When I need a lot of hard-cooked eggs with minimal fuss, I bake them in a muffin tin in the oven. These are technically hard-cooked rather than hard-boiled, but they come out with firm, springy whites and creamy yellow yolks — and they won’t crack the way eggs sometimes do when boiled.
Baking eggs in the oven is simple and hands-off. You skip boiling and draining, and after a brief ice-water bath the shells usually come off easily — sometimes in one piece. The ice bath is important: it stops the cooking, prevents overcooking and avoids the green ring around yolks. Stored in the refrigerator, cooked eggs will keep for up to 10 days.
This method is handy for holidays like Easter when you need many eggs for dyeing. Use your cooked eggs in egg salad, deviled eggs, cobb salad or potato and vegetable salads.
- Ingredients
- How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Oven
- Tips
- Recipes That Use Hard-Boiled Eggs
- How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Oven Recipe
Oven-baked hard-cooked eggs: all you need is a muffin tin and your oven to make perfect eggs.
Ingredients
- Eggs – I used extra-large eggs, but any size will work; adjust cooking time slightly for smaller or larger eggs.
- Ice and cold water – For the ice bath to stop the cooking.
Kitchen smarts
Slightly older eggs peel more easily. If you prefer, you can also make traditionally boiled eggs or oven-baked eggs out of the shell using muffin tins. Also check freshness tips if you’re unsure about an egg.
How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Oven
- Add eggs to muffin tin: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place a 6- or 12-cup muffin tin on the counter and set a whole uncracked egg in each cup. Bake for 30 minutes for fully set yolks.
- Move eggs to an ice water bath: Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water. Remove the eggs with tongs or a slotted spoon and place them directly into the bowl. Let them sit about 5 to 10 minutes, adding ice as needed.
- Peel and enjoy: When the eggs are cool enough to handle, crack the shell and roll the egg to loosen it, then peel. Use immediately or refrigerate.
- Serve as desired or add them to salads, sandwiches and other recipes.
Tips
- The muffin pan prevents eggs from rolling and makes handling easier; a rimmed baking sheet can work if you don’t have a muffin tin.
- You can bake as many or as few eggs as your pan holds.
- After your first batch, adjust time slightly if you prefer firmer or softer yolks.
- Times listed are for extra-large eggs. Reduce time for smaller eggs or add a few minutes for jumbo eggs.
- For jammy yolks and softer whites, try 23 minutes instead of 30; the eggs should still peel well but the yolks will be softer.
- Have the ice bath ready before the eggs come out of the oven so you can cool them immediately.
Recipes that use hard-boiled eggs
Asparagus Remoulade with Egg
How to Make Deviled Eggs
Nicoise Salad
How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Oven
Equipment
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Muffin tin
Ingredients
- 6 eggs (or as many as you want)
- Ice (as needed)
- Water (as needed)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place a 6- or 12-cup muffin tin on the counter. Put a whole uncracked egg in each muffin cup and bake for 30 minutes.
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Fill a large bowl with ice water. Remove the eggs from the muffin tin with tongs or a spoon and place them in the ice bath. Let sit for about 5 to 10 minutes, adding ice if it melts too quickly.
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When cool enough to handle, peel the eggs and enjoy or use in your chosen recipe.
Notes
- The muffin tin keeps eggs from rolling; if you don’t have one, use a rimmed baking sheet.
- You can make any quantity that fits your pan.
- Adjust cooking time after your first batch if you prefer firmer or softer yolks.
- Times are for extra-large eggs; shorten for smaller eggs or lengthen for jumbo eggs.
- For jammy yolks, reduce baking time to about 23 minutes; they should still peel well but the yolk will be softer.
- Prepare the ice bath before removing eggs from the oven so you can cool them immediately.
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