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Air Fryer Hard-Boiled Eggs are one of the easiest ways to make perfectly cooked eggs—no pot of water required. This hands-off method delivers fully set whites, creamy yolks, and shells that peel easily, even if you don’t have access to a stovetop.
Once you try making “boiled” eggs in the air fryer, you’ll want to use this simple technique to cook eggs for breakfasts, snacks, salads, and meal prep. Try making poached eggs in the air fryer or these air fryer fried eggs next!
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Followed this step-by-step and very impressed. I have never air fried eggs to hard boil and was nervous when it came to cracking and peeling them but I have NEVER peeled an egg so easily!
– Randy
Quick Look At This Recipe
- ✨ Flavor: Classic egg flavor with fully set whites and tender, creamy yolks.
- ⏱️ Prep time: 3 minutes to preheat
- 🔥 Cook time: 17 minutes + 10 minutes in a water bath
- ⏲️ Total time: 30 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 6 eggs
- 🥄 Tools: Air fryer, tongs or spoon, and a bowl of ice water for cooling.
- ❄️ Meal prep-friendly: Yes! These eggs store well in the fridge and are perfect for grab-and-go breakfasts, snacks, salads, and weekly meal prep.
- 👩🏻🍳 Tip: Cool the eggs immediately in an ice bath to stop cooking and make peeling easier.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No boiling water, no oven needed. This air fryer method has completely replaced the old-school way I used to make hard-boiled eggs—and I haven’t looked back.
- Perfectly cooked eggs, every time. The eggs cook evenly with fully set whites and smooth, creamy yolks, without hovering over a pot of boiling water.
- Totally hands-off. Once the eggs are in the air fryer, there’s very little to do, making this an easy, low-effort option for busy mornings and meal prep.
Once you’ve mastered these, don’t miss my air fryer scrambled eggs or air fryer soft boiled eggs—they’re just as easy and just as foolproof.
Recipe Ingredients
This recipe works well with both medium and large eggs. For best results, use eggs straight from the refrigerator, as this method was tested with cold eggs.
Larger eggs may need a minute or two longer to fully set the yolks, while medium eggs may finish slightly sooner. Arrange the eggs in a single layer in the air fryer basket so hot air can circulate evenly around each one.
💡 Pro Tip: Slightly older eggs (not farm-fresh) tend to peel more easily after cooking.
This air fryer hard-boiled eggs recipe was tested using a Cosori air fryer. Your air fryer model and manufacturer may be different, and you may need to adjust your cooking time accordingly. You can use our Air Fryer Cook-Times Printable or Oven to Air Fryer Conversion Calculator to make adjustments.
How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Air Fryer
To get started, preheat the air fryer to 270° F for 3 minutes.
- Place eggs into the air fryer basket in a single layer, adding as many eggs as will fit easily in your basket. Work in batches if you need a large amount of boiled eggs. Air fry the fresh eggs at 270°F / 132°C for 17 minutes.
- Carefully remove the cooked eggs from the basket of the air fryer and place them into a bowl of ice water for about ten minutes. After the eggs have cooled, drain them from the cold water bath and carefully peel.
Slice and serve! These are perfect for toast, sandwiches, snacks, and salads!
Air Fryer Boiled Egg Timing Guide
Make perfect air fryer “boiled” eggs with this easy temperature-specific timing chart. Just set your air fryer to 270°F / 132°C and follow the guide below:
| Egg Type | Time | Yolk Texture |
|---|---|---|
| Soft-Boiled Eggs | 6-8 minutes | Runny yolk, set whites |
| Jammy / Medium-Soft | 14–15 minutes | Slightly gooey yolk, soft center |
| Medium-Boiled | 16 minutes | Mostly set yolk, creamy center |
| Hard-Boiled | 17–18 minutes | Fully set yolk and whites |
Expert Tips
- Use a roomy ice bath. If you’re cooking a larger batch, transfer the eggs to a large bowl of ice water so they cool quickly and evenly. Crowding slows cooling and can lead to overcooked yolks.
- Starting with room-temperature eggs? If your eggs aren’t straight from the fridge, start checking for doneness 1–2 minutes earlier. Room-temp eggs heat faster and can overcook if left for the full time.
- Don’t overcrowd the basket. Arrange eggs in a single layer so hot air can circulate evenly. Stacking can lead to uneven cooking.
- Make peeling easier. After cooling, gently crack the shell and roll the egg on a hard surface to loosen it. Peel under running water as the water helps separate the shell from the egg white.
- Peel from the wide end. Starting where the air pocket forms makes peeling smoother and helps prevent tearing the whites.
- Cool completely before peeling. Let the eggs sit in the ice bath for the full time as this stops carryover cooking and makes the shells release more easily.
Air Fryer Hard-Boiled Eggs Recipe FAQs
Placing the eggs in an ice-cold water bath immediately after cooking stops the cooking process and prevents the yolks from overcooking. The rapid cooling helps keep the yolks tender, avoids the gray-green ring that can form around overcooked yolks, and makes the shells much easier to peel by helping them separate from the egg whites. You can skip it if you want, but the results may not be the same.
