Hard boiled eggs are a versatile food to have on hand. Learn how to make hard boiled eggs in the instant pot and a method that results in easy to peel eggs every single time! No ice bath required!

instant pot hard boiled eggs on a black plate with black pepper

Easy Peel Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

I love my Instant Pot but didn’t experiment cooking eggs initially as I thought I won’t get it right. Boy! I was wrong. I didn’t know I could make perfect hard boiled eggs in the instant pot. That too easy to peel! I love cooking eggs in the Instant Pot because they are so easy. It’s mostly hand-off. No need to stand over the stove with a timer. Even though it’s simple to make boiled eggs on the stove, I love how I could get things done with a push of a button in the Instant Pot.

Eggs are a nutritional powerhouse. Having hard boiled eggs on hand makes it easy to throw a quick healthy meal or a snack. If you are meal prepping hard boiled eggs are a great protein option to include. I love to have boiled eggs in the fridge for egg salads, egg sandwiches and fried eggs. My family loves them!

Why I love Instant Pot boiled eggs

Mostly hands-off – No need to man the eggs. I can get other things going when the eggs are cooking.
Peels easily – With a few tips, you can get the eggs to peel easily most of the time. I can’t say 100% because eggs are finicky and there could be so many reasons the eggs won’t peel. But using this method that I’m going tell, eggs peel easily most of the time. I don’t have that many ice cubes in my freezer so this recipe requires no ice bath.
Fool – proof – I follow 5-5-5 method loosely and it works every time in my 6 quart Instant Pot. Once you figure out the your perfect egg cooking time it’s fool-proof and works every time!

How to make

I follow a 5-5-5 method loosely to cook the perfect hard boiled eggs.

5 minutes of pressure cooking the eggs on high pressure

5 minutes of natural pressure release

5 minutes or more in cold water

Even though this works perfectly in my 6 quart Instant Pot, it might vary for you depending on the size of your Instant Pot; the size, quality and age of your eggs; and altitude. Do some experimenting to find out the right cooking times for your Instant Pot

If you have an 8 quart, you could reduce the pressure cooking time to 3 minutes and have the natural pressure release for another 3 minutes. Then do a quick release and remove the eggs into a bowl of cold water. Since the 8 quart is large, it will hold more pressure cooking the eggs quickly. So you’d want to reduce the timings.

For a 3 quart Instant Pot, you could follow the 5-5-5 method to cook the eggs.

perfect hard boiled eggs in the instant pot in a trivet

Steps to make the perfect hard boiled eggs in the instant pot

Add 1 cup of water in the instant pot. Water helps create steam to cook the eggs.
Place the trivet inside the instant pot. Place the eggs on the trivet. You can cook upto a dozen. Using a trivet is important as it places the eggs above the water and helps to lift the cooked eggs out of the pot.
Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the valve into the ‘Sealing’ position.
Select the pressure cook button and put it to high pressure and set the time for 5 minutes.
It takes time for the pressure to build up and this takes anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes. Once the pressure builds up, the pressure cook timing for 5 minutes will start.
Once the beep goes off, let the pressure relase naturally for 5 minutes. You’d see the keep warm button is activated and the timer starts again.
Once the 5 minutes is up, turn the valve into “Venting” and release the pressure until the pin falls off.
Remove the lid and transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold tap water.

How to easily peel hard boiled eggs

You can easily peel hard boiled eggs with this method and it doesn’t need an ice bath. Yes, I never use an ice bath. I don’t have that many ice cubes and honestly can’t be bothered to go through that extra step.

Cold water from the tap works really well.

Once you remove the eggs from the instant pot, submerge them in a bowl of cold water from the tap. Let it sit there for 5 or more minutes.
Crack open an egg by rolling them in the kitchen counter and put them in a bowl of water. Water gets inside the shell and helps peel easily. Once they are in the water for a minute or two, the peel comes off so easily. Perfectly peeled eggs every single time!

Storing hard boiled eggs

Store the peeled hard boiled eggs in the fridge for 7 days. Hard boiled eggs won’t freeze well.

Don’t leave the boiled eggs at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Recipe tips

I don’t recommend cooking more than dozen eggs at one time. Cooking times may vary.
Make sure you don’t leave the eggs for more than 5 minutes in natural pressure release. Or it will result in overcooked eggs.
After you release the pressure and open the lid, make sure you use tongs or oven mitts to remove your eggs as they will be very hot.
Cold water from the tap works just fine to cool down the eggs after cooking. If you are cooking a dozen eggs, make sure you have a large enough bowl to submerge all the eggs fully. Or have two bowls filled with cold water.
After you crack the eggs, submerge them in water again for a minute or two to peel easily.

You can use hard boiled to make a super delicious and easy egg salad. Get the recipe here for my Best Egg Salad Recipe.

Instant Pot Recipes you may like

Recipe