How to Make Boiled Eggs in the Air Fryer
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Air Fryer Boiled Eggs Recipe
Boiling eggs can be a bit of a pain to get right! Whether you want soft or hard boiled eggs, or somewhere in the middle, you need to get the timing right. Luckily I have shared the ultimate guide to the perfect boiled eggs over the stove here!
What if your stove is full though? Sometimes you need to make other components of your dish, and having to wait for the eggs to boil can slow you down.
That’s where the air fryer can save the day! You won’t have to wait for water to boil, and you can save a burner on the stove. It’ll definitely make your cooking more efficient and save you stress!
This Air Fryer Boiled Egg Recipe will show how to make hard boiled eggs in your air fryer - both for hard boiled and soft boiled eggs! I’ll break down the temperature for air frying boiled eggs and how long it takes to air fry the eggs for soft boiled or hard boiled eggs - or anything in between!
As you’ll see later on in this post, there are many ways to use boiled eggs. If you’re in a slump in the kitchen, trust me that doing something as simple as making a batch of boiled eggs can give you a sudden spark of motivation! As you can read about more in my Make Cooking Fun! guide - my top 5 tips to explore your potential in the kitchen - using up what you have can push you to get creative using ingredients that need to be eaten! After you’ve seen how easy it is to air fry boil eggs, try all of the recipes with boiled eggs at the bottom of my post as part of your Live to Cook one month challenge, and be sure to tag me Instagram to share the results with me! Get the free guides by signing up to my newsletter!
In order to grasp the concepts and to see me make the boiled eggs at different doneness levels live, don’t forget to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you haven’t already, I’d really appreciate if you subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell button so you receive the notifications when my video recipes go live! I love to share a video to go along with the written recipes to give you all the tools you need or success! Let’s get air frying!
What is an Air Fryer?
An air fryer is a small kitchen appliance that acts as a convection oven. The air circulates in a small space, leading to a crispy exterior and a warm interior. That’s why air frying is often used as a replacement for deep frying. The final product ends up being crispier than baking in the oven, and the cooking time is often cut in half or more! I have plenty of Air Fryer Recipes on the blog, and you’ll often see me make fries or chicken wings! They give you the delicious crispiness without the large quantity of oil and the mess that comes with deep frying!
In this case, we’ll see if the circulation of air in the confined space will help boil your eggs faster than if you were to wait for water to boil over the stove and then actually boil the eggs, or for you to place the eggs in an Instant Pot and allow the pressure to rise then release.
Tools Needed For Air Fryer Boiled Eggs
You only need two things:
Air fryer: The most important thing for this recipe! You’ll be making your boiled eggs in the air fryer, so it’s mandatory! I use the Ninja Foodi dual basket 6-in-1 air fryer. If you want a detailed review of it, check out my video here.
Mixing bowl: You’ll want a large bowl to make your ice water bath in after you’ve “boiled” your eggs in the air fryer.
Questions You May Have about air Fried Boiled Eggs
What is the 5-5-5 Method and Does it work in the air fryer?
The 5-5-5 method is a trendy boiled eggs method that bloggers are raving about. The basic idea that for “perfect boiled eggs” in the Instant Pot, you need to Pressure Cook for 5 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and finally let the eggs cool down in an ice water bath for 5 minutes.
I have tried it, I have debunked it, and it does not result in pleasing, creamy, boiled eggs. Check out the best way to use your Instant Pot for boiled eggs here.
Will the Eggs Explode in the air Fryer?
Other recipes are guaranteeing that eggs won’t explode in the air fryer, but I’ll be honest with you and say yes they can. Look at these photos!
I had placed two eggs here and one of them exploded while the other was fine. They weren’t finished cooking but I had noticed a strange smell, so I went to check what was happening in the air fryer. And there it was! YES your air fried boiled eggs can certainly explode! The exact cause isn’t known, but it could be because of air pockets that had expanded due to the heat.
My hope with this guide is to prevent any explosions from happening to you too!
Why Is there a green ring around my egg yolk?
Usually when eggs get over cooked and are not cooled instantly after cooking, the yolk develops a green ring on the outside. Transfer the eggs to an ice water bath after cooking to stop the cooking process and prevent a green ring to form outside the yolk
What are the brown spots on my air fryer hard boiled eggs?
There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, you may not have cleaned your air fryer properly and debris might have cooked onto your eggs. So ensure you’ve scrubbed the air fryer well!
The second reason is a bit more complex. Some air fryers can go as low as 270 F while some can only go down to 300 F. The issue with going for hard boiled. when your air fryer can only go down to 300 F is the temperature is too hot for the eggs. This results in the egg shell getting to hot while cooking and overcooks and burns the egg white in spots. This also makes it hard to peel the eggs since the shell will be cooked onto the eggs as you can see below. The wattage level of the air fryer can also impact the final result since no two air fryers are built the same.
However, if you do have an air fryer that is able to go lower than 300 F, you likely have a better chance of getter potentially better hard boiled eggs. Experiment, start with 12-13 minutes for hard boiled and enjoy the experience.