Store unpeeled hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator for up to 7 days in an airtight container. If peeled, store in an airtight container with a damp paper towel to prevent drying out.
You may notice that the outer shell of the eggs have brown spots on them after cooking. If this happens, it’s more than likely because the heating element wasn’t cleaned adequately before making the eggs, and those brown spots are a result of the air fryer still being a little dirty. If you’re seeing brown specks, here’s more about how to clean your air fryer’s heating element to avoid this in the future. Don’t let those brown spots bother you. You’re peeling the shell, so that part is not going to be consumed.
Egg whites turn rubbery when the eggs are overcooked. This usually happens if the eggs are cooked too long, the air fryer runs hotter than expected, or the eggs aren’t cooled quickly enough after cooking. Using an ice bath right away helps stop carryover cooking and keeps the whites tender. If your air fryer tends to cook hot, try reducing the cook time slightly or checking the eggs 1–2 minutes earlier next time.
Eggs can crack in the air fryer due to rapid temperature changes or pressure building inside the shell as the egg heats up. This is more likely to happen with very cold eggs, eggs that have tiny hairline cracks, or when the air fryer preheats quickly. Cracking is usually harmless and doesn’t affect the final result. To reduce cracking, place the eggs in a single layer, avoid overcrowding, and transfer them gently to an ice bath after cooking.
If your air fryer doesn’t allow you to set 270°F, use the closest lower setting available. Many air fryers jump from 250°F to 300°F. If 270°F isn’t an option, cook the eggs at 300°F and begin checking for doneness 2–3 minutes earlier to prevent overcooking.
Serving Ideas Air-Fried Hard-Boiled Eggs
Once you’ve made the eggs, you can store them in the refrigerator for later use. I like to eat them in slices with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. But they can be used for so many things!
- Salads: Enjoy them sliced on salads or chopped up into potato salad, egg salad or egg salad sandwiches, avocado egg salad, or avocado egg toast.
- Appetizers: Turn them into air fryer deviled eggs or these healthier avocado deviled eggs.
- Holidays: Air fry hard-boiled eggs to use for Easter eggs!
- Breakfast Sandwich: Layer them with air fryer bacon or air fryer sausage patties, and a sliceof cheese on your favorite bread for a hearty breakfast.
More Air Fryer Egg Recipes
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Air Fryer Eggs in a Basket
Breakfast
Air Fryer Avocado Eggs
Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Scotch Eggs
Appetizers
Air Fryer Armadillo Eggs
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Air Fryer Hard-Boiled Eggs
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 6 Eggs
Instructions
- Place cold eggs into the air fryer basket.
- Air fry the fresh eggs at 270°F (132°C) for 17 minutes of cook time.
- Carefully remove the cooked eggs from the basket of the air fryer and place them into a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes.
- Remove the eggs from the ice water bath after 10 minutes, peel the shells, and serve!
Video
Notes
- Transfer eggs to a large bowl of ice water so they cool quickly and evenly. Crowding can slow cooling and overcook the yolks.
- If your eggs aren’t straight from the fridge, start checking for doneness 1–2 minutes early.
- Arrange eggs in one layer so hot air circulates evenly. Overcrowding can cause uneven cooking.
- After cooling, gently crack and roll the egg on a hard surface, then peel under running water to help release the shell. Start peeling where the air pocket forms helps prevent tearing the whites.
- Let eggs sit in the ice bath for the full time to stop carryover cooking and make peeling easier.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We just got our first air fryer and I’m having a great time looking at your recipes. Since breakfast is my favorite meal, I am excited to try your Egg Bites recipe to start out. . Are the specially designed paper liners that you can make muffins in the oven with okay to use in the air fryer.
Many thanks.
Hi Stacy. Welcome to air frying! There are silicone muffin liners you can use in the air fryer. The paper ones won’t work, unless they are in a muffin pan.
I used the GoWISE USA air fryer, Model GW22639, 3.7 qt., 1400 watt. I put 10 eggs in the basket @ 270F for 17 minutes (double checked with phone timer), just like the instructions said, then 10 minutes in the ice bath. Eggs came out EXACTLY like the pictures, which would be great for deviled eggs, egg slices for salads, etc. However, I really like my eggs more soft boiled I guess, with the yolks cooked just barely pass the runny stage. Not sure what to call that. The issue is I will need to experiment, but I’m not sure whether its the time or the temp that I need to reduce. I would expect I would need to go with @ 270F for 15 minutes for my next attempt. Any ideas?
Hi James. I would say to shorten by 2-3 minutes for soft boiled eggs. I just make soft boiled, “dippy eggs” in about 8 minutes. Hope that helps.
Should the air fryer be pre heated first before placing the eggs inside for the 17 minutes?
I would say that’s up to what brand of air fryer you are currently using. Not all air fryers will require you to preheat.
