I tested 7 ways to make hard-boiled eggs in bulk. The winner was fast and reliable

I tested seven methods—from microwave to Instant Pot—to find the best way to make hard-boiled eggs. See which delivers perfect texture, easy peeling, and speed.

Many occasions call for a big batch of hard-boiled eggs: planning an Easter egg hunt, making brunch for a crowd, meal-prepping lunches for the week ahead. Hard-boiled eggs are versatile and will last up to a week in the fridge.

There’s no shortage of opinions on the best way to achieve the perfect hard-boiled egg. But as a product tester in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab and a trained chef, I set out to test the most popular methods myself.

I prepared a dozen eggs using seven kitchen appliances: stove, egg cooker, microwave, Instant Pot, rice cooker, sous vide machine, and air fryer. I used refrigerator-cold eggs from the same brand with the same best-by date for each test.

Following cooking, I used the same five-minute ice bath method to chill the eggs before peeling and slicing. To determine the best appliance for big batches of hard-boiled eggs, I evaluated each method for ease and time. I also graded each method’s eggs for peelability, yolk and white texture, appearance, and flavor.

Before you cook another egg, here are seven methods to make hard-boiled eggs, ranked from worst to best.

7. Microwave

The microwave method was a failure. I started by heating water in a lidded glass Anyday bowl, one of the Kitchen Lab’s favorite microwave cookware options. While the water heated, I poked a pin through the pointed end of each egg to prevent explosions.

I then added 12 eggs to the hot water, ensuring they were fully submerged, and cooked them on 50% power. I used lower power to cook the eggs gently and to avoid hot spots. Unfortunately, the eggs never cooked. This method might work better for smaller batches, but the other methods I tested were faster, more reliable, and easier.

6. Sous vide: 1 hour, 28 minutes

This cheffy tool maintains water at a precise temperature, slowly cooking foods to an exact doneness. Typically, you have to vacuum-seal your ingredients before submerging them in a water bath (sous vide means “under vacuum”), but eggs are already sealed in their shells.

Aside from the jagged whites, the yolks had an off-putting grey film on the outside. Though this cooking method was totally uniform—every egg looked identical to the next—none were all that appetizing. The sous vide also took almost 90 minutes to cook 12 eggs.

5. Rice cooker: 40 minutes

A rice cooker is essentially an electric steamer; it uses hot water to gently cook grains, or, in this case, eggs.

After researching rice cooker egg-cooking methods, I added 1 cup of water to our top-tested rice cooker from Zojirushi. I placed a dozen eggs in the steamer basket and cooked them on manual mode for 20 minutes.

Following the ice bath, these eggs were very uneven. Some had firm, jiggly whites and a creamy yolk. Others were jammy and closer to soft-boiled, and at least one cracked during cooking, turning into a gnarled mess.

The shells clung to the whites, and peeling took significantly longer than other methods. All in, the rice cooker method took 40 minutes.

4. Air fryer: 30 minutes

This might sound like an unconventional way to make hard-cooked eggs, but it works surprisingly well. The GH Test Kitchen found that 275°F for 15 minutes is the sweet spot for air-fried eggs. That said, some air fryers won’t go below 300°F.

This was one of the fastest methods I tried, taking just half an hour, including preheating and peeling. Plus, it doesn’t require water, so it’s less messy than other methods.

Though my air fryer was ostensibly clean before I started cooking, the eggs came out splattered with cooking grease. Presumably, this was leftover from previous cooks and became airborne in the convection fan. For this reason, I would not recommend air frying eggs that you plan to dye or display in their shells.

These eggs were super easy to peel, often coming clean in two distinct pieces. The pale yellow yolks had a soft, flaky texture. However, this method was less even than others. Some whites turned brown in spots where they came into contact with the hot cooking surface, and some yolks had a jammy center, while others were uniformly dry.

3. Egg cooker: 35 minutes

Despite being designed specifically to cook eggs, most egg cookers cannot accommodate a full dozen. Our top-tested pick from Cuisinart has a 10-egg capacity, and one of my eggs still cracked during cooking. You’ll also need to p**** each egg with a pin before cooking, which can be tedious if you’re making a big batch.

That said, if you don’t need more than 10 eggs, this is a great hands-off method, and the peels basically slipped off. The eggs weren’t totally uniform, but most of the yolks were dry all the way through, and the whites were quite firm. This method took 35 minutes, including 23 minutes of cooking.

2. Stovetop: 33 minutes

This trusted method produced a batch of evenly-cooked hard-boiled eggs with a touch of deep yellow jamminess in the center. The yolks were fresh-tasting and creamy, without a hint of dry chalkiness. I used the GH Test Kitchen–approved method of boiling my eggs for 11 minutes, then placing them in an ice bath. Using an induction stove (which boils water very quickly), this method took 33 minutes.

1. Instant Pot: 25 minutes

An Instant Pot, or electric pressure cooker, produced the most uniform and tasty hard-boiled eggs with the least time and effort. In just 25 minutes, I had a batch of firm, evenly cooked eggs with bright yellow yolks that peeled like a dream. I followed the cooking instructions provided by Instant Pot.

The winning method

1. Add 1 cup of water to an Instant Pot.

2. Place the steaming rack inside the pot and arrange 12 eggs on the rack.

3. Lock the lid in place and cook on low pressure for five minutes, followed by a quick pressure release.

4. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath.