Your air fryer is excellent at making hard boiled eggs. Of course, we don’t use any water to boil, but rather we utilize a low temperature and just 15-18 minutes to cook the eggs perfectly to hard boiled excellence.
Air fryers have been a superstar appliance in kitchens for quite some time now. Not only is it great for making delicious meats and vegetables, but you can also “boil” eggs (hard cook). We love this method because we don’t have to drag out a large pot or wait for any water to boil. It’s really as simple as just putting eggs in the air fryer and “air frying” at 250°(F) for about 15-18 minutes. That’s it! Let’s take a deep dive into the world of hard boiled eggs…
Hard Boiled Eggs are Quite Versatile!
Ah, the humble hard boiled egg. It looks so majestic standing in its little diminutive cup, looking down at thick sliced bacon, toast, and other breakfast faire. But, the hard boiled egg doesn’t like to be pigeonholed into one meal. It craves being the center of so many other dishes. From the French niçoise salad, piled high with green beans, steamed baby potatoes, and flaky tuna. Or, of course, you could turn the niçoise on its head a bit by making a vegetarian version with beans, artichokes, green beans, steamed potatoes, radishes and sliced eggs. Or, if we want to stay in the vein of salads, why not combine hard boiled eggs with radicchio, herbs, and pistachios – pure bliss on a platter. And of course, there’s the classic cobb salad with eggs, bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese, and chicken.
Let’s Get Even More Creative!
Have you ever had an “ELT?” Oh, yes. The bacon is replaced with a hard boiled egg for an eye popper of a sandwich filled with differing flavors and textures.
You could also shine a spotlight on the hard boiled eggs in a grain, meat, and veggie bowl. Picture toothsome farro, Beluga lentils, quinoa, brown rice, or even purple barley in a bowl with cooked chicken, tomatoes, red onion, and a bright hard boiled egg sitting pretty on top.
Also, a good ramen soup loves to have a hard boiled egg as garnish about the succulent broth, veggies, tofu, and nori. Feel free to slurp up all of that amazing deliciousness!
Another fun little way to use hard boiled eggs is to make them the centerpiece of a toast. Just toast up your favorite type of sliced rustic bread (sourdough, French country bread, crusty Italian bread, etc.), and slather it with hummus, hard boiled eggs, radishes, green onions and everything bagel seasoning.
And yes… you can make a meatloaf with a hard boiled egg in the center. Talk about a stunner of a meal!
What Kind of Air Fryer for Hard Boiled Eggs?
There’s a lot of different kinds of air fryers on the market these days. The most common are the standard 4-6 quart basket style air fryers. These are the ones the sit on the countertop and have a drawer that pulls out with a basket which holds the food. Also popular are the tray style air fryers which are usually 6-10 quart in size and use trays, much like an oven rack, to hold the foods. These types of air fryers commonly have other accessories such as rotisseries or rotating enclosed baskets. For making hard boiled eggs in an air fryer, we do not need any of the fancy attachments or accessories. We simple place the eggs in the basket or on the trays and use the “air fry” function.
What Kind of Eggs can be Air Fried?
Not All Eggs Are Created Equally: When it comes to eggs, there are a few things to take into consideration. The first being deliciousness and beauty. Locally grown eggs are always more flavorful because of the terroir. (The French word for soil.) And when you think about it, soil is made up of a variety of things like water, minerals, air, and plant matter that are unique to a place. So, when you’re buying local eggs, you’re going to get all of that local goodness. Also, because of the hen’s varied diet eating plants that come from the local terroir, that means that local eggs are higher in omega-3 fatty acids, and healthy amounts of vitamins A, D, and E than nonorganic eggs. Also, organic eggs are lower in cholesterol because of the hen’s diet. Factory eggs never taste quite as delicious, because the hens are fed the same thing every day, no matter the season. Beauty bonus: Because of the diverse diet of organic hens, you’re also likely to discover that the eggs aren’t just monochromatic. Inside the egg box you might find blue eggs, or even pastel pale green eggs! Also, the yolks are sunnier from the extra nutrients.
Now that you have all this “egg-celent” knowledge, feel free to use any kind of eggs you like for hard boiled eggs in your air fryer.
Equipment, Preparation and Cooking
No special equipment is needed. Just an air fryer. No special preparation is required. You just place the eggs in the air fryer, use the “air fry” function and set the temperature to 250°(F) for 15-18 minutes.
Finish with Ice Water
When the eggs are done, carefully remove them from the air fryer and place into a bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water. This is called an ice water bath. It serves 2 functions… it stops the cooking process and will help make the eggs easy to peel. The eggs need only be in the ice water for about 5 minutes.
Most Ap”peel”ing Eggs
It’s not an old wives tale that older eggs are easier peel. It’s science. As eggs age, they lose moisture through pores in their shells, which creates an itty bitty air pocket at the tip.
Air pockets are good for leverage.
Also, the pH of the membrane of the egg changes and goes from a low pH to a high pH, which means that they don’t cling to the shell.
So, when getting ready to hard boil eggs, eggs that have been in the fridge for at least a week will be easier to peel.
Old wives tales and science for the win!
More Delicious Hard Boiled Egg Ideas
If you’d like to amp up your egg fun, why not roughly chop some into our Best Easy Instant Pot Potato Salad. You’ll love it! You could also try adding eggs to our Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Potatoes and Green Beans for an extra bounce of deliciousness. And don’t forget to add some chopped egg onto our Best Damn Air Fryer Asparagus! It adds a massive contrasting pop of color and texture and gives the dish an air of opulence that’s impossible to resist.
Dying Easter Eggs
When it comes time to dye Easter eggs, your main ingredient is, of course, eggs which have to be hard cooked (hard boiled). Using your air fryer is perfect for making hard boiled eggs for Easter eggs. You can usually comfortably fit up to a dozen eggs in a standard air fryer, then just set the time and temp.
Recipe
How to Make Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs
- Total Time: 20 min
- Yield: 6 eggs
Description
Perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs made in your air fryer. No mess, no fuss, easy to peel.
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- Bowl of cold water
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 250°(F).
- Place the eggs in the air fryer basket (or tray), and cook on “air fry” setting for 15-18 minutes. (see notes below)
- Place ice cubes (a tray full should do) in a large bowl and fill halfway with water. Set aside.
- When cooking time is complete, use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove eggs from air fryer and gently lower the eggs into the ice water bath to cool.
- Let the eggs sit in the ice water bath for 5 minutes, or until completely cooled.
- Gently crack the eggs and remove the shells.
Notes
Air fryers will vary and cooking times can vary. Usually 15-18 minutes is ideal timing. For creamier, darker yolks use 15 minutes. For lighter, fluffier yolks use more time.
- Prep Time: 0 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Mary says
Excellent! Never have I had my yolks dead center of the egg before, and it is so simple. Thx!
Bonnie Lea Hansen says
Should I let the eggs come to room temperature before cooking them in the air fryer…..or can they go straight from the fridge to the fryer?
RecipeTeacher says
When I worked on this post, the eggs were probably out of the fridge for as little as 5 minutes and as long as maybe 15-20 minutes. I didn’t note any difference.
Whisper says
The Air Fry function on my Ninja Air Fryer only goes down to 300 degrees so I used the Roast function and set it at 250 degrees for 15 Minutes (6 Medium Happy Eggs). They came out perfect with lighter fluffy yolks. Yummy Hard Boiled Eggs. Thanks!!