I followed the recipe as written. 270 degrees for 17 minutes. Came out perfect!
This is my first time to try this. I used 7 eggs. In a Ninja basket fryer. 300 for 17 mins. (Mine doesn’t go lower) Since I had 7 eggs I thought 1 min. more. I was wrong. One egg cracked open. The other 6 were ok. They were hard to peel. These were farm fresh brown eggs. Might have been too fresh, though they have been in frig for 2 weeks. I did use ice water.
I haven’t tested the recipe at a lower temperature or in that brand of air fryer, so it could be that you can’t leave them in that long for that high of a temperature.I would test with a smaller bath. I used store bought eggs and the time and temp in the recipe and it worked perfectly. All air fryers all cook a little differently so that could be the issue also.
Perfectly cooked eggs following this recipe. Very easy. Thanks!
Just tried making 8 “hard boiled” eggs for the very first time in my Gourmia 1500 watts, model no. GAF 698 air fryer. FYI to anyone with the same model, 17 minutes, in my judgment, was approximately one minute shy of being perfect. Next time, I will cook them for 18 minutes at 270 degrees Fahrenheit. The good news is they peeled very, very quickly and easily. They practically peeled themselves after coming out of an ice bath for about four minutes. And, FYI, my eggs were fresh from the store this morning. I mention this because I’ve heard that if your eggs are too fresh (or conversely too old) they won’t peel properly. I had no problem. Preparing “hard boiled” eggs in the air fryer was incredibly fast, easy, and effortless. Thanks for your recipe.
Wow! That’s great feedback, thank you for sharing!
After 280 degrees and 18 minutes eggs were not cooked.
Hi Kathy. A couple of questions: What type of air fryer do you have? All air fryers cook differently (Read the disclaimer in the recipe card and in the post) This recipe uses a 5.8 qt Cosori Air Fryer, which cooks at 1700 watts. If you are using a different air fryer, you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly. For instance, if your air fryer is 1400 watts, or 1000 watts, it will most definitely need longer to cook. Do you know what the output power of your air fryer is? You just need to make sure you know what brand you have, the power output, and then adjust accordingly. If you used an air fryer like the Cosori that cooks at 1700 watts, these would have been perfect. I encourage you to play with your air fryer after looking at how it cooks and adjust the cooking time. Hope that helps! 🙂
My airfryer only goes down to 300degrees. How long would you leave them for hard boiled?
These can be a little tricky at higher temperatures. And just like with boiling eggs in water, you don’t want the eggs to be “fresh” or they will be hard to peel.
Mine only goes to 300 so I set it on300 for 10 mins and they were great but only problem was they were hard to peel. I wasted half the white trying to peel it. Any tricks to easy peeling??
I would definitely say that 300 could be too high of a temperature. The only other guess I would have is that the eggs might possibly be too fresh and sometimes that makes them hard to peel. Hope that helps!
Mine came out this weird brown Color and wouldn’t peel well
You’ll want to make sure they aren’t fresh eggs. Super fresh eggs won’t peel well even if you boil them in water. The other thing to take note of is what type of air fryer you are using. I use a Cosori 5.8qt basket style air fryer that cooks at 1700 watts. If you are using a different brand with a different power, you will need to adjust the time slightly.
I have laying hens, so have fresh eggs, and you never boil fresh eggs..because they do not peel good at all!! Keep them in frig for 30 days before boiling. And store bought eggs are NOT fresh! They set in a warehouse before being delivered to a grocery store– then, God only knows how long they set there before being put out in the coolers!!
Maybe it was just my Breville Air Fryer, but after 17 minutes at 270 Deg F the eggs were not completely hard-boiled. Next time, I am going to leave in for 20 minutes.
Do you need to prick the eggs before putting in air fryer?
Nope! I have never pricked my eggs. Just make sure the eggs aren’t “new and fresh” or they will be hard to peel.
My airfreight only goes up to 200 degrees so how long would I cook the eggs for
My air fryer only goes down to 300 so I cooked the eggs 15 minutes and then put them in the ice bath and they were veer difficult to,peel. Lost most of the white part of the egg. Any suggestions?
If you’re air fryer only goes down to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, you probably don’t want to try this recipe, only because that is a high temperature and they will not cook correctly. All air fryers cook a little differently. The other thing to note is that using super fresh eggs will be hard to peel, even if you’re boiling them on the stove in water.
I have 2.5 qt air fryer, my eggs were soft boiled. Ugh, 6 eggs, 13 min, said there cookbook.
Any idea
Thanks CM
They definitely need to be cooked longer. We used a 5.8qt Cosori air fryer, and since every air fryer cooks a little differently, you will need to adjust recipes slightly for your size and brand. It definitely sounds like you needed to add more time. I would always test with a small batch before making a recipe if you’re using a different brand. Hope that helps!
My air fryer dont go under 300 I tried it and let them cook for 15 min they were not full cooked and 3 mins and perfect hard boiled eggs. I’m very happy with this. Thank you for the tip