We all knew our handy dandy air fryers were a versatile (and at this point, an essential) piece of kitchen equipment, but did you know they can make boiled eggs? Air fryer eggs are my new favorite.
There weren’t too many ways to boil an egg…until now. Most of us pull out a pot, fill it up with water, carefully add the eggs, and sit there dutifully waiting for those eggs to be magically transformed in bubbling, boiling water. Then you have to fish them out, cool them down in an ice bath, and so on.
Now take a second with those memories, give them a good mental snuggle, and then set them aside. This new method is going to be what you do from here on out. It is just too easy not to.
Whether you need to make a quick breakfast, want to start trying new easy air fryer recipes, or want to have a new favorite way to cook eggs, this egg recipe is the best way to accomplish all of those things.
Hard Boiled Eggs
It turns out that not only can you bake, fry, and roast with abandon in your air fryer, you can also hard boil your eggs in that thing too. Take this time to quietly thank the person that figured out this friggin’ invention. (What won’t it do?!)
I know what you are thinking now, “How in the world does that work?” The whole premise of the air fryer is that it created an environment to cook ingredients without having to submerge them in hot oil.
So, why wouldn’t do the same thing work for something that is normally submerged in water instead of oil? Same idea!
My air fryer hard-boiled eggs recipe yields eggs that are perfect for making egg salad sandwiches. Rather that the traditional method, this is the perfect way to get perfect boiled eggs every time- with no actual boiling!
It’s a great alternative to boiling a pot of water on the stove top, and a safer method that the kids will enjoy helping you with. It’s my new favorite methos and I’m sure it will be yours too.
Cooking Eggs in the Air Fryer
Instead of hot water to start the cooking process, you have hot air moving all around them. The end result is the exact same and now you don’t have splashes of water on your stovetop or waiting for the water to boil.
There is also little cleanup, because quite frankly, nothing gets dirty. You might just give the air fryer basket a quick rinse.
The cook time depends on how soft or hard you’d like your yolk. Much like the yolk of a fried egg, the longer you cook it, the harder it will be. Likewise, the less time you cook them, the more jammy eggs you’ll have.
Peeling Hard Boiled Eggs
Some of you might be thinking, okay how to do I peel these as easily as when you add baking soda to the water of your pot?
Fun fact: older eggs peel more easily. Now, I am not talking eggs that are past their prime, but maybe some eggs that have been in your fridge for a week or so. Try to use those here.
Use older eggs and transfer them to a bowl of ice water as soon as they are finished cooking. This helps the inner lining separate from the shell, making them easier to peel.
Soft-Boiled Eggs
And don’t worry about egg temp. This method will give you the same range of soft to hard that you are used to. Just set the timer and you are good to go.
All of these times are based on large eggs. Extra large eggs will require 1-2 minutes additional to these instructions.
- Soft boiled eggs- keep them in there for 10 minutes. This will give you a soft white and a jammy yolk.
- Medium-boiled eggs- keep them in there for 12-13 minutes. This version will have a yolk that is just set and a white that is still a bit tender.
- Hard-boiled eggs- they should spend 14-15 minutes in there. This is a hard, yellow center without gray and perfect for hard boiled eggs and egg salad.
This is a great recipe if you need eggs quickly in a hurry. Use it for things like everyday morning breakfast, a healthy snack, egg salad, deviled eggs, cobb, and Nicoise salads, crostinis, and pickled or marinated eggs.
Storage and Freezing
Storage: You can store air fryer hard boiled eggs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. They’re great for adding to salads, avocado toast or even making egg salad.
Freezing: I do not recommend freezing hard eggs. The egg white will become tough and inedible. The egg yolk could be salvageable, but not worth ruining the white to me.
More Recipes that Use Eggs
You can also make eggs the old fashioned way (in a pot of boiling water) or in the Instant Pot!
Please remember that all Air Fryers will be slightly different. I use a medium sized air fryer with a basket, as opposed to the type that looks like a toaster oven. Mine is a Corsi and I love it!
Air Fryer Eggs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 medium-large eggs
- water & ice
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 270F.
- Place the eggs in the air fryer basket and slide it into place.
- The next step will depend on how you like your eggs. For soft boiled eggs, keep them in there for 10 minutes. This will give you a soft white and a jammy yolk. For medium-boiled eggs, keep them in there for 12-13 minutes. This version will have a yolk that is just set and a white that is still a bit tender. For hard-boiled eggs, they should spend 14-15 minutes in there.
- While your eggs are cooking, put together an ice bath. This will help to stop them from cooking more when you take them out and will help to allow you to peel them more quickly. It is as easy as adding a bunch of ice to cold water in a bowl.
- When your eggs are done, carefully transfer them to the icy water and let them sit for five minutes or so. When they are cool enough to handle, peel, and enjoy!
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Made these twice and turned out perfectly. Thank you for such an easy recipe
Yay! That is what we love to hear and thank you so much for coming back to let us know.
I love this! Super easy and they come out perfect every time!
I never would have thought of using an air fryer for eggs, great idea!
I have an air fryer, yet I have never used it to cook eggs. I think I need to some experimenting. It is raining today, so this might just be the day.
I never would have thought to use an air fryer for boiled eggs. I guess this has the advantage of not knocking around in the boiling water and potentially cracking the shells prematurely.
That is brilliant! I would never have thought of using an air fryer for eggs in this way. Really handy and so easy. Boiled eggs are such a good staple too, good for lots of different ideas. Deviled eggs are one of my favourites.
I tried to hard boil eggs but my air fryer won’t go lower than 300 degrees. I tried less time, but unfortunately they were overcooked.
Ugh- what make/model are you using? With Instant Pots and Air Fryers, there is so much variation between brands and the ones that look a toaster oven tend to cook differently that those with a basket.