Can You Hard Boil Eggs in a Microwave?

Is it safe to hard boil eggs in the microwave?

No, microwaved eggs are an explosion risk. Eggs are mostly water, and microwaves heat water faster than proteins, lipids, or carbs. This will make eggs explode (and potentially your microwave itself) if you heat them too long in the microwave. Some people have been burned and even blinded from attempting to microwave eggs. You may stumble across a process that involves poking a hole in the egg and leaving it in salt water. Even if you do this, the egg is still likely to explode.

Boiling Eggs the Safe Way

Bring your eggs to room temperature and don’t salt the water. Salt will raise the boiling point of water and keep the egg white from cooking evenly. In fact, if you have time, leave the eggs you’re going to boil out on the counter for 20-30 minutes. That way, the egg whites and yolks will cook more thoroughly and smoothly. People often salt water for flavor before boiling spaghetti, but the salt won’t even improve the flavor for a boiled egg anyway. The shell keeps the sodium out.

Set the eggs in a pot of cold water and bring the pot to a boil. The amount of water doesn’t necessarily matter so long as the eggs are fully submerged with an extra 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) of water on top. Turn the heat on high and monitor the pot.

Turn the heat off once it reaches a rolling boil. As soon as the water begins fully boiling, shut the heat off. Use oven mitts to transfer the pot to a cool burner and put a lid on top. This will allow the yolk and egg white to fully cook via the residual heat. It also makes it easier to stop heating the eggs at the perfect level depending on your yolk preferences.

Set a timer based on how cooked you want the yolks to be. How long you leave the eggs in the hot water depends on how set you want the yolks and whites to be. Set an alarm or reminder to remove your eggs when you’re ready. Here’s the guidance: 3 minutes: runny soft-boiled eggs with barely set whites 4 minutes: slightly runny soft-boiled eggs 6 minutes: firmer whites with soft yolks 10 minutes: very firm whites with a slightly creamy yolk (the most popular option) 15 minutes: very firm hard-boiled eggs with solid yolks

Crack the eggs gently and set them in an ice bath. Take each egg out with a slotted spoon. Run each egg under cool water to make it cool enough to handle and gently crack the shells on the counter. Then, place the eggs in an ice bath. Cracking the shell and putting the eggs in an ice bath will separate the yolk and the membrane. This will make the eggs much easier to peel.

Wait at least 1 minute before peeling and enjoying your eggs. You can leave the eggs in the ice bath up to 15 minutes to chill them and make peeling extremely easy if you’d like, but you’re good to go after 60 seconds pass. Remove each egg, peel the shell by hand, and enjoy your eggs! Refrigerate any unused eggs. The FDA recommends consuming hard-boiled eggs within 7 days.