By Rawia Younis · Last reviewed November 2026
How long to boil eggs: lower large eggs straight from the fridge into boiling water and cook 6 minutes for a runny yolk, 7 for jammy, 9 for medium and 12 for fully hard. Then move them to a bowl of ice water right away.
Those times are starting points, not lab numbers. Your stove, the size of your eggs and how cold they are will move them by a minute either way. All you need is a pot that holds the eggs in one layer with a lid, and a 2-quart stainless saucepan does that for up to six. If you are choosing one, our guide to stainless steel grades in cookware explains what the numbers on the label mean, and our guide to whether stainless steel cookware is safe covers what the metal contains.
Boiled egg time chart, large eggs from the fridge
| Yolk you want | Into boiling water | Cold start | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runny (soft-boiled) | 6 minutes | Not reliable | Set white, liquid yolk |
| Jammy | 7 minutes | Not reliable | Thick, glossy, sticky center |
| Medium-set | 9 minutes | Not reliable | Mostly set, soft and creamy in the middle |
| Hard-boiled | 12 minutes | 12 minutes | Firm white and firm yolk all the way through |
Water at a full boil is 212°F (100°C) at sea level. Once the eggs are in, turn the heat down so the water bubbles gently. Cold start means heat off and lid on once the water boils. These times are kitchen starting points, not USDA numbers.
From left: runny, jammy, medium and fully set.
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The pan we'd boil them in
Cuisinart Chef's Classic 2-quart saucepan with lid. Stainless steel inside, a base that spreads heat, and a lid that fits, which matters for the cold-start method. It holds about six large eggs in one layer.
The drawback: a 2-quart pan suits small batches. For a dozen eggs you need a bigger pot.
See the Cuisinart saucepan on AmazonWhy recipes give different times
Look up hard-boiled eggs and you will see 10 minutes, 12 minutes and "10 to 15 minutes", sometimes on the same page. They are usually describing different methods, where the clock starts at different moments. Some longer times, like 15 minutes, are for extra-large eggs or for a pot that keeps boiling the whole time.
- Boiling-water start: the clock starts when the eggs go into water that is already boiling. This is the most predictable way, and the one the first column of the chart uses.
- Cold start: eggs go into cold water, the pot comes up to a boil, then the heat goes off and the lid goes on. The clock starts at the boil, but the eggs were already cooking on the way up, and how long that takes depends on your stove.
A small kitchen timer helps more than you would think, because the phone on the counter is always the one you get distracted by. If you cook soft and hard eggs in the same pot, set two timers and lift the soft ones out first.
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Antonki digital timer, 2-pack
Why it fits: it counts down in minutes and seconds, sticks to the fridge with a magnet, and remembers the last time you set. Two in the pack means one for the eggs and one for whatever else is on the stove.
The drawback: it is plastic, has no hour setting, and you have to switch it off by hand.
Check it on AmazonHow long to boil eggs by doneness
Soft-boiled eggs: 6 minutes
At 6 minutes the white is set and the yolk still runs. This is the egg for an egg cup and strips of toast for dipping. Some recipes go as short as 3 to 4 minutes for a very loose egg with a barely set white, but under 6 minutes the white near the yolk often stays clear and runny, which most people don't want. Serve it as soon as it comes out of the water.
Jammy eggs: 7 minutes
One more minute turns the yolk thick and sticky, set around the edge and glossy in the middle. Jammy eggs are the ones you see halved on a bowl of ramen. Get them into the ice bath right away, because a jammy yolk keeps cooking from its own heat and can turn medium in the few minutes it sits on the counter.
Hard-boiled egg time: 12 minutes
At 12 minutes in boiling water, or 12 minutes covered and off the heat after a cold start, the yolk is firm all the way through and still bright yellow. That's the egg for deviled eggs and lunchboxes.
One safety note. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says to cook eggs until both the white and the yolk are firm. A runny, jammy or medium yolk does not meet that. If you are cooking for someone who has been told to avoid undercooked eggs, make them hard-boiled.
