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:
If you have a steam basket insert for you pot – heat 1 inch of water to a gentle rolling boil, place the eggs in the basket then put the basket in the pot and cover. After six minutes either lift the basket and put it in ice water or lift the eggs individually and place in cold water. Using the basket avoids cracking the eggs when putting them into the hot water or cracking when rolling around one the bottom of the pot. The basket technique also allows you to have exact timing when cooking several eggs at once.
Sorry for the typos – I hit send before I proofed
Oh my gosh!! Liquid gold indeed! Most perfect eggs I’ve ever made–and I’ve tried a lot of recipes!!
1/2 – 1 inch of water, no more. Use cold eggs. and place them only when water is boiling. If the eggs are bouncing there is too much water. Depending on your preference wait 6- 6 1/2 minutes. Cool for 30 seconds before peeling.
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Brilliant! Thank you!
Couldn’t wait to finish my exersizes so’s I could make my soft boil eggs with toast…well lo and behold I finally made something with my own hands and your recipe to a marvelous mouth watering delicious EGG…can’t wait till tomorrow….thank you much……
First attempt failed, both eggs cracked during boiling and the yolk leaked out and cooked, like some of the other comments on here. I think the reason that happens has to do with the temperature difference between the cold eggs and boiling water. So the second time I put the eggs in cold water, then waited for it to boil before starting the timer. Worked perfectly!
I just steamed 4 eggs To perfection, I Peeled them and dropped them in the sink . They slipped right into the garbage disposal and Im not eating them. There was a green slime with hard yellow chunks on them. Could be ebola or staphylococcus. Now I have black tar stuff stuck under my fingernails. How do you clean out garbage disposals? Anyway I will try again tomorrow.
FYI: First time around, we set timer for 6 minutes as soon as we put the eggs in, lid on, and this did not work out. White parts were still raw.
We had to figure out that once you place the eggs in, wait until the water comes back to rolling boil again, and then immediately set timer for 6 minutes as soon as it comes back to rolling boil. And then do as instructed… when timer goes off, take eggs out and put into ice bath.
I just made 2 eggs and both broke open. I did exactly as you said, but how high do you have the temp on the eggs? Maybe that’s the issue.
The water reaches boiling temperature at 212. That’s the temperature when you will gently place the eggs into the pot for six minutes. Hope that helps for next time!
I just made 4 large eggs following this recipe. An inch of water in the pan and boil for exactly 6 minutes. Didn’t have ice though so I just used cold water. Turned out perfectly. I used soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar as seasoning afterword. Amazing.. ramen egg in 10 minutes as apposed to hours lol
This recipe was a total bust both eggs broke open and cook the yolks and squirted out of the shells. Would not recommend
Maybe you did it wrong. It worked perfectly for me.
I just used this recipe with 4, worked for me. I think it depends on the egg.
This was perfect! Ashley it seems as though your burner was on to high. I cooked two and they were amazing.
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!
Worked perfectly first time. Tyvm!
Cooked 4 eggs, two exploded as they were bouncing around. Maybe this only works for one egg at a time.
I just used this recipe with 4, worked for me. I think it depends on the egg.