How to Hard Boil Eggs in a Pressure Cooker

Name: How to Hard Boil Eggs in a Pressure Cooker
Total time: 14 min
Ingredients: Up to 6 eggs (Or up to as many as your pot can hold. *See Notes section below for more info.); ½ cup water

Okay. If it feels like we’ve looked at alternative hard boiled egg methods before, we have. We’ve hard-boiled eggs in water. We’ve done ’em in the oven. But I wanted to add one more trick to your arsenal, because not only is it the fastest, but I really think it gives you your best hardboiled eggs: steaming them up in your pressure cooker.

I’d heard this was a possibility when I bought my InstantPot and all the click-baity social media stories I kept reading were all like, “You won’t BELIEVE what she was able to make in 5 minutes!” Let’s get a few things straight. 1) Clickbait is the worst. 2) You’re not gonna be getting hard-boiled eggs in 5 minutes. 3) It’s still a heck of a lot faster than any other method I’ve tried. I even made all three at the same time and timed them all because I love you guys.

As far as the Instant Pot goes, I tried this many times to get it just right for my pot and elevation. You may have to experiment to find your own sweet spot, but the basic method and timing should be good for most people!

Ingredients and Equipment Needed

This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.

Ingredients

Eggs – I have tested this with up to 6 eggs at a time. Other sources I have found say the only limit on number of eggs is what fits in your pot, and that the timing and method do not change.
Water

Equipment

Electric pressure cooker – Like and Instant Pot.
Steamer rack/basket – The eggs are being steamed here, so we need something to keep them from touching the water below.

How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs in an Electric Pressure Cooker

Place your steamer basket in the bottom of your Instant Pot and add 1/2 cup water. ITo avoid cracks, I always just place as many eggs as I can fit without them touching (I can get 6 if I’m very careful), but others have reported you can really just pile as many in as you like! Close and seal the pot, and use the manual setting to cook for 5 minutes.
When the timer goes off, do a quick release of the pressure and then let the eggs hang out in the closed pot for 4 minutes (set a timer.) Fill a bowl with ice water and when you finally open the pot, transfer them to the ice water. Let the eggs cool for 10-15 minutes then enjoy or store in the refrigerator for later use.

How They Stacked Up: Stovetop, Oven, & Pressure Cooker

Timing

I set a timer as soon as I started making them–filling the pot, heating the oven, etc.–and stopped when they hit the ice water. This is how they stack up time-wise:

Instant Pot: 14 minutes (eggs perfectly done)
Oven: 39 minutes (slightly underdone; my oven is a fickle jerk)
Stovetop: 36 minutes (slightly overdone)

So no, you’re not going to get 5 minute eggs with the Instant Pot, but they’re still done in more than half the time of the next shortest method. Not too shabby.

Overall

Instant Pot: There was a small amount of cold water in the shell when I peeled them, but otherwise, these eggs were perfect. I had a small hairline crack in one shell.
Oven: These peel like a dream, but the shell and a little bit of the white has unattractive brown marks on the inside (see photo below). There is also quite a bit of water in the shell when you peel it. In the past, I’ve had good yolks using this method, but I needed to cook these for slightly longer than 20 minutes (which is what I did this time). One very large crack in one shell.
Stove top: These are difficult to peel, but there isn’t any water in the shell. Also, for my elevation, I need to cook them for slightly less time–it’s hard to see, but there’s a very thin grey ring around the yolk, which will likely get gray-er with time. No cracks in the shells, but this is unusual for me–I usually have the most cracks using the stovetop method.

Storing and Other Tips

Store cooked, cooled, unpeeled eggs in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 7 days. For best flavor and texture, enjoy within 3-5 days.
Did you know older eggs are better for boiling? Over time, air enters the porous shell which raises the egg’s pH and loosens the bond between the whites and the shell membrane. If you wait at least 7 days after purchasing your eggs to hard boil them, you’ll find them much easier to peel!
I’ve found the key to perfect eggs is 5 minutes of pressure cooking, plus hanging out for a few minutes in the pot after you release the pressure. If you’re adjusting for higher elevation, I would still cook them for 5 minutes, I just might add a minute or two to what I have (4 minutes) after you’ve released the pressure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make these with a stove top pressure cooker?

You can definitely use a stove top pressure cooker to cook eggs this way, however this particular post was tested and written specifically with the electric pressure cooker, so the timing and method may not translate exactly. For best results, I would recommend looking up a recipe that’s been specifically tested with a traditional stove top pressure cooker.

Why do the eggs get put into an ice bath?

The eggs will keep cooking as heat moves inward, even after they’ve been removed from the pot. Placing them in an ice bath slows that process down so they don’t end up overcooked. As a bonus, it also speeds up the time it takes for them to be cool enough to handle, peel, and enjoy.