This simple method and plenty of tips will help you make perfect easy to peel hard-boiled eggs every time!
Perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs are a must for recipes like Classic Egg Salad, Ham Salad, and Old Fashioned Potato Salad.
With spring officially in full swing and Easter just around the corner, there will be lots of deviled eggs happening in many of our kitchens very soon. I thought this was the right time to share some simple tips that will result in hard-boiled eggs with a creamy, bright yellow center and an easy to peel shell, making them perfect for all of your Easter recipes.
Once you try this method, there’s no going back.
There’s nothing more frustrating than boiling up a batch of eggs only to peel them and end up with something that looks like this. If you’re chopping them up to make egg salad for sandwiches, no big deal. If the plan is to use them to make deviled eggs, this just won’t cut it.
(Disclaimer: Please disregard the sad condition of my nails in the photos included in this post. I am in serious need of both a manicure and time to go get a manicure.)
Let’s get to work and boil some eggs.
How to Make Easy to Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Arrange eggs in a single layer in the bottom of a large pot. Add cold water until the eggs are covered by about 2-inches
- Place the pot over high heat and bring it to a boil.
- Just as soon as it comes to a boil, remove the pot from heat and place the cover on. Let it sit, covered, for 15 minutes. Set a timer so you’ll be sure to keep them from overcooking.
Always cook 2 or 3 extra eggs over and above what you need for your recipe just in case there’s an uncooperative one in the bunch. I need a dozen eggs for the deviled eggs I’m making so I’m boiling 15 eggs.
- After 15 minutes, transfer the eggs directly from the hot water to a large bowl of ice water. Let the eggs sit in the ice water bath for 15 minutes. This is the “shocking” process and it is key to ensuring the eggs will be easy to peel.
- After 15 minutes, the eggs will be cool, ready to peel, and you can move on with your recipe without delay.
I recommend peeling the eggs immediately upon removing them from the ice water bath for the best result. If you are not using the eggs right away, they must be refrigerated until ready to use.
How to Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Tap the egg lightly on a cutting board or kitchen counter to crack the shell on both sides.
- Roll the egg back and forth to crack it all over.
- Begin to pull at the cracked shell, heading towards one of the ends of the egg.
- Small bits may come off at first but they should get larger as you near the end of the egg where there’s a bit of space between the egg and shell.
The remaining shell should come off quite easily.
Beautiful.
Keep that bowl of mostly melted ice water nearby and give the peeled egg a dunk to make sure there are no shell fragments left behind.
FAQ’s and Valerie’s Tips
You may have heard that for easy to peel eggs, you should not use fresh eggs. If you have a chicken on your property laying eggs, that is a fresh egg and I agree that you should not use eggs the day they pop out of your chicken (sorry for that graphic image I just put in your head). If you buy your eggs at the grocery store, like I do, they should do just fine. It’s not necessary, or practical, to plan this whole egg boiling situation a week or two in advance and most of us don’t keep a dozen old eggs on hand. If you’ve got eggs near the expiration date – use them. If not, use what you’ve got in your fridge.
And, by the way, if you do have a chicken on your property, congratulations. I dream of having a chicken on my property one of these days. A girl’s gotta dream.
If you’ve ever noticed that your cooked yolks have taken on a greenish hue, that is the result of overcooking. The steps below provide a simple solution for this problem and will result in a perfectly cooked, bright yellow yolk every time.
This is a step you will see included in many posts on this subject. I have never added anything to the water and in my opinion, it’s not necessary.
Cold eggs peel best. Shocked, cold eggs will peel even better. When the egg cools quickly, it will contract a bit and make the shell easier to remove. If you try to peel an egg that you’ve boiled and allowed to come to room temperature on it’s own, you’re going to suffer the pain that most of us have experienced at one time or another.
I hope these tips help you produce perfect hard-boiled eggs for all of your recipes for spring and beyond!
Perfect Easy to Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 dozen large eggs
- water, as needed
- ice, as needed
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a single layer in a large pot. Cover with about 2-inches of cold water. Place pot over HIGH heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and cover the pot. Let the pot sit, covered, for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fill a large bowl about halfway with ice water.
- Transfer the eggs to the ice water, adding more water, if necessary, to be sure they are completely immersed. Let them sit in the ice water bath for 15 minutes. Peel the eggs immediately upon removing them from the ice water bath for the best result. If not using right away, eggs must be refrigerated until needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Love it! I have tried countless methods for hard-boiled eggs: some make a good egg, but peel terribly, others make a green, crumbly yolk, but might peel slightly better than others, but this one definitely fits the bill for all of my checkboxes! A deliciously beautifully cooked egg and yolk (no green ring!) and finally an egg that actually peels! Yes, I did use old eggs, that is something everyone must try, but other methods, even with older eggs have still fallen short. Thank you Valerie! Much appreciation!!!
