Perfect Air Fryer Eggs – Hard or Soft Boiled
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Air fryer eggs, my new favorite way to “boil” eggs for meal prep! It’s as easy as can be to make either hard boiled, soft boiled, and jammy eggs in the air fryer. Learn how to do it right, with all the tips and tricks to get your eggs exactly how you like them!
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My air fryer has become my new kitchen best friend. I use It for everything from roasted potatoes to homemade tortilla chips to pork tenderloin! I even put together an Air fryer cook times chart to reference whenever I’m cooking.
And now I’m using my air fryer to take my weekly meal prep to the next level, by making perfect “boiled” eggs. Now it will definitely take some experimenting to master air fryer eggs, but once you do, you’ll be able to make them exactly the way you like them, every single time!
Learn how to cook anything in your air fryer with our free cook time chart!
Air frying cooks the eggs evenly and without any work or mess at all, making my weekly meal prep a breeze! I like to keep a dozen in my fridge for quick breakfasts or Deviled Eggs on the fly.
But best of all, air fried eggs are incredibly easy to peel. I’ve tried EVERY SINGLE trick, and these eggs are by far the easiest to peel… It’s almost like they peel themselves. I don’t know the science behind this, but I suspect it’s because the dry heat and convection naturally pulls the shell from the membrane as they cook.
And I’m showing you how to make soft boiled, jammy, and hard boiled eggs, so whatever way you like them, you can make them!
🍳 Instructions
First, preheat your air fryer. I set my air fryer to a low temperature to mimic a simmering pot of water, like what you’d set eggs in when boiling eggs.
Next, add your eggs to the air fryer basket or rack. As best you can, leave space between each egg. It’s normal if they roll a bit, but this allows the air to circulate properly. Place the basket back into the air fryer and cook.
⏱️ Cook Times
- Soft Boiled Eggs: 9-10 minutes
- Jammy Eggs: 11-13 minutes
- Hard Boiled Eggs: 14-15 minutes
Last, remove the eggs and set them immediately into an ice bath. What’s an ice bath? An ice bath is just a bowl filled with ice and cold water. Submerging the eggs in the ice cold water stops the cooking process quickly, that way you have full control over the doneness of your eggs.
Lastly, when the eggs are cool but not yet chilled, remove them, crack the shells and peel. I recommend starting at the bottom/fattest part of the egg, because that’s usually where the air bubble forms.
💡 Tips
- Leave some space: Because the air fryer uses convection to cook, the air needs to circulate in order to cook evenly. As best you can, leave a little space between each egg and don’t overfill the air fryer. My air fryer basket has grooves that the eggs sit in nicely to keep them from rolling around.
- Experiment with cook times: There are a lot of factors that influence air frying cooking times! The strength of your air fryer, its temperature settings, the size and fullness of your basket, as well as the size of the eggs you use will all play into the equation.
Use this as a reference to guide your cooking, but do expect there to be a learning curve. Plan to experiment a bit to find the ideal cook time for the eggs you like, so start by cooking one or two eggs until you get a handle on it.
- If the yolk has a green ring around it: That usually happens when eggs are cooked too long or at too high of a temperature. It’s not appetizing but they are totally safe to eat. Next time, shorten the cook time a bit.
- To get centered yolks: Turn your carton of eggs on its side in the refrigerator for about a day. When they cook, the yolks will stay more centered, which is perfect for presentation in recipes like deviled eggs.
🥚Storing
Peel the eggs, but do not cut them until you’re ready to eat them. Transfer the cooked eggs to an airtight container or bag and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, per USDA.
I don’t recommend freezing boiled eggs, although it’s possible to do, and I’ve heard of some people doing it with success. But I’ve found that once you defrost frozen eggs, the whites tend to get mushy and watery, and the yolks get very mealy. Instead, I recommend air frying a fresh batch weekly or whenever you run out.
👩🍳 Recipes
Now that you’ve got all these boiled eggs, what to do with them? Well there are just So. Many. Options!
Of course boiled eggs are fabulous all on their own, with just a sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning or sea salt. But I’d also recommend trying my Egg Salad with Bacon (pictured above!), Chicken Caesar Salad, or Smoked Salmon & Eggs Platter, or maybe try a fun Potato Salad recipe! As a bonus, all of those recipes are Whole30 compatible and Keto friendly.
Okay, all that’s left now is to grab your air fryer and start cooking!
Let me know what you think: Drop a star rating below or tag me on Instagram @cookathomemom!
Air Fryer Eggs – Hard or Soft Boiled
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs for small, medium or jumbo eggs, see notes
Instructions
Preheat Your Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer to 270° F to 275° F (132-135°C) for 5 minutes. If your air fryer doesn't go lower in temperature than 300° F, set it to 300° F (148°C). Important note: We find that testing 1 egg first will help you to find the exact time that works for your air fryer and preference.
Cook the Eggs
- Add the eggs to the basket, leaving a little space between each one. Close the air fryer.
- Cook at 270ºF (132ºC) for your desired time and doneness. For soft boiled eggs, cook for 9-11 minutes. For jammy eggs, cook 12-13 minutes. For hard boiled eggs, cook for 13-15 minutes. If you set your air fryer to 300° F (148°C), subtract about 1-2 minutes from your desired cook level listed above.Remember, you'll need to practice a bit to figure out how long to cook in your particular air fryer.