It could be that this was just a touch too long and the shell was burning onto the egg white. Maybe this was because of my air fryer? I’m not sure. After I had finally managed to peel the shell off, the egg white and yolk were fine. However, the peeling process was quite a nightmare despite all of my easy-to-peel tips and tricks for other boiled egg methods!
What Temperature do you Air Fry Boiled Eggs?
I recommend you boil your eggs at the lowest temperature. For my air fryer, that temperature is 300F. If yours can go lower, then I recommend you go down to 275 F.
How Long Does It Take to Soft Boil Or Hard Boil Eggs in the Air Fryer?
Refer to the chart below to guide you on making boiled eggs based on how you like the yolk!
How Many Eggs Should You Put in the Air Fryer Basket?
I used two eggs to for the sake of this experiment. But you should be able to cook about half a dozen at a time. Depending on your air fryer, you may or may not have a basket that is evenly heated. You may have hot spots which might prevent a fully stuffed basket from cooking all of those eggs evenly.
As I said before, experiment and get a feel of your air fryer and go from there.
Ingredients For Air Fryer Boiled Eggs
Again, only two things are needed:
Eggs: I’m using standard large eggs, right from the fridge.
Water: For your ice water bath!
Of course depending on how you’ll enjoy your eggs you will probably require other ingredients. I’ve got some ideas for how to use boiled eggs at the bottom of this post, so you can click those recipes to see what you’ll need! If you just want to enjoy Air Fryer Boiled Eggs as a snack, you may want to season with salt and pepper!
How to Boil Eggs in the Air Fryer
Set Air Fryer to air fry mode and set the temperature to 300F
Insert a trivet to the air fryer basket and add the eggs.
For Soft Boiled Eggs: Cook for 8 minutes
For Medium Boiled Eggs: Cook for 10 minutes
For Hard Boiled Eggs: Cook for 11 minutes. Although I would not recommend this doneness level if your air fryer can only go as low as 300F.
In the meanwhile, prepare an ice water bath by pouring water into a large bowl and add ice cubes.
Once the eggs are done cooking, place eggs in the ice water bath for at least 10 minutes.
Peel and enjoy!
Air Fryer Boiled Eggs Tips
Older eggs will be easier to peel - the longer they have been in the fridge for, the easier the peel comes off.
Do not overstuff the basket and add only a few eggs at a time.
As soon as the eggs are done cooking, transfer them into an ice water bath. This will prevent a green ring from forming.
For the easiest peeling process, allow your eggs to completely cool down before starting.
Peel the eggs in the water of the ice water bath itself or under running water - it’s the easiest way for the shell to come off!
Stovetop vs air fryer vs instant pot - WHat’s the Best way to boil eggs?
This is my third boiled egg recipe, with Stovetop Boiled Eggs and Instant Pot Boiled Eggs. I think the most convenient method has to be the Instant Pot method. You can an extra stove top and you there is no need to wait for the water to boil. A couple of button presses brings so much convenience to something as trivial as boiled eggs.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, the next best method is the stovetop. There is much more intricate control it can give you and it doesn’t really take a significantly larger amount of time to cook. Plus, if cooking eggs in bulk, stovetop is the most efficient method.
The reason I am not a fan of Air Fryer eggs is how little control it gives you. Plus, not all air fryers are built the same, not all of them go to a temperature low enough to be able to air fry eggs to perfection. The effort of finding just the right model to use for hard boiled eggs seems to be like an exercise in futility.
Storing Air Fryer Boiled Eggs
Store your Air Fryer Boiled Eggs in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Depending on how you want to enjoy your boiled eggs, you can store them sliced, whole, or separate the yolks from the whites.
Serving suggestions for boiled eggs
Boiled Eggs are extremely versatile! You can enjoy them for any meal of the day - not just breakfast! They’re an amazing delicious blank canvas, and there are so many ways you can use them! Here are just a few ideas to use your boiled eggs!
Curries: I use boiled eggs in my Restaurant-Style Egg Curry and Chicken Nargisi Kofta Curry
Potato salad: Boiled eggs are a star in my Super Easy Potato Salad
Over a bagel: Replace the poached egg in my Bacon, Egg and Guacamole Breakfast Bagel
Over toast: Check out the creative way I use boiled eggs with cucumber to make a cool design in my Fresh and Tangy Egg Toast. You could replace the fried egg with a sliced boiled egg in my Mashed Avocado Toast with Fried Egg or add it to my Cheesy Sautéed Mushrooms on Toast. You could simply just spread Guacamole or Chunky Mango Guacamole over toast and add the sliced boiled egg on top. In fact, nothing wrong with just buttering up toast and placing the boiled eggs on top!
In biryani
Scotch eggs
Add to a Buddha bowl
In sandwiches and wraps: You can’t go wrong with an egg salad sandwich! Try adding in mayo or even my Homemade Yogurt Caesar Dressing! Spicy Mayo is the ultimate go-to for me.
Alone as a delicious high-protein snack! You could enjoy them with some Hash Browns or even add a touch of pesto sauce!
Other Egg Tutorials
Watch How to Make Boiled Eggs in the Air Fryer Here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!