Why Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs Are The Best (2024)

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Why Steaming Hard Boiled Eggs Make Them Easy To Peel Best Way to Hard Boil Eggs for Deviled Eggs More Ways to Make Hard Boiled Eggs Hard Boiled Eggs Aplenty? Make These Recipes! How to Steam Hard Boiled Eggs Ingredients Method

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To make hard boiled eggs that are really easy to peel, steam them! Here's how.

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

Learn about Simply Recipes'Editorial Process

Updated July 25, 2024

82 Ratings

Pssst! You want to know the best way to make hard boiled eggs? Steam them! That's right, forget about boiling the eggs, just steam them in a steamer basket.

Why Steaming Hard Boiled Eggs Make Them Easy To Peel

Some of the air from the hot steam permeates the egg shell making the egg more easy to peel.

Why Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs Are The Best (3)

Now I love my tried and true method for cooking hard boiled eggs, mostly because I can space out on the timer and the eggs will still turn out fine, not green and overcooked. But sometimes they're hard to peel.

Best Way to Hard Boil Eggs for Deviled Eggs

If I truly must have easy to peel eggs (for making deviled eggs or something else that requires beautiful peeled eggs), then I steam them, and pay attention to the timer. Even with perfectly fresh farm eggs, I've never had difficulty peeling a steamed egg.

Why Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs Are The Best (4)

More Ways to Make Hard Boiled Eggs

Another way to make easy-to-peel hard boiled eggs is to use the Instant Pot. For more tips on hard boiled egg perfection, check out our how-to.

How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled EggsREAD MORE:

Hard Boiled Eggs Aplenty? Make These Recipes!

Spinach Gratin With Hard Boiled Eggs
Quick and Easy Egg Salad Sandwich
Mixed Green Salad With Honey Mustard, Eggs, and Toast
Buffalo Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs
Niçoise Salad

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

How to Steam Hard Boiled Eggs

Prep Time0 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

Servings6 servings

Yield6 eggs

The steaming time will vary depending on the size of your eggs,how cold your eggs are to begin with, thealtitude of your location, how vigorous the water is boiling, if your eggs are in a single layer or are stacked, and how soft or firm you like your hard cooked eggs. So you may need to experiment to find the right timing for your situation.

A steamer basket is convenient, butnot necessary.

Ingredients

6 large eggs

Method

Prepare the pot and steamer basket:
If you are using a steamer basket, fill a saucepan with as much water as needed to reach the bottom of the steamer basket (about 1 inch or so).

If you are not using a steamer basket, just fill the bottom of a saucepan with 1/2 inch of water.
Heat the water to boiling and add eggs to pot:
Heat the water on high heat until it is boiling and producing steam.
Turn off the heat and gently place the eggs at the bottom of the steamer basket or the bottom of the pan.
Turn the heat back on again to medium high, and cover the pot.
This method works best if the eggs are in a single layer, but you can double them up as well, you'll just need to add more time to the steaming time.
Set your timer and steam the eggs:
Set your timer for 6 minutes for soft boiled, 10 minutes for hard boiled with a still translucent and bright yolk, or 12 to 15 minutes for cooked-through hard boiled.
If you have doubled up the eggs in the pan and they are not in a single layer, you may need to add a couple minutes or so to the cooking time for hard boiled.
The size large eggs used in these photos were cooked to my satisfaction after 15 minutes when I cooked 6 in a single layer, and 17 minutes when I cooked 12 in the pan.
Note that many things will influence the steaming time, including altitude and the size of the particular eggs you are using. I recommend removing one egg a couple minutes before you think it should be done, rinsing it with cold water, and breaking it open to see if it is done enough for you.
Remove the eggs to a bowl of icy cold water:
Remove eggs with a spoon to a bowl of cold water or ice water, or run cold water directly into the pan to cover the eggs and quickly cool them down.
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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
72	Calories
5g	Fat
0g	Carbs
6g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories	72
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g	6%
Saturated Fat 2g	8%
Cholesterol 186mg	62%
Sodium 71mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate 0g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 28mg	2%
Iron 1mg	5%
Potassium 69mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.