Does egg size change the time?
Yes, a little. The chart is for large eggs, the size most recipes mean. In the US, egg sizes are set by the weight of a dozen, not the size of one egg. FSIS lists a dozen large eggs at a minimum of 24 ounces (680 g), medium at 21 ounces (595 g), extra-large at 27 ounces (765 g) and jumbo at 30 ounces (850 g).
For the boiling-water start, take about 1 minute off for medium eggs and add about 1 minute for extra-large or jumbo. The cold start reacts more to size, because the eggs sit in cooling water: the government's hard-cooked egg recipe uses 9 minutes for medium, 12 for large and 15 for extra-large.
Cold start or boiling water: which is better?
For soft and jammy eggs, use boiling water. You control the exact time the eggs spend in the heat, and a minute decides the difference between those two yolks.
For hard-boiled eggs, either works, with one trade-off: eggs started in boiling water often peel more cleanly, in many cooks' experience, so use that method for deviled eggs. The cold start is gentler. The eggs warm with the water, so fewer shells crack from the sudden heat, and you can walk away once the heat is off. The trade-off is that a powerful burner gets the pot to a boil much faster than a weak one, so the result varies from kitchen to kitchen.
If you go with boiling water, lower the eggs in one at a time instead of dropping them. An egg that hits the bottom of the pan is the one that cracks.
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Cuisinart stainless slotted spoon
Why it fits: the bowl holds one egg steady while you lower it into boiling water, and the slots drain it when you lift it out to the ice bath. It is all stainless steel, 16 inches (41 cm) long, so your hand stays out of the steam.
The drawback: it moves one or two eggs at a time. For a dozen, pouring off the hot water is faster.
Check it on AmazonHow to boil eggs, step by step
- Fill a pot with enough water to cover the eggs by about 1 inch (2.5 cm) and bring it to a full boil.
- Set out a bowl of ice and cold water before you start. You won't have time once the eggs are done.
- Lower the eggs in gently with a spoon, start the timer, and turn the heat down so the water bubbles steadily but doesn't roll.
- When the timer goes, move the eggs straight into the ice water.
- Peel and eat, or dry them and refrigerate within 2 hours.
The ice bath
Straight from the pot into ice water stops the cooking.
An egg keeps cooking after it leaves the pot. The ice bath stops that, so the time on your timer is the time you actually get. It also helps with the gray-green ring around overcooked yolks, and many cooks find the shell comes off more easily after a full chill.
How long to leave them: soft eggs 30 seconds to a minute if you are eating them warm, jammy eggs 2 to 3 minutes to eat warm or 5 minutes if you are peeling or storing them, and hard-boiled eggs about 10 minutes, until they feel cold in your hand. Add more ice if it melts away. A bowl of tap water warms up fast with a batch of hot eggs in it.
FSIS says hard-cooked eggs should go into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking and be eaten within a week. For how to store them and when the week starts, see how long hard-boiled eggs last in the fridge. For boiling a batch for weekday lunches, our meal prep containers guide covers what to pack them in.
How to peel boiled eggs without tearing the white
Start at the wide end, where the air pocket is.
Most peeling trouble starts before the egg is cooked, so the first fix is the boiling-water start. Eggs that go into water that is already boiling tend to release from the shell more cleanly than cold-start eggs.
- Chill the eggs fully in the ice bath first. A warm egg tears.
- Tap the egg all over on the counter until the shell is covered in small cracks, then roll it gently under your palm.
- Start peeling at the wide end. There is a small air pocket there, and it gives you an edge to get under the thin skin below the shell.
- Peel under a thin stream of cool water, or in the bowl of ice water. The water slips between the skin and the white and carries off the small bits of shell.
FSIS notes that older eggs are better for hard cooking, and very fresh eggs are the hardest to peel. If you know you are making deviled eggs, eggs that have been in the fridge for a week or so tend to peel more easily than ones bought the day before.
Fixes for green yolks, cracked shells and rubbery whites
Left: overcooked, with a green ring. Right: the bright yolk you want.
