Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs [5-5-5 Method]

The fastest, easiest way to hard boil eggs is in the Instant Pot. You'll get perfect results every time and the shell will peel off effortlessly. Follow the steps below to get the best results.

a fresh hard boiled egg cut in half

Hard-boiled eggs were one of the very first things I made in the Instant Pot. I know some people think it’s silly to make your eggs in the pot, but trust me, once you make them in the Instant Pot you won’t be using your stove for hard-boiled eggs again!

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I love making deviled eggs. Every Thanksgiving I boil A LOT of eggs. They were always such a pain to peel, no matter what tricks I used. Plus, the egg yolks were always way off center when I cut them. Not to mention the fact that I had to babysit the boiling water to make sure it didn’t boil over.

I finally put Ryan in charge of boiling them because I could never get them just right. But even when he boiled them, they were still a pain to peel.

The Perfect Egg Has Always Eluded Me Until Now

When I found out I could make PERFECT hard-boiled eggs in my Instant Pot, I was very excited to give it a try. I have to say, it didn’t disappoint!

I am finally able to make perfect hard-boiled eggs! Centered yolk and everything!

With just a press of a button, you can also make perfect hard-boiled eggs in no time!

sliced open hard boiled egg
Essential Items

Here are some essential prep tools, utensils, and appliances I used to make this recipe.

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Prep Tools & Utensils

Here are the prep tools and utensils that you’ll need:

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23 Must-Have Electric Pressure Cooker Accessories

Make sure to check out my Ultimate List of Electric Pressure Cooker Accessories! I’ve included everything you could ever need to help make your pressure cooking quicker, easier, and even more convenient.

Making Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

If you’re new to the Instant Pot or have never made eggs in it, then this part is for you. I will walk you through exactly how I make mine so you can try it yourself! I will show you the 5-5-5 method of making hard-boiled eggs.

The 5-5-5 method involves the following:

  • 5-minute cook time
  • 5-minute natural pressure release
  • 5-minute ice bath

Gather Your Ingredients

All you need is eggs, water, and either the rack that came with your Instant Pot or an egg rack. I like to leave my eggs out until they reach room temperature. This can help you avoid them cracking while they’re cooking.

perfectly cooked Instant Pot hard boiled eggs

If it’s your first time making them, I’d start with 3-4 eggs just in case my times don’t work perfectly for you.

Add Water to the Instant Pot

First, you add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot. Make sure your stainless steel liner is in the pot!

how to make hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot

Add the Eggs to the Egg Racks

I have the set of stacked racks seen below. It allows me to make lots of eggs at once. First, set the lower rack in the pot and start loading in the eggs.

instant pot egg rack
perfect Instant Pot hard boiled eggs

After the first rack is full, set your second rack on top and start loading the eggs into it.

Instant Pot hard boiled eggs recipe

It is very important, especially if you’re making deviled eggs and you want your eggs to look pretty with centered yolks, to place the eggs with the pointy tip facing down. This will ensure a centered yolk every time!

making Instant Pot hard boiled eggs

I want to point out that I only needed to make a dozen eggs here, but you can use the center ring on both racks and cook a total of 14 eggs.

hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot

Cook the Eggs For 5-Minutes

Close and lock your lid. Press the manual (or pressure cook on newer models) button. Adjust your time to 5 minutes. You will cook the eggs on high pressure for 5 minutes.

how to hard boil eggs in the Instant Pot

Perform a 5-Minute Natural Pressure Release

Once the pot is finished cooking, it will go into warming mode and will start counting up. This is where you will do a 5-minute Natural Pressure Release or NPR. This means you do nothing and you let the display count up to 5.

Once the display reaches 5, then you will release the rest of the pressure manually, or what’s known as a QPR or Quick Pressure Release. You will turn the pressure release valve (knob) to venting. Once all the pressure is released (it shouldn’t take too long for this) and the pin has dropped, you can open your pot.

