How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

So I eat eggs frequently- I am actually a vegetarian so eggs are an easy protein source for me. My children also like eggs a lot and the list of things they like is pretty short most days.

So with Easter coming, I thought it might be nice to figure out how to get a perfect hard boiled egg. I have two methods for you below and you really will get a perfect egg.

These make a great quick breakfast or little snack. Especially if you are a person that doesn’t normally eat breakfast. I grab these when I go to the gym first thing in the morning. I get a little something in my tummy and there is no fuss.

This is a very simple method and my favorite:

Place your eggs in a pot and cover with cold water.
Add a few pinches of salt or baking soda to the water.
Bring the water to a boil and let boil for about 1 minute.
Remove from heat and cover the pot with a lid.
Let sit for 15 minutes (large eggs, for smaller eggs do 12 minutes).

If your eggs are room temperature at the start you probably only need 12 minutes. If they are straight from the fridge, go with 15.

Once the time is up just rinse your eggs and peel as usual. They should be perfectly done!

The salt or baking soda will make the eggs easier to peel. If you see a grayish circle around the center of the yolk, that is a sign that the eggs were slightly overdone. Next time you might want to reduce the time a little to see if that makes a difference. Also be sure to rinse them off so you stop the cooking process after the time is up.

And here is another method. Did you know you can cook eggs right in the oven? No need to boil on the stove!

I tried this method around Back to School time and it did cook the eggs nicely. The issue I had with this method is that the house really smells like egg for awhile after you cook. If that isn’t an issue for you or it is a nice day and you can throw open all the windows- this really does work nicely.

I use this when I am doing deviled eggs and need to cook a big batch of eggs at once.

You simply place your raw eggs in a cupcake pan or just place them right on the rack of the oven. Heat the oven to 325 and cook for 30 minutes.

Once the eggs are done just remove them from the oven and place in a bowl with ice and water to stop the cooking.

You can peel them as soon as they have cooled and put them back in the ice water until completely cold. Oh one thing- sometimes I notice little brown freckles on the eggs when I cook them in the oven. That is nothing to be worried about.

(This method is courtesy of Alton Brown)

Now that I have my nice little eggs, I usually pack breakfast on Sundays when I am packing the week’s lunches.

I change up my breakfast each week but I have the same thing for a few days straight. So this week I am back on these breakfast bento boxes that are so easy, so yummy and very healthy.

This one has fruit (blueberries this week), an egg, some multigrain cheerios to munch on and my favorite Greek Yogurt and PB recipe. (This is a fruit dip but I like to eat it straight).

**If you do cook hard boiled eggs in advance, note they should not be out of the fridge for more then 2 hours. (So you want to keep your bento box cool). Also you should only hard boil a few days worth- once eggs have been peeled they are only good for a few days. If the peel is left on you have about a week.

Read more about how long hard boiled eggs are good here.

Let me know which method you try and how it works out for you!