Soft-boiled eggs are my new obsession. The whites of the eggs are firm, but the yolk stays silky, creamy, and in a liquid gold state. It’s a little like a cross between butter and melted cheese. They’re seriously divine. And they’re not just for breakfast! I enjoy soft-boiled eggs with toast, as an addition to bowl meals, as a topper for salads or soup (hello, ramen!), or just as a quick snack. I pretty much add soft-boiled eggs to everything I eat, no matter what time of day. Are you ready to see how easy it is?
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Why we Love Soft Boiled Eggs
Soft-boiled eggs are my new obsession. The whites of the eggs are firm, but the yolk stays silky, creamy, and in a liquid gold state. It’s a little like a cross between butter and melted cheese. They’re seriously divine. And they’re not just for breakfast! I enjoy soft-boiled eggs with toast, as an addition to bowl meals, as a topper for salads or soup (hello, ramen!), or just as a quick snack. I pretty much add soft-boiled eggs to everything I eat, no matter what time of day. Are you ready to see how easy it is?
How Long Does it Take TO Soft Boil an Egg?
The short answer is that it takes six minutes to soft boil an egg with fully set white and a liquid yolk, or 3-5 minutes if you prefer softer, slightly unset whites near the yolk. The long answer is that the time for soft boiled eggs also depends on the size of your egg and the technique used to boil the egg.
The recipe below is formulated for large eggs that are still cold from the refrigerator. In the U.S. large eggs weigh approximately 56-62 grams. You can use this method for other-sized eggs, just be aware that you will need to adjust the time up or down, depending on the size of your egg. Other factors that may affect the cooking time include high elevation, the type of cookware used, adding the egg to cold water vs. hot water, and the starting temperature of your egg. Start with six minutes for large eggs and adjust the time until you find the exact amount of time needed to achieve your perfect soft-boiled egg.
The diagram above shows how long to cook large eggs (cold) to achieve soft or hard boiled eggs and everything in between.
- 3-5 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
Using the steaming method, I find 12 minutes to be perfect for a hard boiled egg with a fully set yolk. If you prefer to use a full water bath instead of the steaming method, check out my tutorial for hard boiled eggs.
How to Boil Eggs Fast
Half of the time spent when boiling eggs is just waiting for the water to boil, so I like to use a combination of boiling water and steam. To create the steam you only need one inch of water in the pot, which comes to a boil in just a few quick minutes instead of several minutes for a full pot of water. The steam from the boiling water is then trapped under the lid, it surrounds the egg and cooks the egg just as quickly and evenly as a full pot of water. The quick steaming method allows you to cook your soft-boiled egg in just six minutes, or about the amount of time that it takes to start making your coffee or toast a piece of bread.
If you want to see how to make soft or hard-boiled eggs using a full pot of water, check out my tutorial for how to make hard-boiled eggs.
How to Make Perfect Soft Boil Eggs – Step by Step Instructions
Add one inch of water to a sauce pot. Yes, you only need ONE INCH of water. Use the smallest pot you have that will house the number of eggs you’re making, so they’re in a single layer in the pot. I usually only do one or two eggs at a time, but this same technique can be used for any number of eggs. Place a lid on the pot and bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat. Once boiling, gently place the large egg(s) into the pot. Tongs or a slotted spoon makes this easier to do without burning your finger tips.
After adding the egg(s) to the pot, put the lid back on top, and set a timer for six minutes. The lid holds in the steam, which surrounds the eggs with even heat, cooking them quickly and evenly.
After exactly six minutes, turn off the burner, and use the tongs to transfer the eggs to an ice bath. Allow the eggs to cool until they’re no longer too hot to handle, or let them sit in the ice bath until you’re ready to eat. Just make sure you don’t let them sit at room temperature after steaming, otherwise they will continue to cook with their residual heat, and the yolks will continue to solidify.
Carefully tap the egg on a hard surface to crack the shell, then gently peel it away. You’ll need to be gentle because the inside is still liquid and the egg will be somewhat soft and wobbly. Begin peeling on the fat end, which often has an air-bubble that separates the shell from the whites, and makes an easy spot to separate the two. Give it a quick rinse after removing the shell to get rid of any shell fragments.
And now it’s time for that magic moment… OMG the runny yolk is liquid perfection! *squeal* Just so you can see a close up of the awesome results… The whites are completely solid and the yolk is ALL liquid. How perfect is that? I feel like I won the lottery.