Worked like a charm, I left in cold ice water for longer than 15 min cause I forgot. They peeled so nice, and I did peel them all instead of storing them with shell.
Does Not Work! In fact, the egg stuck to the shell worse then ever. I couldn’t even fake it. Sigh. Now I just wasted 30 eggs. Even used 2 pots so they would not be crowded.
I can’t imagine why it went so wrong, Lori, but so sorry for the frustration. From time to time I’ll have an egg or two that won’t cooperate but always have success with them majority of them with this method.
I don’t know what I did wrong. I tried following the directions. The eggs cooked well, but peeling was a BEAR! So much egg white stuck to the shell. I’m still on the search for the right method.
Since I’m not there with you it’s hard to say for sure what happened. I use this method every time I do hard-boiled eggs with great success. Sorry it didn’t work out for you, Kim.
If you want to color eggs for Easter would you color them first then ice them because the coloring requires hot water to set. What is your thoughts for that?
I did exactly as stated. Complete fail. I’ve tried numerous methods. All fails. I don’t remember it being this difficult when I was a boy.
I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. I make my hard-boiled eggs with this method every time with a good result. Occasionally, one or two will be a little troublesome but most peel very easily for me.
Did exactly as directed and had problems with every egg. Really upsetting.
So here’s my tip. I followed this to a T and still had a bed time peeling my eggs. The ones just out of the ice bath peels in tiny pieces and took the longest and still had prices of egg coming off in the shell.
The egg I peeled last, that had been sitting out of the ice bath the longest, was the easiest and best peel.
So my advice is to give them that 15 minute ice bath but right after transfer them to a dry towel and let them set for 3-5 minutes before peeling.
Valerie, I think I love you! I grew up peeling hard boiled eggs all the time, especially around the holidays. Sometimes we’d have an OK batch for our deviled eggs, but more often than not they’d have to go in the trash. ? Now that I live on my own, I needed to find something that would help me create less waste and I finally found it! There were a couple that had some blemishes, but this was the best experience I’ve ever had peeling eggs. Amazing. And I used the bottled water like you said in one of the comments. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ❤️
This is so great to hear, Kristyn! I follow this method every time I make hard-boiled eggs. I’m so glad it worked out so well for you 🙂
I like my eggs just under hard so I bring to a boil and let sit for just 10 minutes…then to the ice bath…they are perfect every time…but…I am boiling for breakfast all week so I do not peel…peeling later I the week is usually rough!
Wow, great tips! I’m sure going to do this the next time I boil eggs! Thank you!!
Love this handy post! I know it`s still surprising, but I`ve only hard boiled eggs once! Haha. So, it`s definitely handy for a girl like me!
Why is something so easily explained, so complicated for me? Great tutorial, and I’m going to try this method. I love deviled eggs, and I look forward to your recipe.
Because what it really comes down to is the water. I have tried every single trick out there, but the one that actually works for me is to use bottled water. The water from my current and last city were not very good. Now that im using bottled water I NEVER have a problem. I also use the method above and they come out very tender. Another tip, if you want your yolk more centered in the egg, then flip all your eggs over in the carrier an hour before boiling them .
Thanks for the tips, Wendy!
I just hard boiled my eggs for a dinner we’re having tomorrow and the
shell stuck to all of the eggs. It’s so frustrating because this happens
so often. My family loves deviled eggs, but it was a fail!
I’m so sorry to hear this, Susan. Did you shock them in the ice water bath? I’ve never had an issue when I follow this procedure. From time to time, one might give me a little trouble, but the majority do just fine. I have found that they peel easier right after they are shocked (before refrigerating). I’m not sure whether you followed this procedure but be sure to give it a try next time.
Next time try steaming your eggs. First bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan. I use a 3 quart saucepan with a steamer basket insert. Once the water boils, place the eggs into the steamer basket, cover and set on the saucepan. Keep water boiling 11 minutes for large, 12 minutes for extra large or 13 minutes for jumbo. Remove from heat and immediately place eggs into large bowl filled with ice, run cold water into bowl until full and let the eggs sit in the ice bath for 10 to 15 minutes. The shells will practically fall off and you’ll have perfect eggs every time. This works with fresh eggs as well as older ones. It took me years to think of doing eggs this way but now it’s the only way I cook them.
I crack my eggs before putting them in the ice water. I learned this from Rachael Ray. They peel better.