There is something about soft boiled eggs that has been catching my attention lately.
While the whites of the eggs are firm, their yolks remain silky, creamy, and in a state of liquid gold, even in the slightest touch.
There’s something a little like a cross between butter and melted cheese when it comes to this stuff. There are no words to describe how delicious they are.
They’re not just for breakfast, either! In fact, they’re perfect for any meal.
There are so many ways to enjoy soft boiled eggs, such as with toast, as an addition to bowl meals, as a topping for salads or soups (hello, ramen ), or just as a quick snack.
My favorite way to eat soft boiled eggs is to add them to pretty much everything I eat, no matter what time of day it is.
Are you ready to see how easy it can be?
The Best Way to Boil Eggs Fast
My favorite way to boil eggs is to use a combination of boiling water and steam to reduce the amount of time I spend waiting for the water to boil.
Only one inch of water is needed in the pot to create steam, and it comes to a boil quickly instead of taking several minutes for a full pot of water.
Using the lid, steam is trapped under the boiling water, surrounding the egg and cooking the egg just as quickly and evenly as boiling water.
Cooking your soft boiled egg with a quick steaming method takes only six minutes, about the time it takes to start making coffee or toast a piece of bread.
Check out my tutorial on how to make hard boiled eggs using a full pot of water if you’re interested in making soft boiled eggs.
How Long Does It Take to Boil Soft Boiled Eggs?
The recipe below is designed to be used with cold large eggs straight from the refrigerator. The average weight of a large egg in the U.S. is between 56 and 62 grams.
Depending on the size of your egg, you’ll have to adjust the time accordingly. This method can also be used for other sized eggs.
You may also have to adjust the cooking time if you live at high altitudes, use a particular type of cookware, and the temperature of your eggs at the beginning of cooking.
Depending on the size of the egg, you may need to start with six minutes and then adjust the time until you reach the perfect soft-boiled egg.
As shown in the diagram above, large eggs can be cooked (cold) to achieve soft or hard boiled eggs ranging from neither to both.
- 5 minutes: liquid yolk with soft, whites not fully set
- 6 minutes: liquid yolk with fully set whites
- 7 minutes: jammy yolk with outer edges set
- 8 minutes: half set yolk
- 9 minutes: half set yolk
- 10 minutes: mostly set yolk
I find 12 minutes to be the ideal time for hard-boiled eggs with fully set yolks when using steaming as the method. Here’s a tutorial on how to hard boil eggs using a full water bath rather than steaming.
What Is the Shelf Life of Soft Boiled Eggs?
It is possible to store soft boiled eggs in their shells for about two days in the refrigerator. Simply repeat the cooing process with half the time if you want to reheat the refrigerated soft boiled eggs.
Rather than steaming for six minutes, bring an inch of water to a boil in a small sauce pot, add the egg, and let it sit for three minutes.
The Best Way to Serve Soft Boiled Eggs
So many different foods go well with soft boiled eggs that I add them to almost all of my meals (“put an egg on it!”). From noodles to rice bowls to salads and toast, I add soft boiled eggs to everything.
It’s like adding a deliciously rich sauce to a meal when you break open that liquid gold yolk.
You can really transform your meal with a soft boiled egg in these recipes:
- Hummus Breakfast Bowls
- Upgraded Instant Ramen
- Chorizo Breakfast Hash
- Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet
- Savory Oatmeal
- Sesame Noodles with Wilted Spinach
- Avocado toast
- Roasted Vegetable Couscous
Soft-Boiled Eggs: How to Make the Perfect One
The perfect soft boiled egg is only six minutes away if you follow the steps below. The whites are firm and the centers are liquid gold.
This guide will show you how to prepare perfect eggs every time by following these simple steps.
Author: Beth
Prep Time: 5 minutes/ Cook Time: 15 minutes/ Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 1
Ingredients
4 large eggs
Instructions
- Cover a sauce pot with one inch of water and heat over high heat until it boils.
- When the water boils, add an egg straight from the refrigerator (or as many as you want as long as they are in a single layer in the bottom of the pot). Place a lid over the pot and let it simmer for exactly six minutes.
- When the eggs are cool enough to handle, remove them from the pot and place them in an ice water bath or run them under cool water. Don’t forget to peel and eat.
You can stop the cooking process by cooling the eggs completely in an ice water bath if you aren’t going to eat them right away.
Otherwise, as soon as the eggs are cool enough to handle, they can be peeled and eaten warm.
Nutritional
Serving: 1 Serving ・ Calories: 74.4 kcal ・ Carbohydrates: 0.5 g ・ Protein: 6.2 g ・ Fat: 4.4 g ・ Sodium: 64.9 mg
The nutritional values shown here are only estimates. Please see our nutrition disclaimer.
Steps to Make Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs
A sauce pot should be filled with one inch of water. There is only one inch of water you need. You should use the smallest pot that will accommodate the number of eggs you are making, so the eggs are stacked in a single layer.
The same technique can be used for any number of eggs, but I usually only do one or two at a time. The water should be brought to a rolling boil over high heat by placing a lid on the pot and keeping the pot covered.
It is recommended that once the water starts boiling, you gently place the large egg(s) into the pot. The easiest way to do this is to use tongs or a slotted spoon so you do not burn your fingers when you do it.
Once the egg(s) have been added, put the lid back on top and set the timer for six minutes. During the cooking process, the lid traps steam, which surrounds the eggs with even heat and cooks them quickly and evenly.
Turn off the burner after six minutes and transfer the eggs to an ice bath with tongs. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, you can serve them right away or store them in ice water until you’re ready to eat them.
Once you steam them, don’t let them sit at room temperature, or the yolks will continue to solidify as the residual heat continues to cook them.
To crack the shell of an egg, gently tap it on a hard surface, then gently peel it off with your fingers. There will be a bit of softness and wobbliness to the egg because the inside is still liquid.
Starting from the fat end, peeling begins with the air bubble that separates the shell from the whites, making it easy to separate the two.
The best way to get rid of any shell fragments left after removing the shell is to give it a quick rinse afterward.
And now it’s time for the magic moment… OMG the runny yolk is a liquid perfection that can’t be explained. To give you a closer look at the great results we got.
Here is a close up of the whites that are completely solid and the yolks that are all liquid. Wouldn’t that be perfect if it were true?
As if I had won the lottery, I feel as if I had won the world.
