Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs Recipe
Published January 13, 2021. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Learn how easy it is to make the absolute perfect hard boiled eggs using my fool-proof procedures that render impeccable results every single time.
We seriously put hard boiled eggs on just about everything. Sometimes we put it in salads and sometimes on toast. If you’re looking for ideas on how to use them then definitely check out my Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad or Avocado Toast.
Hard Boiled Eggs
Hard boiled eggs are cooked eggs in rolling boiling water until both the egg yolks and whites are firm. They are the most common boiled eggs out there, second to soft-boiled eggs. They are used in a myriad of ways including being served by themselves, in salads, on sandwiches, or even appetizers.
How to Make Them Peel Easy
Having made thousands upon thousands of hard boiled eggs, the trick to making them peel easy rests in the temperature of the water. Often times people say you can only use white eggs so that they peel easy, that is not the case. You MUST start with rolling boiling water and then putting the eggs in, not bringing the water to a boil with the eggs already in it.
I know this may seem elementary in dumb, but I can promise you this is the key, no matter what color or kind of egg you decide to use.
How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs
Follow along with these simple instructions for how to prepare perfect hard boiled eggs:
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
If desired, add some vinegar to the water to help with the smell.
Add in the eggs gently with a spoon so the eggs do not crack and boil for 6 minutes.
Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat completely off and let the egg stand in the water for 6 more minutes.
Remove the eggs from the water and place directly into an ice water bath in a container and let sit for 2-4 minutes or until completely cooled.
Peel, Slice, and serve
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: These eggs can be made up to 3 days ahead of time.
How to Store: Keep them in the shell, in water in a container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
chef notes + tips
- To get rid of the smell while boiling, add some distilled vinegar to the pot of boiling water.
- If you need help peeling the eggs, run them under lukewarm water while peeling.
More Recipes Using Eggs
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Video
Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon distilled vinegar
- 6 large eggs
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat.
- Pour in the vinegar to help with the smell.
- Gently add the eggs into the boiling water using a large spoon and cook for 6 minutes.
- Next, place a lid onto the pot, turn the heat completely off and let them sit for 6 more minutes.
- Immediately place the eggs after they are done cooking to a container filled with cold water and ice.
- Cool the eggs for 2-4 minutes to stop the cooking process.
- Peel the eggs under running lukewarm water, slice and serve.
Notes
- Make-Ahead: These can be made up to 3 days ahead of time.
- How to Store: Keep them in the shell, in water in a container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To get rid of the smell while boiling, add some distilled vinegar to the pot of boiling water.
- If you need help peeling the eggs, run them under lukewarm water while peeling.
This works great and I end up with perfect eggs every time . Thanks Billy for your videos and inspiration!
Easiest peel of a hard cooked egg. Yolks perfect. Thank you!
Oh my – perfection!!! I’m 71 years old, it’s sad it took me this long to get it right!! Thank you Billy!!
My boiled eggs come out perfect every time! Thanks Billy!
Easiest peal ever for super smooth hard boiled eggs ! And yolk is cooked to perfection
fantastic!
Just made 5 dozen hard boiled eggs for a Good Friday meal at our church. Every single egg pealed without a tear. Best ever technique
Thank you Billy
This recipe works every time! It only took me 67 years to find this recipe. 😊
I wanted to say thank you my hard-boiled eggs turned out perfect. When I took the shells off the eggs, the egg did not break or fall apart. It was absolutely perfect. I wish I would’ve seen this so many years ago these directions were perfect for the hard boiled eggs. Thank you so much the peeling of my hard boiled eggs are finally solved.❤️
My hard boiled eggs come out perfectly now! Thanks!!!
Thank youChefBilly 😋😁
Thought I knew how to hard boil eggs. This method is the best! EVERY egg peeled perfectly. More deviled eggs on the horizon. Thank you Chef.
How do you make a soft or medium soft egg easy to peel?
Not sure there is an “Easy” way.
I learned last year to put baking soda in the water and since then I have never had one problem peeling eggs. They ALWAYS come out perfectly.
Placed in ice water! Perfection! Thank you for the tip!
Following these instructions is a real game changer especially when you like to make deviled eggs and need perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs that are easy to peel.
Perfect is right! It never occurred to me to boil the water first! Thank you Chef Billy!
my pleasure!
Your techniques worked perfectly!!! Thank you! Seems so simple now. I am 60 years old and have made deviled eggs many times and always struggled to peel them nicely!
Worked like a charm🥚
I can’t wait to try this! I’ve struggled for a long time trying to make hard boiled eggs, and half the egg comes off with the shell when peeling! Thanks Chef Billy!!
my pleasure!
Question:Carter putting soft boiled eggs in an ice bath how do you eat them warm? We love them, but they already get cold so quickly after cooking.
After peeling them, I usually quickly dunk them in a pot of simmering water for 30 seconds.
Thank you soooo much no more messy boiled eggs Chief 😁👋
glad to have helped, you’re welcome!
These work for me EVERY time. Thanks, Chef Billy!
love it!
This is the perfect method for boiling eggs! No more hard to peel eggs.
Until finding this recipe I could never get my eggs to peel. Now they peel effortlessly!!
Thank you Chef Billy
Best receipe ever! Thanks for making this so easy.
every time!
No more waste and beautiful eggs. Thanks. ♥
fantastic!
Chef, My husband always teased me about not being able to hard boil an egg. Other than that I’m a pretty good cook. Well, I tried your method and finally I managed to put out the perfect hard boiled egg. They weren’t over cooked (grey yolks), under cooked (runny yolks), and the shells slid right off.
It only took me 76 years. See, you can teach an old dog new tricks. LOL Thank you so much.
