Get Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs every single time when you follow this easy recipe! You only need 15 minutes and a large pot to get the creamiest boiled eggs that are easy to peel and great for dying or making the best egg salad.
Calling all egg lovers! We have all the tips and tricks for you to get Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs every single time you make them!
I know you can buy preboiled eggs at the store and while they may be uber-convenient, let's face it, they don't taste anywhere as good as a freshly hard boiled egg that you make at home.
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Why you'll love this recipe
✔︎ No more losing half of the egg white when you try to peel hard boiled eggs. These peel easily every.single.time.
✔︎ NO green yolks! This method will give you bright yellow yolks, not overcooked green yolks.
✔︎ You can control the doneness of the yolk. Cook them just the way you like them.
Ingredients
You only need eggs to make this easy recipe. Just be sure to purchase them a week before you want to make them.
Ingredient Notes:
Eggs: Any size eggs work here but you do need to buy your eggs in advance. Eggs that are one week to 10 days old peel more easily than fresh eggs.
Instructions
You can get perfect hard boiled eggs in less than 30 minutes.
Gently set the eggs in a single layer in the bottom of a large pan and fully immerse them in water. Bring the water to a boil, let it boil for 1 minute and then cover it and remove from the heat. Let it sit for exactly 12 minutes.
Immerse the eggs in an ice water bath and let them sit for 5 minutes. Dry the eggs thoroughly before peeling or coloring.
FAQs
Eggs that have been hard boiled will keep in the refrigerator for 10 days. Be sure to use a container with a tight seal to keep the eggs fresh and prevent the smell from getting in the fridge.
If you prefer a softer yolk, set your timer for 7 minutes after the water has started to boil. Skip the ice bath and eat them warm.
I love to use gel food coloring to dye eggs. Here's how to do it:
Mix 2-3 drops of gel food coloring and 2 tablespoons of vinegar in 1 cup of warm water. Add more gel food coloring as needed to get water to desired color.
Stir until thoroughly combined.
Place eggs in the mixture and let sit until the desired color is reached.
Place on a drying rack to let the color set.
Once eggs are dry, wipe them with a little canola oil to make eggs shiny and bright.
Expert Tips for Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
✘ Buy your eggs ahead of time. Eggs that are 7-10 days old are best for hard boiling. If you use fresh eggs, you will probably lose some of the egg white when you peel them.
✘ Place your eggs in the pan and pour the cold water over the top of them rather than add the eggs to boiling water. Cold eggs going into hot water will lead to broken shells.
✘ Roll your hard boiled eggs on a hard surface for easy peeling.
✘ Don't forget the vinegar when you dye your eggs. The acidity of the vinegar helps the dye stick to the shell.
✘ Stir the water well to mix the gel food coloring, vinegar and water. Some colors take a little longer to combine. A mini whisk is a great way to do this.
Substitutions and Shortcuts
▶︎ If you don't have gel food coloring, you can use liquid food coloring but the color will not be as vibrant.
▶︎ If you aren't coloring your eggs, use your favorite kind. I love to use Brown Pasture Raised Eggs to make the best deviled eggs year round.
▶︎ Use a food chopper to make the best egg salad! It's a great tool to chop eggs without it getting stuck in the tines of a fork.
More Great Egg Recipes
Check out all of our Tips & Tricks for the kitchen!
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Recipe
Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
For Hard Boil Eggs:
- 1 dozen large eggs (7-10 days old for best results)
For Coloring Eggs:
- Food coloring gel
- Vinegar
- Canola Oil
Instructions
To Hard Boil Eggs:
- Place eggs in a single layer in a large pan. Cover with enough cold water so water level is 1 inch above eggs and bring to a boil.1 dozen large eggs
- Cover the pot with a lid, turn down the heat, and simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and set timer for 12 minutes.
- Immediately transfer eggs in a cold ice water bath to stop cooking. Let eggs sit in ice water for at least 5 minutes.
- Remove eggs from water bath and peel or refrigerate. Make sure eggs are thoroughly dry before coloring or eating.
To Color Eggs:
- In a deep bowl, mix together 3-4 drops of food coloring gel and 2 tablespoons vinegar in 1 cup warm water.Food coloring gel, Vinegar
- Add eggs to coloring liquid. Let eggs sit in the mixture until desired color is reached. Place on drying rack to let color set.
- Once eggs are dry, wipe with a little canola oil to make eggs shiny and bright. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 5 days.Canola Oil
Notes
VIDEO
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
'old' eggs are the best!
Alrighty! Perfect for my YUM file! Thank you...I will try this technique, and I'm thinking a little less time for sitting in the hot water if you want them semi-soft boiled! 🙂
Reading a few articles about boiling and dying Easter eggs gave me a lot of thoughts.
For color try tea. A lot of herbal teas make a very pretty color. Think about what you have easy access to and be creative. I am going to dye them a light color, let them dry and put round reinforcement labels and put them into a darker color, let them dry and remove the labels.
I see that I have been boiling the incorrectly forever. I didn't know you are supposed to cool them down before dying them. I am going to follow Lisa's directions at the top of this page. I just recently bought some cooling racks, I'm glad I did. I used to put the hot eggs into the dye 🙁 I used to dry them on paper towels 🙁
Now I am going to use the cooling racks and try some new creative ideas. I have a ton of different stampers, I am going to try some thoughts I have with those and see if they work. Just use deep strong colored dyes over light colored eggs??? 🙂 Thanks Lisa, you have my brain going around and around! Have a Blessed Easter everyone!
Funny that you posted a recipe for hard-boiled eggs because I just posted an egg salad recipe today that showed people how to hard-boil eggs as well. It must be the fact that Easter is right around the corner.
I seriously never hard-boiled an egg till about a year ago. My hubby always did it for me until I decided it was about time I learned, and it's honestly the easiest thing!
Hope it's warming up over there in MN 🙂
I always think Easter dyed eggs are so gorgeous 🙂 I haven't dyed them in a few years, but am excited to this weekend. I love making egg salad with all the eggs later in the week!
Thanks, Sally. I love egg salad too! Perfect with the extra Easter Eggs-deviled eggs are too! Have fun dying them this weekend!