Green ring around the yolk. FSIS says a green ring on a hard-cooked yolk can be a result of overcooking, when sulfur and iron compounds in the egg react at the yolk's surface. It adds that a lot of iron in the cooking water can cause it too, and that the green color is safe to consume. The same overcooking gives that strong sulfur smell. To avoid both, keep to 12 minutes and go straight to the ice bath.
Cracked shells. Eggs crack when they hit the bottom of the pan or knock into each other in hard-rolling water. Fridge-cold eggs going into boiling water crack a little more often, so lower them in with a spoon, turn the heat down right away, and don't crowd the pot. If one cracks anyway, FSIS says eggs that crack during hard cooking are safe to eat. You may get a ribbon of white leaking out, which is only a cosmetic problem.
Rubbery whites. This comes from too much heat for too long. A rolling boil for the whole time toughens the white before the yolk is done. Turn the heat down once the eggs are in, and don't go past the time for the yolk you want.
Boiling eggs at high altitude
Water boils at a lower temperature the higher you live, so a boiling pot is not as hot and eggs take longer. University extension guidance puts the boiling point at about 208°F (98°C) at 2,000 feet (610 m), 200°F (93°C) at 6,000 feet (1,830 m) and 194°F (90°C) at 10,000 feet (3,050 m).
For hard-boiled eggs, the same guidance suggests starting with about 25% more cooking time if you live at high elevation. For a 12-minute egg, that is about 15 minutes. Soft and jammy eggs can need proportionally more. Cook one egg first, cut it open, and note the time that works in your kitchen. Turning the heat up does not help, because the water can't get any hotter than its boiling point.
Questions people ask
How many eggs can I boil at once?
As many as fit in one layer with about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water over them. A 2-quart saucepan holds about six large eggs, and a dozen needs a 4-quart pot or bigger. More eggs cool the water more when they go in, so with a full pot add about a minute.
Is boiling eggs for 20 minutes too long?
Yes. The eggs are still safe to eat, but by 20 minutes the whites turn rubbery, the yolk goes dry and chalky, and you will usually see a gray-green ring and smell sulfur. Twelve minutes is enough for a fully hard large egg.
What is the 5-5-5 or 5-10-5 rule for eggs?
Those are electric pressure cooker methods, not stovetop times. The numbers stand for minutes at pressure, minutes letting the pressure drop on its own, and minutes in an ice bath. They don't carry over to a pot on the stove, so use the chart above for that.
Do you start timing before or after the water boils?
It depends on the method. With the boiling-water start, the timer starts when the eggs go into water that is already boiling. With a cold start, it starts when the water reaches a full boil and you turn off the heat.
How can I tell if a boiled egg is done without cutting it?
You can't see the yolk, so timing is the real test. One trick tells hard-boiled from raw: spin the egg on the counter. A hard-boiled egg spins smoothly and fast, while a raw one wobbles. It won't tell soft from jammy, so cook one test egg and cut it if you aren't sure.
Should eggs be at room temperature before boiling?
There is no need. The times on this page are for eggs straight from the fridge. A room-temperature egg cooks a little faster, so take about a minute off. FSIS says refrigerated eggs shouldn't sit out more than 2 hours.
How we checked this
The boiling-water times for runny, jammy and medium yolks are compiled from common cooking guidance and were not tested in our kitchen. The 12-minute cold-start time for large eggs, and the times for other sizes, come from government recipe guidance. On 13 November 2026 we also read the FSIS egg safety page and two university extension guides on altitude. Product details come from the Amazon listings on the same date.
Written by Rawia Younis. Rawia writes Cupindy's cooking guides. This page is general cooking and food-safety information, not medical advice.
Sources
- FSIS: Shell Eggs from Farm to Table (read 13 Nov 2026)
- MedlinePlus: Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs (read 13 Nov 2026)
- Cooperative Extension: high elevation cooking guide (PDF) (read 13 Nov 2026)
- Extension: high elevation food preparation sheet (PDF) (read 13 Nov 2026)
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