Instant Pot Easy-Peel Hard Boiled Eggs

Ready in 15 minutes and perfect every time. Promise.

By
Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen headshot
Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen is the General Manager for Simply Recipes, the author of three books on home brewing and a graduate from The Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. 
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Updated August 15, 2023
Emma Christensen headshot

Like many of you, I abandoned the dream of finding one surefire method for making consistently perfect hard boiled eggs some time ago. After trying a few too many "foolproof" tricks with spotty results, I relegated easy-peel eggs to the same category as unicorns and cheap airfare: nice to fantasize about, but if they were truly real, you'd think we'd have heard about it by now.

But that's the thing about myths—just when you've thrown your hands in the air and walked away, something new comes along to rekindle your hope. Like Fox Mulder, we want to believe.

For me, that something new was my pressure cooker and a friend's improbable suggestion that I try using it to make a batch of eggs. Just like that, the dream was alive again.

Hard boiled eggs partially peeled in front of an Instant Pot

Simply Recipes / Emma Christensen

Why the Pressure Cooker Works

I've actually been sitting on this revelation for a few months now, just because I didn't trust the evidence I saw with my own eyes: Two eggs or a dozen, fresh eggs or weeks old, white eggs or brown eggs, it didn't matter. The shells slipped easily off each time, leaving a smooth and pristine hard boiled egg.

There are a few theories for why this is. Some say that, similar to steaming eggs, the pressure cooker forces steam inside the egg's shell during cooking, causing it to separate from the egg white. Alton Brown's theory is that it's more about the rapid temperature change inside the sealed pot.

Whatever the reason, it works! Making hard-cooked eggs in the pressure cooker is the only method I've found that has worked for me every single time.

How to Cooks Eggs in the Instant Pot

I based my eggs on the popular "5-5-5" method for hard-cooked eggs in the Instant Pot. The idea is to put your eggs into a steamer basket and seal them inside your pressure cooker along with a cup or so of water. It takes about 5 minutes for the cooker to come up to high pressure, 5 minutes to cook the eggs, and then 5 minutes of natural pressure release before removing the eggs from the cooker—hence the "5-5-5" method.

Easy Peel Hard Boiled Eggs in the Pressure Cooker
Emma Christensen

I found that this basic formula worked just fine, though it typically takes my pressure cooker closer to 10 minutes before fully pressurizing.

I also decided that I like the texture of 4-minute eggs better than 5-minute eggs. At 4 minutes, the whites are firm but soft and the yolk is cooked through but still creamy; at 5 minutes, I felt like the whites started to become rubbery and the yolk was a little chalky. Give it a try both ways and see which you prefer.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Instructions

For those of you with stovetop pressure cookers, I recommend a quicker 3-minute cook time. Stovetop pressure cookers can reach a higher pressure than electric cookers and tend to cook food more quickly. (For reference, a friend of mine tested this recipe with her stovetop pressure cooker and her verdict was that 4-minute eggs were fine, but tasted slightly overcooked.)

One Caveat to Pressure Cooker Eggs

The only un-perfect thing about this way of hard boiling eggs is that, every so often, one of the eggs will crack its shell during cooking. When this has happened to me, it's usually been during the 5 minute "natural release" period after the eggs are already cooked, so the crack is only superficially cosmetic. Not ideal if you're planning to dye a bunch of Easter eggs, of course, but perfectly fine for deviled eggs.

If your eggs seem to be cracking more often, or are cracking before the whites are set, try cooking them at low pressure instead of high pressure. My own tests at low pressure gave inconsistent results. But every pressure cooker is a little different, and you might have better luck with yours.

The jury is still out on unicorns and affordable airfare. But easy-to-peel eggs? At least they are real.

Don't Have a Pressure Cooker?

Try our method for steaming hard boiled eggs on the stovetop.

