Instant Pot Hard or Soft Boiled Eggs (Pressure Cooker Recipe)

School mornings are always somewhat crazy in our home. It doesn’t matter how much we prepare–whether it’s making breakfast in advance or setting out clothes the night before school–mornings will also be sprinkled with a dash of crazy unpredictability.

Last week, this craziness showed up in the form of very bad traffic on the way to school. We eventually made it to school, about 30 minutes late. This week, this touch of craziness included the dog getting sick in the house just as we were about to leave for school. Ah yes, life, my friend. It’s no where near perfect, because perfect doesn’t exist.

It’s because of this imperfect craziness that I’m such a proponent for being intentionally prepared before the morning arrives. For us, this looks like having breakfast and lunch components prepped and ready to enjoy. I know, I’m always talking about prep. And it’s for good reason.

Prep simplifies our life. Prep reduces my stress, as head cook. And stress makes those unexpected bumps, which are sure to come during the week, easier to get over. Because no one needs the added burden of having to figure out how to create a from-scratch meal at 7am each morning, on top of feeling rushed and stressed because of a mess in the kitchen. Oh, and then add a sick dog in the mix. No, thank you!

For breakfast, I have a few go-to meal components that I like to prep on the weekend. These rotational options usually include: muffins, waffles, overnight oats, granola, scrambled eggs, sunny side up eggs, and eggs in a basket. I don’t make everything each week, just a couple of items that can be paired with simple foods, such as: smoothies, plain yogurt, fruit, and scrambled eggs. We also get sourdough from a local bakery every two weeks which makes for great toast in the morning.

Lately, on Sunday, I’ve been prepping a batch of hardboiled eggs. In the past, I’ve made the eggs on the stove-top, as I’ve done for years now. I’ve experienced mixed results with the stove-top method, particularly when dealing with fresh eggs from a local farm. There are rare times when my eggs end up perfect. But most of the time, the eggs either don’t peel well or end up with chalky yolks due to over-cooking.

The Instant Pot has been a complete egg game-changer. I think it’s worthwhile to pick up an Instant Pot just for making beans and eggs. There are also many other delicious recipes you can make in the Instant Pot, in a fraction of the time or in a hands-off nature compared to stove-top or slow-cooker methods.

Bottom line: If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, you need one. Put in on your Christmas list, save up for it, beg your husband for one (nicely). The Instant Pot has been a total game-changer for me in the kitchen. And I’m not paid anything to gush over this appliance. I honestly, seriously, 100% love my Instant Pot.

So, back to eggs…

It takes a total of 3-5 minutes to make soft or hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot. That’s it! You can make the eggs in advance, say on a Sunday, and store the eggs in the fridge for a week. I use these eggs as school snacks, paired with another breakfast option for breakfast, and in the lunchbox. If you don’t want to make the eggs in advance, you can also easily make a few eggs on a as-needed basis.

The amount of time you cook the eggs will depend on the yolk consistency desired. For soft eggs, with a slightly runny and also slightly firm yolk consistency, I go with 3 minutes. For eggs with a soft yolk but also firm enough to store well in the fridge, I go with 4 minutes. And for a completely cooked yolk, go with 5 minutes. I prefer a quick release, since this stops the egg yolks from cooking any further. If you like a very cooked, solid yolk, you can also let the pressure naturally release in the pot for 5 minutes and then perform a quick release after this time is up.

Whichever time you choose, I know you’ll love the instant nature of cooking eggs in the Instant Pot.