Best Way to Boil Eggs for Easy Peeling: Testing 3 Methods

What is the best way to boil eggs for easy peeling? I decided to find out!

Peeling hard-boiled eggs is one of those kitchen tasks that should be simple…and somehow never is. Some days the shell slips right off. Other days, it’s like the egg and shell have entered a lifelong commitment.

Everyone has a theory. Everyone has a method.

One afternoon, after boiling eggs for a batch of Southern-style deviled eggs, I found myself…aggravated.

Because those eggs were straight from the underworld to peel. My deviled eggs tasted heavenly, but they looked like they’d been through fire and brimstone.

Best Way to Boil Eggs for Easy Peeling

That was the moment I decided to stop praying over my eggs and start testing different cooking methods instead. I was determined to find the best way to boil eggs for easy peeling.

The Methods I Tested

To keep things as fair as possible, I used brown eggs, all the same brand, all purchased at the same time from the grocery store. I cooked five eggs with each method.

Pioneer Woman’s Method (Boiling Water Method)

I’ll call this the boiling water method. Pioneer Woman says to:

  • Bring a pot of water to a full boil.
  • Gently lower the eggs into the boiling water.
  • Reduce the heat and bring to a simmer.
  • Simmer for 13 minutes.
  • Transfer eggs to an ice bath for 5 minutes.
  • Crack all over and peel.
A photo of a kitchen cooktop with three different colored pots on it. There is a flame under each of the pots and you can see eggs to the side. This is on a post about testing 3 hardboiled egg methods. How to boil eggs so that the shells peel off easily.
America’s Test Kitchen Method

This is the steaming and shaking method. The chefs from America’s Test Kitchen say to:

  • Bring water to a boil.
  • Place the eggs in a steamer basket and lower the basket into the boiling water.
  • Cover and steam for 13 minutes.
  • Transfer the eggs to an ice bath inside a food-storage container with a lid.
  • Let sit in the ice bath for 15 minutes.
  • Pour off half of the water, cover the container, and shake the eggs (they recommend 40 shakes!).
  • Peel.
Random Guy on Reddit Method: AKA the way I was taught

This is the cold-water start method.

And this really was a method suggested by a random guy on Reddit. But I ACTUALLY chose to try it because it was also the way I was originally taught to boil eggs back when I was just a young ‘un. .

  • Place eggs in a pot of cold water.
  • Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 20 minutes.
  • Transfer to an ice bath for 10 minutes.
  • Peel.
A photo of a kitchen cooktop with three different colored pots on it. There is a flame under each of the pots and you can see eggs to the side. This is on a post about testing 3 hardboiled egg methods. How to boil eggs so that the shells peel off easily.
The Results

Yes, y’all, there was a clear-cut winner! Read on to find out who it was!

First, I did not have a single egg crack with any of the methods.

That surprised me, because the main reason I was always told to start eggs in cold water was to prevent cracking. But the two hot-water start methods didn’t cause any cracking either.

Maybe this was because I was using brown eggs? I don’t know for sure. Your mileage on this might vary.

America’s Test Kitchen (Steaming and Shaking)

The eggs did peel very easily.

However, the shaking created a bunch of tiny shell pieces that I had to carefully remove. If I were going to steam eggs again, I wouldn’t bother with the shaking step.

Also, steaming requires an extra piece of equipment. And honestly, why use extra equipment if you don’t need to?

This method also produced eggs that were just slightly undercooked. The yolks were a tiny bit soft in the very center. They would probably be perfect if you were eating them plain, but not ideal for deviled eggs or egg salad.

5 boiled and peeled eggs in a pink bowl. The eggs peeled using the America's Test kitchen method.
The Reddit Guy/The Way I Was Taught (Cold-Water Start Method)

This was, by far, the worst method.

The shells did not come off easily, and the eggs were overcooked. I even started to see the dreaded green-gray ring around the yolk.

Not what we’re going for.

5 boiled eggs each in three pink bowls.
Pioneer Woman (Boiling Water Start Method)

This is the ONE!

The eggs peeled beautifully and were perfectly cooked. Fully set yolks, no chalkiness, and no struggle with the shells.

After testing all three methods and seeing exactly how they peeled (or didn’t), it was clear which approach deserved a permanent spot in my kitchen routine. The Pioneer Woman, hot water start method!

I’ve also included a photo below showing the insides of the eggs cooked exactly in methods described above.

You can’t see it well in the photo, but the cold water start eggs were starting to get the gray-green ring.

The steamed eggs can’t be described as “soft” in the middle but were slightly undercooked especially if you are planning to make deviled eggs. I just find they mash better when cooked all the way through.

So there you have it. The best way to boil eggs for easy peeling.

After all the testing, steaming, shaking, and one regrettable Reddit experiment, the boiling-water start wins in my kitchen.

No fancy equipment. No shaking. No green rings.

Just perfectly cooked eggs that peel the way eggs ought to peel.

And if that isn’t a small kitchen miracle, I don’t know what is.

Consider me converted.