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Six-Minute Eggs

October 14, 2024

Behold the soft-boiled egg. Packed with protein, easy to prepare, and with a sunshiny center that brightens any breakfast, these six-minute eggs are utter breakfast perfection.

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speckled plate topped with six minute eggs cut in half sprinkled with salt and freshly ground pepper

All It’s Cracked Up to Be

Back before we had kids, brunching with friends was a frequent affair. Little did we know that spending half the morning waiting for a table at the latest brunch spot would feel like a luxury later in life. In a moment of yearning for brunch times past—and for the soft-centered, gravy-like deliciousness of a restaurant-quality soft-boiled egg—we decided to figure out how to make the perfect soft-boiled egg at home. It turns out, making soft-boiled eggs (aka six-minute eggs) isn’t complicated at all. And, it’s certainly easier than trying to entertain kids while waiting your turn in the brunch line. If jammy yolks aren’t for you, try our hard-boiled eggs.

six brown eggs in a white porcelain egg holder
sauce pan of boiling water with tongs pushing down a tea towel to line the bottom
sauce pan of boil water lined with a tea towel holding six brown eggs
six brown eggs in a large glass bowl of ice water

How to Soft Boil an Egg

Want to know how to make soft-boiled eggs? First step: leave intimidation at the door! If you know how to boil water, we can teach you how to cook soft-boiled eggs. It’s just that easy.

  • Gently lower six eggs into a pot of boiling water—use your slotted spoon for this! It’s not worth burning your fingers, or accidentally cracking an egg.
  • Set your timer for six minutes — aka, the perfect soft-boiled egg time. That’s all the soft-boiled egg cooking time you need.
  • Give eggs a quick ice bath to stop their cooking—you want the yolks to stay jammy.
  • Get cracking. See our tips below on how to crack into your soft-boiled egg without eating bites of shell.

How Long to Cook Soft Boiled Eggs

How long to soft-boil an egg? The perfect soft-boiled egg time is a quick and easy six minutes (hence, why they’re also called six-minute eggs). Basically, the amount of time it takes a press pot of coffee to steep is how long to cook soft-boiled eggs.

speckled plate topped with six minute eggs cut in half sprinkled with salt and freshly ground pepper

How to Eat a Soft Boiled Egg

Tap, tap, tappy—using a teaspoon (or egg spoon, if you’re fancy like that), tap firmly around the top of the soft boiled egg with enough force to crack the shell. Use the spoon tip to get under the shell and slice through the top of the egg, removing the top as you go, and unveiling the yolk gravy underneath. There are other more complicated methods for cracking a soft-boiled egg, but this is the one that works for us every time without leaving errant bits of shell in our yolk.

Tools to Make Our Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg

  • Large pot. You want it large enough to hold six eggs and enough boiling water to cover them.
  • Dish towel. This gets folded and fully submerged in the pot, so perhaps best to not use a family heirloom.
  • Slotted spoon. We’ve all got a favorite!
  • Medium bowl. For the ice bath. Large enough to hold 6 soft-boiled eggs and loads of ice.
  • Egg cup. While not necessary, they’re totally fun. And if you plan on making a lot of these 6-minute eggs (which you totally should), they’re good to have on hand.

What to Serve with Our Soft-Boiled Egg Recipe

Want to really take your six minute egg game up a notch? Serve your perfect soft boiled egg alongside avocado toast and some extra crispy bacon for an Insta-worthy breakfast you’ll want to eat every day of the week.

Feeling Brunchy?

Check out this other mid-morning meals we love:

Breakfast Perfection?

How did it turn out? Snap a photo of your soft-boiled, 6-minute egg and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

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Six-Minute Eggs

  • Serves:  6
  • Prep Time:  5 min
  • Cook Time:  6 min
  • Calories:  72

Ingredients

  • 6 large eggs

Method

  1. Place a folded kitchen towel in the bottom of a large pot. Fill the pot two thirds of the way with water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Once your water starts to boil, use a slotted spoon to lower the eggs, one at a time, into the water. Cook the eggs for 6 minutes 30 seconds.

  2. While the eggs are boiling, fill a medium bowl with ice water.

  3. As soon as the timer goes off, using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to the ice bath. Let sit for 5 minutes to stop the cooking. Drain.

  4. Carefully tap around the rounded bottom end of the egg to crack it open. Peel and use the eggs as desired. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories 72
  • Protein 6 g
  • Carbohydrates 0 g
  • Total Fat 5 g
  • Dietary Fiber 0 g
  • Cholesterol 186 mg
  • sodium 71 mg
  • Total Sugars 0 g

Six-Minute Eggs

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • kat

    For the six minute egg, the recipe does not indicate whether the pot should be covered or not, while the eggs are inside boiling…..

    Uncovered. Hope you enjoy Kat!

  • Platt

    Can jammy eggs be enjoyed cold in an asparagus salad?

    You bet!! I love mine cold!

  • Jenn

    Wow, these were so good. The partially runny yoke is what dreams are made of.

    Thank you! We agree, we are all about the yolk life!