Our Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs come out perfect every single time with an instant pressure release so you don’t need to set a timer! Super easy to peel eggs every time!
Hard boiled eggs seems like a pretty simple thing. But if you have ever made boiled eggs on the stove you know that it can be a frustrating experience for something that is supposed to be damn easy. You forget the boiling water on the stove because you are still sleep deprived. You forget to set the timer and then try to eyeball it (which never works). Or you do it perfectly and put a sprinkle of fairy dust over it and the freaking egg still isn’t cooked right. Needless to say, I have a little hard boiled egg trauma in this department.
Insert the Instant Pot.
It’s genius, it cooks them perfectly every time without fail. The egg shells slide right off and they are perfectly cooked through but still tender.
Your children rejoice. You become the egg salad queen. You are dubbed the Easter egg machine! Potato salads are loaded with hard boiled eggs. You look like a bone fide domestic genius. Basically you achieve super human status!
All hail the instant pot!
BUT everyone online does this 5-5-5 method for hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot. Which then means I forget them in there and then have one more thing to ruin in the day.
My method? We just cook a dozen eggs and take them out immediately and plunge them into the ice bath. 2 steps. Easy peasy.
Exhausted mom brain win if you ask me!
Items You Will Need
- An Instant Pot! Word.
- 1 dozen large eggs. Fresh from the farm or aged, it doesn’t matter.
- 1 cup of hot water: you don’t need to boil the water, just very hot tap water will do.
- Instant pot trivet: to lift the eggs off the bottom of the instant pot. You can also use a steamer basket or skip this entirely if you don’t have one.
- Ice Water in a Large Bowl: to shock the eggs and make them easy to peel.
How To Make Hard Boiled Eggs in Instant Pot
How Long To Cook Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs?
I like 8 minutes on high pressure with an instant pressure release for most hard boiled purposes (deviled eggs, egg salad, easter eggs etc).
We are at 3,500 elevation here in Central Oregon and that time works well for us. If you are lower elevation you’ll potentially need a bit less time, higher elevation you’ll need more time.
If you want a yolkier egg 5-6 minutes on high pressure creates a nice jammy egg.
The time we recommend is based on using large eggs, so you may need to add or subtract a minute or so for larger or smaller eggs. Farm fresh eggs work great in the Instant Pot and the age of the egg is not nearly as important in this recipe as it is for our tutorial on making perfect hard boiled eggs in a pan.
FAQs about Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
You can! The rack helps keep the eggs from colliding with each other and prevents uneven heating of the eggs. But in a pinch you can totally do it without one. Using the rack allows the eggs to steam vs boil. Steaming does still work without a rack but can cause hot spots from contact with the bottom of the instant pot. It doesn’t usually cause any significant issues though so if your toddler ran off with your rack don’t worry, just move forward with the recipe!
Yes! You’ll need to extend the cooking time at higher altitudes because water boils at a lower temperature the higher you travel. At 0-3,000 feet, cook for 8 minutes. At 3,000-5,000 feet, cook for nine minutes. At 5,000-7,000 feet, cook for ten minutes.
As long as they all fit in the instant pot and the ice bath, you can do as many eggs at once as you’d like. Ensure they’re all roughly the same size so that they’ll take the same amount of time to cook. The more they touch each other the higher the risk of cracking so keep that in mind and factor in some breakage.
The ice bath is crucial to helping the eggs peel easily. If you don’t have ice use as cold of water as you can get and refresh it continuously under the sink to allow them to cool as rapidly as possible.
High pressure is best for this recipe.
Hard boiled eggs make the perfect snack but are also amazing in our deviled eggs recipe!
Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup hot water
Instructions
- Place the trivet inside the Instant Pot and put the eggs on top of the trivet, being careful not to crack them.
- Add 1 cup hot water (no need to boil just hot tap water)
- Cook on high for 8 minutes. (Note it takes several minutes to come up to pressure before the timer starts, this is normal!)
- Release pressure immediately with a quick release.
- Immediately put the eggs into a large bowl filled with ice water. Add additional ice if needed if the eggs melt all the ice. Soak for 15 minutes.
- Tap the egg on the countertop and peel off the shell. Enjoy!
Love love love how perfect and easy the eggs come out every time. Thanks for the tips and love the video!