How to Make Easy Hard Boiled Eggs in the Pressure Cooker
Emma Christensen

More Essential Instant Pot Recipes

Which Pressure Setting To Use

We cooked the eggs on high in the Instant Pot. At that setting, the internal pressure is 10.2 to 11.6 psi.

Some electric pressure cookers come with an "egg" or "steam" setting, but we're bypassing that here to keep things utterly simple. Using high pressure on the manual setting will steam your eggs perfectly, don't worry.

Pressure Cooking Tips for Really Fresh Eggs

Very fresh eggs (such as eggs from a neighbor or the farmers market) are often harder to peel. Try leaving them on the counter for a few days, which will help make them more peelable.

How to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs

These pressure-cooked eggs tend to be easy to peel, but there are a few simple techniques that help ensure success. Once the eggs are cool enough to handle, tap them several times on the counter. Carefully work away some of the shell, peeling back the membrane underneath the shell as well. If needed, tap a few more times. You can also peel the egg in a bowl of water, which helps create space between the shell and the egg as you go.

How to Store

It's best to store hard boiled eggs in their shell. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, peeling just before eating.

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Instant Pot Easy-Peel Hard Boiled Eggs

Cook Time 4 mins
Pressurizing and natural release 15 mins
Total Time 19 mins
Serving 1 to 12 servings

Check your pressure cooker manual for the minimum requirement of liquid in the pot, and add at least that amount. If no instructions are given, add 1 inch of water.

If your pressure cooker didn't come with its own steamer basket, you can use a standard metal or silicone steamer basket in its place. (If you don't have a steamer basket, you can skip it, but you may get a greater number of cracked eggs.)

Avoid stacking eggs on top of each other since this can also lead to more cracked eggs. If you need to cook more eggs than will fit in a single layer, we suggest cooking multiple batches.

Ingredients

  • Large eggs, cold from the fridge—at least 1 egg or as many as will fit in a single layer in your pressure cooker

Method

  1. Prepare the pressure cooker:

    Place a steamer basket in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Add 1/2 to 1 inch of water (1 to 2 cups) to the pressure cooker (check your pressure cooker manual for minimal liquid amounts). The water level should be just below the steamer basket.

    Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs - you'll need a steamer rack
    Emma Christensen
    Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs - add water to the pot
    Emma Christensen
  2. Add all the eggs:

    Use cold eggs, straight from the fridge. You can cook as many eggs as you like at one time, but be careful of wedging eggs too firmly against one another or stacking eggs on top of each other since these can cause eggs to crack.

    Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs - add all the eggs to the instant pot
    Emma Christensen
  3. Bring the pot up to pressure:

    Close the lid on the pressure cooker and make sure the steam valve is set to the "sealed" position. Set the pressure to high and set the timer for 4 minutes for electric pressure cookers (3 minutes for stovetop).

    The pressure cooker will take 5 to 10 minutes to come to full pressure and then begin cooking. Cooking time begins once the cooker has come to pressure.

    Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs - make sure the release valve is closed
    Emma Christensen
    Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs - Cook for 4 minutes
    Emma Christensen
  4. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes:

    After cooking is done, let the pressure cooker sit for 5 minutes with the lid on and the steam vent "sealed" to allow steam to begin releasing naturally. (If you're using a stovetop pressure cooker, remove it from heat.)

    Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs - natural release for 5 minutse
    Emma Christensen
  5. Quick-release the remaining pressure:

    After 5 minutes of natural release, carefully flip the steam valve to "venting" and quick-release any remaining pressure.

    Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot - release the steam
    Emma Christensen
  6. Cool the eggs:

    Transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water to cool (add ice for more rapid cooling, but ice isn't necessarily for making easy-peel eggs). Change out the water as it warms until the eggs are cool, then refrigerate the eggs until needed.

    Did you love the recipe? Leave us some stars below!

    Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs - After cooking
    Emma Christensen
    Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs - Cooling after cooking
    Emma Christensen
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
72 Calories
5g Fat
0g Carbs
6g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1 to 12
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.