows that the best potato salads have egg in them—we will not argue about this one, it’s just a fact as far as we’re concerned, OK?—so why not make Potato Salad!
How To Store Hard-Boiled Eggs
A batch of hard-boiled eggs will keep in the fridge for up to one week! Store them, peeled or unpeeled, in a sealed container. In other words, they’re basically the world's easiest, healthiest make-ahead snack and perfect for doing as part of your weekend meal-prep.
More Simple Ways To Cook Eggs
Eggs-cellent Job!
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