How to Make Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs
Servings 1Ingredients
- 1 large egg, chilled
Instructions
- Add 1 inch of water to a sauce pot, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, add an egg (or however many you’d like as long as they are in a single layer in the bottom of the pot), straight from the refrigerator into the pot. Replace the lid and let it continue to boil for exactly six minutes.
- After six minutes, remove the egg(s) from the pot and place them in an ice water bath or run under cool water until they are cool enough to handle. Peel, and enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
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How Long do Soft Boiled Eggs Last?
Soft boiled eggs in the shell will last in the refrigerator for about two days. To reheat the refrigerated soft boiled eggs, just repeat the initial cooing process with half the time. Bring about an inch of water to a boil in a small saucepot, add the egg, and let steam for 3 minutes instead of six.
What to Serve with Soft Boiled Eggs
Soft boiled eggs go well with so many different foods that I find myself adding them to almost all my meals (“put an egg on it!”). I add soft boiled eggs to everything from noodles and rice bowls to salads and toast. When you break open that liquid gold yolk is like adding a deliciously rich sauce to your meal. Here are a few recipes where a soft boiled egg can really take your meal to the next level:
Boiled the eggs for 6 min and they came out hard boiled 😅
Any time I put eggs cold out the fridge into boiling water the shells bust open and the whites ooze out.
Thank you! They were beautiful and perfect!
Absolutely perfect soft boiled egg. Thank you.
Added 2 minutes for my liking. This is a good recipe.
Did EXACTLY as the recipe called for and the eggs were not cooked sufficiently.
Needed 2 additional minutes to be ‘soft’ boiled. Not sure why it works for some and not for others????
I live in Denver, 5,280′, so I went 6 1/2 minutes, still a little runny. 7 minutes then next time, and they were perfect. Water boils at a little over 200 degrees here, all the way down to 194 at 10,000′. Could be the root of some people’s problem.
I had trouble with 4 different eggs varying the time I cooked them and then I gave up…also wondering about soft boiled eggs and salmonella??
Anytime you have a runny yolk, whether it be in a sunny side up, over easy, or soft boiled egg, there is a chance of salmonella. To eliminate this risk, you can buy pasteurized eggs.
I get the same results by microwave. Put water in a glass dish add egg(s). Microwave between 45 and 50 seconds on high. Pour off water slide the egg onto toast—perfect soft boiled eggs with soft egg whites too.
Since you didn’t say ‘peel’ the eggs before sliding them onto your toast, I assume you are poaching them without the shell????
Well that didn’t work at all. I followed this recipe to a T, and I tell ya, a skilled veterinarian could have brought those chickens back to life! The egg white was hardly cooked, and the yolk slipped right out.
There goes two eggs in this quarantine.
I did the same thing… now in full experiment mode.
New hypothesis: I am boiling for 7 minutes, and the after 7 minutes, I am letting cool for at least 3 in ice. I hope for better results.
I had major issues before using this method.
I am obsessed with ramen and eggs, so I kept trying.
This method FINALLY worked! Please make sure you have a rolling boil before adding your eggs using the thongs. The moment I removed the lid the first time my boil went away. I waited a bit longer for a bigger boil and then added the eggs. After placing the eggs and putting the lid back on, I started the 6-minute timer. Good luck!
Wow! These were perfect! I’ve never made soft boiled eggs, but wanted to try them and they were literally perfect, exactly according to this recipe. Thank you!
I tried this and the eggs were perfect and I thought it might be just luck, so I made them everyday for a week, PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT,PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT. ALL SEVEN PERFECT.
Perfect!!!! THANKS
Perfect right out the gate (and I’ve had trouble with soft boiled eggs before – too runny, overcooked, etc.)!!
I served them the way my mom used to: opened them on buttered toast (letting the yolk get to the butter and the toast), added salt and pepper, and then poured a little warm milk over the top.
My mom called this “soft boiled eggs on milk toast.”
Poached eggs would result in virtually the same dish (IMO), and they’re messier (to cook) to me..
She always served this on toasted regular grocery store white bread, but I used artisan sourdough this morning to good effect.
Can you do the same on a pressure cooker (_6₩ min egg)
We haven’t tried in a pressure cooker but there are many other sites out there that have had success!
I love a soft boiled egg but have never made one for myself. Followed your method exactly and had perfect results! Loved them soo much. It’ll be fun to change up my daily fried eggs for decadent soft-boiled eggs on occasion. Thanks!