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:
Thank you for this tip. It would have taken me forever to figure out the 6-minute rule.
Of course, being a guy, I’m not going to follow the directions. :-)
The plate of eggs, spinach, tomatoes and avocados looks “out of this world” good.
These eggs are delicious on top of the yellow jasmine rice
The eggs came out PERFECT! Yay! I plan on making soft boiled eggs often now!
Can’t wait to try this! I notice you said that the 6 minute time limit was for large eggs. What would you say to do for medium sized eggs? I recently bought one of those like 5 dozen boxes but their medium eggs and I really want to try this out!
Because the eggs will be smaller, it will be a shorter cook time to get that “perfect” soft boiled result. Unfortunately I never buy medium eggs, so I’m not sure what the exact right time will be for that size.
I made these today, and they’re perfect! The tip about using tongs is really handy. One thing to keep in mind is that after you put in the first egg with tongs, the tongs are REALLY hot, so I still burnt my hand slightly. My egg yolks turned out a tad more solid than yours, but they were still super soft + yummy.
Mmmm, they look pretty good.
This looks perfect for topping my favorite breakfast salad (yes, salad for breakfast): spring mix, crispy bacon bits, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and a runny egg, served with hot buttered toast. I’ve always poached my egg in the past, but this looks easier and I won’t have to pat it dry. The runny yolk combined with the vinegar and S&P makes a delicious, luxurious dressing!
Thank you! I’ve been trying to get the knack of making pretty poached eggs, with little success, so far. Hard boiled eggs are unhappy in my tummy, too. So, this will be a delightful and welcoming approach. Thanks again!
This turned out well and hits the spot when you want a soft egg. I had it on top of a baked potato.
What is the size of pot to use? I don’t cook so every time I get a pan, it’s eithet too big or too small. I like having 2 eggs 3 1/2 min in the morning. Ty.
I would just use the smallest pot you have available, that will allow the eggs to sit on the bottom without being piled on top of one another.
Perfect
This is great. You’ll have to get used to a runny yolk but it is worth it for your health. Hard boiling kills much of the health benefits of the egg/yolk and leaves you with just the protein to thank for it. It was either this or poaching so I’m glad this worked just like you said. I pulled my 2 eggs out at 5:45 just to make sure they weren’t overdone and there was no caking at all of the yolk. And yes, a cinch to peel like another said. Rock on!!
These turned out awesome.; whites cooked perfectly, tools runny and poured all over my toast, just perfectly. Peeling was a piece of cake.
Cooked two boiled eggs using this method and they are exactly as promised. Cooked whites and a runny yolk. Its been forever since ive had a perfect soft boiled and i loved it.
Made 2 eggs using your 6 minutes method and put on toast. Yummy. They looked exactly like your pic, not super runny.
Add some vinegar to your water for easy peeling every time without shell particles Beth M and B. Docktor
When it comes to eggs in general though, to paraphrase Robert Plant, I ain’t yoken woman I got to scramble.