Remove Eggs Carefully From the Instant Pot

Remove your eggs carefully from the pot and place them immediately in a bowl filled with ice and water. I use a set of stainless steel tongs but you can use whatever works for you!

electric pressure cooker hard boiled eggs

Place the Eggs in an Ice Bath

Placing the eggs in the ice bath stops the cooking and ensures your eggs aren’t overcooked.

instant pot boiled eggs

Allow the Eggs to Soak for 5 Minutes

The last 5 in the 5-5-5 method is allowing the eggs to sit for 5 minutes in the ice bath.

hard boiled eggs made in the Instant Pot

Peel with Ease

After years of struggling with peeling eggs, peeling these eggs is almost rewarding. It’s amazing how they peel perfectly every time.

peeling Instant Pot hard boiled eggs

Enjoy Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

So simple! Perfect hard-boiled eggs every time.

peeling a hard boiled egg

Now that you have all these wonderful hard-boiled eggs you can use them in so many ways! You can get started by trying my delicious Egg & Ham Dip.

Things To Consider

There are certain things to consider when making eggs.

  • If you have old eggs, it can affect how they come out.
  • Also, the temperature of the eggs can determine whether they will crack while cooking.
  • My perfect hard-boiled egg may not be yours.

Try out the 5-5-5 and if it doesn’t give you a perfect egg, play with the numbers a bit. You don’t want to move too far from the numbers, but just a minute during cooking or NPR can make a difference.

Let me know in the comments if the 5-5-5 works for you!

Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

PERFECTLY COOKED, EASY-PEEL HARD BOILED EGGS

4.57 from 46 votes
Servings
12 eggs
DifficultyEasy
Cooking Method(s)
  • Pressure Cooking
Pressure LevelHigh
Program SettingManual / Pressure Cook
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
NPR
5 minutes
Total Time
15 minutes
Recipe by: Valerie Cooper
After making hard-boiled eggs in the Instant Pot, you’ll never do them on the stovetop again. Perfect results every time and the shells peel off so easily.
a fresh hard boiled egg cut in half

Essential Equipment

  • instant pot

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 12 eggs

Instructions

  • Add water to the Instant Pot, and then place the bottom rack in the pot. (You can also use the trivet that came with your pot)
  • Stack six eggs on the rack making sure to place the eggs pointy tip down. This will center the yolk. Then place the second rack in the pot and add the remaining six eggs.
  • Close the pot, set it to sealing and then cook on ‘Manual’ or ‘Pressure Cook’, ‘High Pressure’ for 5 minutes.
  • Once the pot has completed the 5 minute cook time, allow it to do a 5 minute Natural Pressure Release (NPR).
  • Prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl with ice and water.
  • Release any remaining pressure after the 5 minute NPR, open the pot and carefully remove the eggs from the pot and place them in the ice bath.
  • Allow the eggs to soak in the ice bath for another 5 minutes.
  • Remove the eggs for the ice bath, peel and serve as you please.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1egg | Calories: 62kcal | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 163mg | Sodium: 63mg | Potassium: 60mg | Vitamin A: 240IU | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.8mg

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89 thoughts on “Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs [5-5-5 Method]”

  1. Thank you so much for this post! I’ve struggled for so long getting my hard boiled eggs to peel neatly. After using this method, peeling them is delightfully easy and the feeling is rewarding, as you said, after messing up so many eggs! This is by far my favorite thing to do with my instant pot. So glad I found this on Pinterest, thanks for saving my egg peeling skills.

    1. Hi Rachael! Thank you for your comment! I’m so happy my post helped you with your egg-peeling woes! 🙂 I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Have a great one!

  2. I made these and they were overcooked by my standards. They had the green line between the white and the yolk and the yolk was powdery. I should have done a test with just two rather than a dozen. Thankfully they can go into egg salad.

    I like set, creamy yolks so I won’t be doing these again.

    1. Hi Nicole! I do mention in the post that everyone’s perfect is different and you should start with a couple of eggs. Fortunately, I’ve never gotten a green line in mine before. Altitude will also play a part in cooking time, so keep that in mind. Hope you find your perfect timing for the eggs! Thanks for stopping by.

  3. I used 5 min. cooking time, then quick release, ice bath for 5 min. PERFECT hard boiled eggs! I’ll never use the stove again! Exciting!!!

  4. Thank you. I think another thing that you mentioned — eggs taken out of the refrigerator to warm to room temperature for 15 minutes — certainly makes a difference, too. Your photos are perfect!!!