Best instructions for the perfect boiled egg!! Thank you
many thanks
If the egg cracks when I put it in the boiling water, do I have to discard it, or can I use it? Thanks.
you can use it
Many thanks.
Finally! A method that really works with fresh (as in one day old) eggs. Always perfect.
Excellent!
Easy and makes PERFECT hard boiled eggs! Gotta love Billy Parisi!
excellent
Ever since I’ve followed Chef Billy Parisi’s recipe for hard boiling eggs, mine have turned out perfectly. Thank you Chef Billy! 🥚
appreciate you trying it
Done this way of cooking boiled eggs and it works perfectly.
Awesome!
I’ve tried a lot of formulas for hard boiled eggs w/limited success. Just tried ur method….bingo…perfect ply cooked hard boiled eggs, no issue peeling them! Great process, esp bc we love eggs cooked in any way. Now my egg salad, hard boiled eggs for snacks & deviled eggs will be a breeze to make. 😊
it just works!
Never knew to store in water.
I do anyways
Super easy and perfect hard boiled eggs every time. Love my chef Billy Prarisi.
every time!
Not to sound like a satan worshiper, but the 6-6-6 makes it easier to remember for me. Get water to boil, gently drop in the eggs, boil uncovered for 6 minutes, turn off the heat, cover for 6 minutes, remove eggs and place in an ice bath for 6 minutes. Sorry, just sayin.
Love all your recipes chef Billy. Keep ‘em coming. I’ve tried things I would otherwise not tried before. Never dissatisfied. Your site is an amazing resource.
All good!
Boiled 20 eggs this way, every single one was PERFECT!! Couldn’t believe how easily they peeled! Never has this ever happened for me. Thank you so much for these directions!
Love it!
My boiled eggs always have been hit and miss. I have used this recipe 8 times and the hard-boiled eggs are perfect and peel so easily. Be sure to watch the video to see how to peel them. I did not use the vinegar.
great!
Incredibly easy! Takes the guess work out of how long to boil the eggs for perfect hard boiled eggs.
Perfect eggs every time!
This recipe makes the perfect eggs every time
yes!
OMG!!!! FINALLY the secret revealed! I’ve used this multiple times since reading this….works perfectly every time!!!
Perfect hard boiled eggs when you follow this recipe. And they peel so easily.
Yes.
Thank you for outlining the perfect way to cook hard boiled eggs. The shells came right off after they were cooked.
Hard boiled eggs perfect every time now!
Such a simple thing in theory, but I seem to always struggle peeling hard boiled eggs. Followed these instructions to the letter and they peeled right off. Thank you!
I just made the boiled eggs just like you suggested and they came out perfect. Cooked well and so easy to peel. I always had hard time peeling the boiled eggs before. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve made these with both the original and the truffle sauces, and all I can say is GAME CHANGER!! We love devilled eggs and now I can make them all the time because it’s so simple and tastes exactly the way my homemade ones did. However, I’d like to give you a better way to hard boil the eggs. Bring water to a rolling boil, add eggs with a spoon and boil 6 minutes, then put the lid on and take off the heat and time another 6 minutes, then an ice bath for 4 minutes, then peel. This method makes them soooo easy to peel, you almost never have a peel that won’t let go. Thanks so much for the easy peasy devilled egg recipe, now if only eggs would get cheaper, but they are still the least expensive protein there is.
definitely a game changer. perfect eggs, no rubbery whites, no grey line around the yolks, and SO easy to peel. I love devilled eggs and now I’ll make them all the time, thanks to you!
I love hard boiled eggs but gave them up because peeling them was such a pain. I’ve tried so many cooking methods and lost count of how many I’ve ended up throwing out because I couldn’t get them peeled without losing 3/4 of the egg. This worked PERFECTLY. Once you start peeling the shells just fall away. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. Thanks so much for sharing this information. I’m going to make a bunch of deviled eggs now.
With my burner on high, water boiling, I added the eggs – it took at least 6 minutes for the water to boil again – should I count that as the six minutes? Help. Love you and your recipes!
yes
I am the deviled egg maker for family gatherings. The eggs I boiled for Thanksgiving lunch were home-raised. First time I didn’t use eggs from the grocery store. I had to peel parts of the shells from some with a sharp knife! I’ve always put the eggs in cold water and brought them to boiling. I’m going to try your method from now on.
Do you start with the
eggs cold outta the fridge,
or room temp. ?
Thanks
fridge
Wow. I think I’ve tried every way known to man to hard boil eggs. Your way was new to me but figured I had nothing to lose so I gave it a try. Results were amazing. Not a nicked up egg white in sight!! Thanks so much, Billy. What a joy to try something that worked sooooo well.
After 50 years i can finally make the perfect hard boiled eggs!!! Just did 6… perfect perfect perfect!! Now egg salad sandwichs for lunch💜 thanks Billy❤️
Some people say you can’t use fresh eggs. You have to use older eggs. This cannot be true. I can’t believe anyone would use old eggs. This worked for me.
This was super easy, and the eggs turned out perfect. Great for Easter eggs. BAM!
—JS
What causes the edge of hard boiled egg yoke to turn grey, is it because the egg is old?
If the yolk turns grey around the edges, it means you have cooked them too long. They are still okay to eat though, but they don’t look pretty on a salad or other unadorned setting.
I love this technique so so much!
I love this technique so much, I haven’t used this technique before, I loved this technique especially hard boiled eggs. This takes a short time!! I have chickens on my farm and thier eggs are white, I I always eat hard boiled egg for breakfast but I put the eggs in normal water then put it on the fire until water boils but it takes a long time! Then put the boiled eggs in the cold water. But your technique is the best, and perfect!! Thank you so much, chef Billy. I’m so lucky to discover your page and follow you and I’m learning amazing techniques from you! Thank you sooo much!