Air Fryer Hard-Boiled Eggs Recipe

Whether you're on the lookout for delicious breakfast ideas, quick and easy lunches, or a tasty dinner accompaniment, eggs are a pretty safe bet. Mastering scrambled, fried, and poached eggs can open up a whole world of tasty treats but what about air fryer hard-boiled eggs? Food writer and recipe creator Angela Latimer at Bake it with Love has developed a super-easy way to achieve the perfect egg using the internet's most popular cooking aid.

If you're on TikTok and dabble in #FoodTok then it's likely you'll have come across the art of air frying basic ingredients to create new takes on dishes. There are so many methods to cook a hard-boiled egg, from the Instant Pot to cooking them on the stove. However, an air fryer could help you make the eggs you want at a much higher temperature but in the fraction of the time that other methods take. Let's see how.

Before you start cooking with a new kitchen tool it's always good to get a feel for how it works. Air fryers are really helpful if you want to cook foods that would otherwise use oils or fats, as a circulation of hot air is what cooks the food through. They're commonly used for dishes like fries, chicken nuggets, and fried dumplings.

Before putting the eggs into your air fryer you need to preheat it to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. By preheating your air fryer before putting your eggs in, you'll help them to cook through evenly and ensure that the eggs will be totally hard-boiled by the time you take them out.

Hard-boiled eggs may seem like a pretty straightforward recipe. However, there are things you can do to make the process much easier for yourself when you come to cooking your ingredients. 

Submerge your eggs in a bowl of lukewarm water while your air fryer preheats. This shouldn't take very long. This may seem like an insignificant step, however, if your eggs have just come out of the refrigerator, the warm water can help prevent cracking and ensure that your eggs cook more efficiently. The water only needs to warm the eggs through, and you can pat them dry once the air fryer is preheated.

While it isn't always the case, many air fryers come with a detachable basket. This can be helpful if your ingredients are delicate or messy. Once your air fryer reaches 250 degrees Fahrenehit and your eggs are warm take the basket out. Gently place the eggs into the basket. Be careful not to drop the eggs and not to burn yourself.

Air fryers work most effectively when the hot air can circulate freely, so don't overcrowd the basket. This recipe makes four to six hard-boiled eggs, but all air fryers are different — if yours is a lower wattage or is smaller you may consider making fewer eggs at one time.

If you've never air-fried hard-boiled eggs before then you may want to do a test run with one or two eggs initially. All air fryers are different so there may be slight variations in time. However, once you've put your eggs in the air fryer they should take around 17 to 18 minutes to hard boil. 

Don't open your air fryer in this period unless you think they're done. This can disturb the airflow and prolong the cooking time. "My air fryer is 18 minutes, and my convection style Instant Pot Vortex Plus air fryer [takes] closer to 20 minutes," explains recipe creator Angela Latimer.

If you warmed the eggs before putting them into the air fryer then they shouldn't crack. However, if they do they should still cook through. The cooking time may just slightly change.

Once you think your eggs are hard-boiled you can switch off your air fryer and leave your them to sit for a moment. As the air fryer cools they'll continue to cook. 

It's worth noting that air fryers are similar to microwaves in that the wattage you have will depend on the model you own. Slight discrepancies in time may be the difference between a totally hard-boiled egg and one that's slightly runny in the middle.

Cooking Light explains that there's an easy trick to test if your egg is hard-boiled or not. Place one on a hard surface and spin it. While it's spinning grab it momentarily. If it continues to spin then it's raw. If it stops, it's boiled.

An egg will continue to cook when it's still in a hot environment. While you want your egg to be hard-boiled, you don't want it to be tough and overcooked. The Spruce Eats notes that plunging them into cold water after they've been in the air fryer can have a number of benefits. By surrounding eggs with icy water you'll stop the cooking process and ensure that they aren't overcooked. The ice water will also cause the eggs to contract. This will pull the eggs away from their outer shell and make them much easier to peel. You should leave them in the icy water for five minutes before removing and patting them dry.

The longer you leave your hard-boiled eggs to rest, the easier they'll be to peel and prepare. After plunging your eggs into icy water, place them on a kitchen towel and let them sit. There's no time limit on when you should peel your eggs after you've cooked them. All you need to do is work out how you plan on eating them. 

Air-fried boiled eggs are the perfect addition to a Nicoise salad. They can also top flatbread with sticky chutney and cheese for a tasty lunch. Devilled eggs are a super retro dish with hard-boiled eggs taking center stage. Similarly, hard-boiled eggs are a really nutritious snack if you've just worked out.

Once your meal is ready to eat all you need to do is crack your eggs and peel them. One of the easiest ways to do this is to tap your eggs with a small spoon or against your kitchen surface. Once fragments start to break away, roll it between your hands or across the surface on some kitchen towel. If the egg has shrunk away from the shell then it should be easy to get your finger under the shell and peel it off in one. It doesn't matter if the shell comes away in bits — just make sure it doesn't get in your food.