Do you love a soft-boiled egg with a delicate runny yolk? So do I! This foolproof technique from Cook’s Illustrated demonstrates how to make soft-boiled eggs perfectly every single time. As it turns out, the trick is in the steam.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a bit obsessed with the geniuses behind Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen. Every recipe and technique I’ve tried from them has been fantastic. My recipe for banana bread muffins was adapted from one of their cookbooks, as was my slow cooker meatballs and marinara recipe.
Cook’s Illustrated is a valuable cooking magazine in so many ways. Each issue is an absolute treasure trove of knowledge. They share not only recipes but also tips, product reviews and extensively tested techniques.
Recently I tried their technique from the January/February 2013 issue for making perfect oven-roasted shrimp, and they were perfection. The same issue had several pages dedicated to the challenge of how to soft boil an egg. It’s a skill I struggled with for years when I was first learning to cook.
The Science Behind Soft-Boiled Eggs
How do you achieve perfectly set whites while maintaining runny yolks? Is it possible to create a scalable recipe that has the exact same instructions regardless of whether 1, 4 or 6 eggs are used?
The reason this is complicated is because egg whites must reach 180 degrees F in order to set, while the yolks must stay below 158 degrees F in order to stay runny. This presents obvious challenges, as it’s very easy to either overcook the yolks or undercook the whites.
After soft-boiling more than 1000 eggs in their test kitchen, they discovered the perfect technique. The key is steam. The problem with the traditional method is that cold eggs cool down the boiling water. So the more eggs you add, the longer it takes to cook them properly.
But steam will stay at 212 degrees F regardless of how many eggs are added to the pot! Kind of genius, right? It works every time; fully set tender whites and rich, runny yolks. You can use a steamer if you have one but it’s also easy to apply this technique with a standard saucepan and cover.
How to Soft-Boil an Egg
This tried-and-tested method will result in perfect soft-boiled eggs every single time. To make a soft-boiled egg, add 1/2 inch of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Use tongs to take eggs directly from the refrigerator and lay them at the bottom of the saucepan. Cover the saucepan and let the eggs steam.
After the eggs have finished steaming, run cold water into the pan to prevent the eggs from cooking further.
The cook time for these soft-boiled eggs is exactly 6 1/2 minutes. You’ll need to set a timer, and try not to wander too far from the stove. As soon as the timer goes off you need to immediately rinse the eggs in cold water. If you fail to do this, the eggs will continue cooking and may go past the soft-boiled stage.
How to Peel
The easiest way to peel a soft-boiled egg is to gently crack it all over with a spoon. Use your fingers to peel the eggshell off, beginning at the fattest part of the egg.
If you’d like to avoid peeling the egg altogether, cut the top off and scoop the insides out with a spoon. Or dunk a piece of toast into the gooey egg yolk and enjoy your eggs that way.
Recipe Tips
- Be very gentle when placing the raw eggs in the saucepan. You don’t want to accidentally crack an egg!
- Once the raw eggs have been placed in the saucepan, do not adjust the heat level whatsoever.
- You can add as many eggs into the saucepan as you’d like, but make sure to cook them in a single layer. If you stack the eggs, you won’t achieve the same results.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve soft-boiled eggs sliced lengthwise on salads (such as this Arugula Salad with Soft Boiled Eggs, Bacon, and Shallot Dijon Vinaigrette), or in an egg cup with toast or steamed asparagus. Soft-boiled eggs are also delicious atop bowls of ramen, savory oatmeal, and fried rice.
More Easy Egg Recipes:
You should also check out my Ramen Eggs, Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Quiche, Swiss, Mushroom, & Spinach Frittata, Asparagus Egg Tart, and Tomato Feta Egg Tart.
Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 1-6 large or extra large eggs (use more or less as needed)
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add 1/2 inch of water to a medium or large saucepan, and bring the water to a boil on medium-high heat.
- Take the eggs directly from the refrigerator. Use tongs to VERY gently lay the eggs in the bottom of the pan.
- Cover and allow the eggs to steam for 6 1/2 minutes. Do not adjust the heat level.
- Run cold water into the pan for 30 seconds to halt the cooking process. Peel and serve immediately.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
Ai says
How would you do this in a steamer? *complete newbie*
Philip says
I would like instructions for how long to steam the eggs if you don’t get the water boiling first. That is if you just use tap water (ours is about 70F) and put the eggs in straight away. If I just put the eggs in the water in this fashion it takes exactly 10 minutes on high heat to get the perfect soft boiled egg. I wonder if steaming will be different.
melanie says
I tried this following the exact directions and it didn’t work. =( Still had runny whites. BAck to the drawing board.
Jennifer Farley says
Oh boo, I’m so sorry it didn’t work. That amount of time always seems to work for me, maybe try increasing by 15-30 seconds?
Siobhan says
You are indeed a treasure Jennifer. At lasy a fool-proof way to cook eggs perfectly. I have in the past left it to the hubby to time the eggs – it avoids that look if I do it and the eggs are not runny enough (which is usually the case). Thanks so much. PS. Love the images :)
Marsha says
I always loved these when I was a kid, what am I talking about – I still do! Easy and delicious !
Jean Thompson says
Goodness, If I boiled eggs for 1o minutes, they would be hard boiled. I am anxious to try this soft boiled recipe. My mother was from England and I know they are big on soft boiled eggs there. All of us kids have silver egg cups from when we were babes. I love soft boiled eggs.
Love to cook says
I grew up in England where we are raised on boiled eggs and toast’ soldiers.’ I can’t believe they wasted 1,000 eggs like that and they never realized that the answer is to bring the eggs to room temperature first. Boil enough water to cover them then cook a small egg for three minutes, a large egg for four minutes and an extra large egg for five minutes. