Learn How-to Cook Eggs in the Instant Pot and forget the uncertainty of cooking your eggs on the stove top – using your Instant Pot provides consistent results and the eggs are easy to peel EVERY SINGLE TIME. Whether you want soft, medium or hard cooked, we’ve got the time figured out for you, so there’s no guessing.

Well, I am embarrassed to say it took me far too long to finally experiment with cooking eggs in my Instant Pot. I always had a *mostly* foolproof method to hard boiling eggs on the stovetop, but “mostly” ends up being the key word. My breaking point was Easter weekend, this year. I wanted to make a bunch of hard boiled eggs, to make a post for the website, Deviled Eggs Two Ways. Things didn’t go quite as planned and my hard boiled eggs were a nightmare to peel. One of the most frustrating afternoons EVER. I was cursing over the sink as I watched about half of every single egg white stick to the shells and peel off, leaving the most janky looking, lumpy eggs behind. UGH!

I’ve heard so many variations on how to make the perfect hard boiled eggs. I’ve heard it has to do with how fresh the eggs are, adding vinegar or baking soda to the water, boiling for less time then letting the eggs sit, boiling the entire time then right into the ice bath. All of these methods work, until they don’t.

Several people had mentioned to me how great the Instant Pot is for hard boiling eggs, so I decided to give it a whirl and WOW – GAME CHANGER! I experimented with finding the right time and what variables affected the results. Additionally, I found the perfect time for soft and medium cooked eggs, too. Because I love a perfectly-cooked, delicious yolky soft boiled egg over veggies many mornings and the various medium cooked eggs are great when you want a little yolkiness, but not the whole runny shabang.

I find fully hard cooked eggs to be the most sensitive to variables, since the window of a perfectly cooked hard boiled egg is just like a ripe avocado. It’s not cooked, it’s not cooked, then WHAM overcooked, weirdly dry with that green ring. Not much deviation from perfection.

With many many many dozens of eggs and experiments later, I have worked up a simple formula with varying times. OK let’s get to it – How-to Cook Eggs in the Instant Pot…

What You Need:

• Instant Pot
• Metal rack that comes with the Instant Pot (or steamer basket, metal or silicon)
• 1 cup water
• Eggs (however many will fit in a single layer, you just don’t want to stack the eggs)
• Kitchen towel
• Tongs
• Ice bath – large bowl, with cold water and ice

How-to Cook Eggs in The Instant Pot:

I find the best results with room temperature eggs, this seems to be most important with hard cooked eggs.

Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot.  Place the eggs in the rack that came with your Instant Pot or a steamer basket if you have one.

Close the lid and lock into place, set the steam vent/release valve to the locked position. Press the manual button and adjust the time for the appropriate time in minutes (see below) at high pressure. Once the timer stops, immediately release the pressure manually by turning the vent/quick release valve to the open position with a kitchen towel, until you no longer hear or see steam, and the float valve (metal circle) is down. Using the tongs carefully place the cooked eggs into an ice bath to chill. For easiest, most perfect peeling, wait until the eggs are fully chilled to peel.

• Soft Cooked Eggs (Runny Yolk): High pressure, let it come up to pressure, set the timer for 2 minutes
• Medium Cooked Eggs (Jammy Yolk): High pressure, let it come up to pressure, set the timer for 4 minutes
• Medium Cooked Eggs (Slightly More Set Yolk): High pressure, let it come up to pressure, set the timer for 5 minutes
• Hard Cooked Eggs (Fully Cooked Yolk): Full dozen, room temperature eggs. High pressure, let it come up to pressure, set the timer for 6 minutes (I notice with less eggs or chilled eggs, they may need more like 7 minutes)

Note: the pressure release is most important with the soft boiled eggs, because they will continue to cook in there until you release the pressure.

My Results for the Perfect Hard Cooked Eggs use the Following Variables:

• A full dozen eggs in a single layer
• Room temperature eggs
• A cooled (not previously just cooked in) Instant Pot

Note: The cook times listed above on the soft and medium cooked eggs, seem to yield similar results whether a half or full dozen, room temperature or chilled eggs or a previously warmed Instant Pot. Not sure why, but I suppose because as I said, that window of soft cooked and medium cooked is a bit bigger and more forgiving.

How-to Cook Eggs in the Instant Pot - Soft, Medium & Hard Cooked

gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free, paleo, whole30, keto

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Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

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Ingredients 

• 4-12 pasture-raised eggs*
• 1 cup water

Instructions

• Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot. Place the eggs in the rack that came with your Instant Pot or a steamer basket if you have one.
• Close the lid and lock into place, set the steam vent/release valve to the locked position. Press the manual button adjust the time for the appropriate time in minutes at high pressure. Soft Cooked Eggs (Runny yolk): 2 minutes. Medium Cooked Eggs (Jammy yolk): 4 minutes. Medium Cooked Eggs (Slightly more set yolk): 5 minutes. Hard Cooked Eggs (Fully cooked yolk): 6 minutes
• Prepare an ice bath while the eggs cook. A large bowl with cold water and ice.
• It should take about 5 minutes to come to pressure and then will steam for the set time. Once the timer stops, immediately release the pressure manually by turning the vent/quick release valve to the open position with a kitchen towel, until you no longer hear or see steam, and the float valve (metal circle) is down.
• Using the tongs carefully place the cooked eggs into an ice bath to chill for at least 5 minutes.
• For easiest, most perfect peeling, wait until the eggs are fully chilled to peel.

Notes

Use however many eggs you'd like as long as they stay in a single layer.
Times may vary based on your pressure cooker.
The immediate pressure release is most important with the soft boiled eggs, because they will continue to cook in there until you release the pressure.