  5. Congratulations on being featured in a BuzzFeed article! I love doing hard boiled eggs in the IP – no ugly green ring around the egg yolk. My method for centering the yolks is to lay them on a plate overnight before cooking them. The yolks move to the middle of the egg and you don’t end up with that one skinny side of egg white that ALWAYS tears when you’re shelling or filling the devilled egg. I leave the plate of eggs out on the counter (my cat isn’t a counter surfer, or at least not when I’m looking . . . ) and they’re ready to be cooked the next morning.

    1. Thank you so much! I appreciate it! That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing it. I, by the way, do have a counter surfing cat!! Haha!!

  6. Can I stack the eggs on top of each other? I don’t have an egg rack. I have the normal trivia and a 6 at pot….cant fit a whole dz unless I stack em.

    1. Hi Dawn! Yes, you can stack them. Definitely use the trivet when making them. I was having trouble with some eggs cracking when I stacked them, so that’s why I prefer using the rack. That being said, I’ve seen lots of people be successful stacking a lot of eggs on the trivet!

      1. I agree the IP for eggs is preferable to stovetop because of the super easy peeling and no cracked eggs … except I’ve found they will crack if they’re touching the lid or sides of the pot.

        I want to share a story about just how much easier eggs cooked in the IP are to peel: my father had suffered a stroke and they were teaching him to eat again. He was advancing faster than expected, when trying to find soft foods to test I offered a hard boiled egg. Everyone in the room was amazed when I peeled it by just cracking the shell and squeezing – voila! IP egg = Instant Peel egg!!!

        1. Valerie Cooper

          Thank you so much for sharing that Alison! I hope your dad has made a full recovery! I agree with you, my eggs tend to crack if they touch each other! Thanks for stopping by!

  7. First time making the hard boiled eggs in my Instant Pot and they were PERFECT!! And they were x-large! I think I have even converted hubby as he thought he had finally found the perfect way on the stove!!

  8. not any faster or easier than using a pot on the stove. add eggs to pot, cover with water, bring to rolling boil, remove from heat and cover, let stand for 10 minutes, remove and soak in cold water. perfect hard boiled eggs every time !

    1. Thanks for your comment “Slartibartfast”. I find it much easier to make them in the Instant Pot. They are always much, much easier to peel and the yolks are always centered. This gives me perfect eggs every time. Thanks for stopping by!

  9. Does the size of the eggs (large, x large, jumbo) make any difference on the 5 minute cooking time? I followed your instructions, 5-5-5, but my hard boiled eggs were soft cooked. What did I do wrong? I used x large eggs.
    Thanks

    1. Hi Phil! I always use large eggs and at 5-5-5 they’re perfect for me. I haven’t bought jumbo eggs but it could make a difference. I would suggest trying to add a minute at a time until you reach your perfect egg. Start with 6-6-6 and go from there. Hope this helps.

      1. I tried cooking hard boiled eggs with your method, but I messed up. The first time, I didn’t have the top on tightly enough, so they came out runny, not even soft cooked. The 2nd time, they came out between hard and soft cooked and the shells were not coming off easily. How do I get the pressure on high? I think it might be on low and that’s my problem. How dumb can a person be? I can’t even boil an egg correctly. 😡😟😲

        1. Hi Carole! Don’t be discouraged. You’ll get this! I suggest testing out one or two eggs at a time as you go. What model pot do you have? Depending on your altitude and egg preference you may have to play with the cooking time. 6 minutes instead of 5 works better for some people.

        1. Valerie Cooper

          Hi Zman, he actually did say jumbo. It’s at the beginning of his comment. Thanks for stopping by!

        2. Actually, he said at the end “I USED X LARGE EGGS! Sorry, I will drop this thread!
          Does the size of the eggs (large, x large, jumbo) make any difference on the 5 minute cooking time? I followed your instructions, 5-5-5, but my hard boiled eggs were soft cooked. What did I do wrong? I used x large eggs.

          1. Yes, he did. I said I had never bought jumbo eggs, which he mentioned at the beginning. Then I proceeded to answer his question with what I thought would work. I don’t see an issue. I hope you have a fantastic week ahead!

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