Ice Bath
- While the eggs cook, prepare the ice bath. Fill a bowl halfway with ice, then add cold water until the bowl is ¾ filled.
- Remove the eggs from the air fryer with tongs and set them in the ice bath for about 4-5 minutes, until cool to the touch but not ice cold (this makes them easier to peel).
Peel Eggs
- Gently crack the egg shells, rolling them a bit along a hard surface to make cracks along all sides. Peel and enjoy right away or store for later. Be sure to refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking.
Hi Laura! My aifryer is quite basic and doesn’t have a preheat setting – how would you adjust the cooking time if the eggs are placed in a non-preheated aifryer? 🙂
No worries at all – simply run your air fryer without anything in it at the desired temperature for 4-5 minutes before adding your eggs in!
Came out good on my first attempt. 270 on bake mode in a preheated cosori air fryer. I cooked it for 9 minutes 30 seconds rotating half way. the whites were cooked perfectly and the yolk was soft for dipping toast.
Thanks!
Yum! Sounds delicious – thanks for the feedback Nilesh!
It came out good for my first attempt. 270 on bake mode in a cosori air fryer. I rotated it half way through and the whites were cooked perfectly, the yolk was slightly soft. Next time I will take off 30 seconds to get the middle softer.
The only complaint I have is about the egg shells themselves – why are they so challenging to peel – not the recipe’s fault.
I did 12 mins at 280 and they were perfect for my taste, runny yolk – I might try 13 mins to get ALL the whites cooked, and 14 for a more jammy eat later eggs.
Hi Ashlie! Make sure you are using the ice bath to get your eggs to be cool enough to touch but not COLD as that can make the egg shells harder to peel.
Tried this recipe a few times, eggs always come out uncooked.
Hi Meg! What air fryer are you using? Time and temperature? Without knowing that, it’s hard for us to help you troubleshoot!
The recipe doesn’t state the temperature
All of the exact instructions are listed in the recipe card. There’s a jump to recipe button at the top for your convenience.
Did 13min at 270, plenty of space between. The whites were still uncooked (runny)
Hi Toni! Sorry you had trouble with the recipe. Could you share which air fryer you used?
Another tip that really helps is making sure you preheat your air fryer.
Next time I’d try 15 to 17 minutes. You can cook one at a time to find your perfect time and temperature.
Made one in my little Dash Air Fryer. 1000 watts. Turned out almost perfect at 15 minutes. Yellow was slightly underdone so I will make the adjustment to the next one. Gonna stick with this method. It’s great!
Thank you for sharing Susan! We’re so happy to hear it turned out well.
Is this for room temp eggs or from the fridge?
We usually are using eggs that are fridge temp. Room temperature eggs would definitely cook faster, so I’d try one first and reduce time by 2-3 minutes.
Winner, winner, pre chicken dinner!!
Eggs are a huge staple in our home and my go-to when nothing else has been thawed or planned! And they are so versatile!
Best snack? Toasted Hawaiian bagels (Winco) smeared with cream cheese with sliced (air)”boiled” eggs on top!!
Gourmia(Costco) 270°, 15min
This new machine is gonna take a lot of getting use to with multi cooking options: air fry, dehydrate, bake, broil, roast, reheat, keep warm! :o)
I am so glad that you enjoyed these and had success with the recipe! Sounds amazing on those bagels, too! Best of luck with your new machine – they are so versatile.
Used a Drew Barrymore air fryer/toaster oven combo. Preheated air fryer to 270 Fahrenheit and then added two large eggs. Left them in for 15 minutes then did an ice bath. When I went to peel them the outside white was runny and went everywhere. Will have to try doing them for longer
The air fryer/toaster oven combo seems to give people trouble. Definitely try again just one egg at a time. We promise once you figure out what “works” for you, you’ll never go back to boiling eggs the old fashioned way! Let us know how it goes.
I’m a Brit and love soft boiled eggs with soldiers (toast cut into strips and dipped in the egg) for breakfast.
I air fried my eggs (straight from the fridge) for 10 mins on bake mode at 270f in my Ninja double stack air fryer. They were perfect. I didn’t use a water bath as we eat soft boiled eggs hot from an egg cup (cut the tops off, add salt and black pepper, and eat with a spoon).
Thank you so much for sharing this cooking method 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your experience Debbie! Love that you were able to cook your eggs just the way you like them! Cheers 🙂
Hi. I loved the idea of using the air fryer for boiling eggs. After throwing out 2 I gave up. My regular oven has an air fryer mode which I was able to set at 300 degrees and I cooked 3 eggs for 15 then did the ice bath. When I tried peeling the first one, the white was so runny I threw it and put the others back into the air fryer on 300 and cooked another 10 min. Same thing. Threw that egg out. Maybe the oven is too big to make them cook? But didn’t work for me. Just thought I’d post so others would know if using a regular oven. Karen
Hey Karen, sorry you had trouble with the recipe! What air fryer were you using?
Even if you find the eggs are undercooked, you can always scramble them and save them for breakfast!
I could not get this to work… I even added 10 minutes to the suggested times and the middle was still completely raw…
I have a Cosori oven style air fryer, and I’ll never attempt it again. Wasted 5 eggs…
I’m so sorry you had trouble! We always recommend just one egg the first time so you don’t waste them. Even if they are raw though you can still cook them up as scrambled eggs, so there’s no real “waste”! We’d recommend trying at 270º again for 15 minutes (this is the recommendation from the Cosori website).