Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot are possibly the best hard-boiled eggs, ever. If done right. Right, to me, is tender, not rubbery whites & yolks just cooked through with no hint of green. Last week, I wanted to make a dozen instant pot hard boiled eggs that would be perfect for Easter dying or deviled eggs. How hard could that be? Especially since I have been cooking just a few eggs almost every week since I got my Instant Pot, years ago, now!
a Dozen Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
Harder than you’d think, I found out. At least for me, so I’m guessing it is for some of you, too. I ran into some trouble but worked through it. And kept working through it. By the time I was done, I’d cooked literally dozens of eggs. You’d have thought I might just have gone back to my old reliable steamed Easy Peel Eggs.
Except, I just couldn’t let it go. I already knew Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs really are the best because I have been making them (just in smaller amounts) since I first got my Instant Pot. You’d think going up to a dozen from a few would be a no-brainer. Not! A Deviled Egg Recipe or two might be coming up soon, btw! 🙂
After my first fail, I remembered a recipe I saw and tried that. Fail again. And then I tried another method. Another fail. I was dumbfounded and wondered what the heck was going on. Why were a few working out for me (5-5-5) and a dozen weren’t?
I spent a lot of time researching (I started with the 10 very popular pins I had saved) then googled and looked at websites, checking the methods and timing, reading through the comments and finally realized what no one wants to hear and what no one wants to tell you about a making dozen instant pot hard boiled eggs:
Unless you have just happened to luck out and the method that you are using works for you at your altitude with your Instant Pot and the size of eggs you are using, your best bet to getting perfect hard-boiled eggs is to first try this recipe and method, and if that doesn’t work, be prepared to experiment. I don’t want to dissuade you because a little finagling is so worth it – did I mention Instant Pot hard-boiled eggs are the best?
I do want to mention that none of my failures were inedible, just not perfect. And now that I know what works perfectly for me for both a dozen extra-large as well as a dozen large eggs, I’m putting it down so I have it next time and the time after. It’s a good place for you to start. (Update: the large eggs have been a more recent addition, and they turn out beautifully when the time is reduced by one minute.)
I use an Instant Pot DUO60 6 quart 7 in 1 and use the rack that comes with the Instant Pot, use one dozen extra-large or large eggs and cold tap water to start. If you are at 1000 feet altitude (or pretty close) and keep all those variables the same, the recipe for A Dozen Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs, below should work perfectly for you.
If you are at higher altitude (3,000 feet or above) adjustments will need to be made, but since you are cooking at low pressure you have a bit more leeway than when cooking on high pressure. (For instance, a minute on a 10-minute low pressure is as not as critical as a minute on a five-minute high pressure, and the same principle holds true for seconds just like it does for minutes.) The general rule of thumb since with an IP you can’t increase pressure is to increase pressure cooking time by 5% for every 1000 ft above 2000 ft elevation. Check out a thorough explanation and charts at Hip Pressure Cooking. Obviously, I can’t test since I’m not at a higher altitude.
If you are still having difficulties after trying my method and timing and adjusting for altitude if needed, here are some of the sites I really like when it comes to the Instant Pot Hard Boiled (or soft boiled on some of them) Eggs:
- First of all, these guys, Amy & Jackie, are the best! I love their site.
- I found a little information on The Kitchn.
- A more comprehensive post is Cracked from Hip Pressure Cooking.
Oddly enough, the official Instant Pot site only cooks a few eggs, but you can see by all the comments on the site that even their method didn’t work for everyone.
You heard me right. The official Instant Pot recipe for Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
on the Official Instant Pot Website doesn’t work for everybody!
When I cooked my Dozen Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs, I was aiming, in this case, for a fully cooked egg. Mostly because I was thinking Easter and Egg Hunts and Food Safety. Here is a great read if food safety is in question, Keep Your Easter Ham and Eggs Pathogen Free.
Update: as I peeled the rest of the 24 eggs I made with this low pressure, 10-minute cook time on the extra-large eggs, two yolks had a teensiest tiniest barely even noticeable bit of a slight green ring. I am assuming that they may have been the egg in each batch that was closest to the side of the liner. It was so very slight that I wouldn’t even have noticed if I wasn’t closely examining each and every egg. On subsequent batches, I made certain there was space between the liner and the eggs and all were fine. On the large eggs, I had no issues but being slightly smaller, it was easier to lay them on the rack so they were well away from the liner.
If you don’t have a steamer basket (and I don’t) I hope you like my little quickie cool down in the instant pot method for the eggs. Nothing is more difficult than trying to remove hot hot hot eggs from the instant pot by lifting up the rack and it’s just as difficult trying to use mitts or tongs. Inevitably, an egg or two gets dropped and cracks.
Put the whole liner into the sink and run cold water in it to quickly get the temperature to where the eggs can be handled briefly and transferred to an ice-water bath. While Instant Pot Eggs are always easy to peel; an ice-water bath always helps – the cold shrinks the membrane away from the egg.
PrintA Dozen Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
A dozen Instant Pot Eggs
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 1 dozen eggs 1x
Ingredients
- 1 dozen extra large eggs, cold right from the fridge (for large eggs, see note at bottom of recipe.)
- 1 cup tap water, not warm; just cold from the tap
- ice for an ice water bath
Instructions
Place one cup water in the Instant Pot. Add in the rack that comes with the instant pot.
Arrange eggs on top of the rack, keeping, as much as possible, the eggs away from the side of the pot. You will probably need to balance two eggs on top of the others.
Seal pot and set to Low Pressure, 10 minutes.
While the eggs are cooking, clear at least one side of your sink for the full Instant Pot Liner. Find a large bowl or container and fill it (leaving enough room for the eggs) with ice and cold water for the ice-water bath. Set aside. Make sure the faucet has been running cold right before the eggs are done.
When time is up, quick release the pressure. Remove the liner and immediately place in sink and run cold tap water over the eggs in the liner. When the pot and eggs are cool enough to quickly handle, remove the eggs and place in the ice water bath.
Leave at least 10 minutes or longer, until eggs are completely cool, then transfer to the refrigerator or use as desired.
UPDATE: I had great results using this exact same method with 1 dozen large eggs and using a time of 9 minutes.
Notes
Keep food safety in mind. Hard Boiled Eggs should be at room temperature no longer than a total of two hours and used within 1 week.
The altitude where I live is 1070′ above sea level. I have an Instant Pot DUO60 6 quart 7 in 1.
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I’ll be bringing A Dozen Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs to Fiesta Friday #216, The cohosts this week are Petra @ Love Food Eat and Zeba @ Food For The Soul.
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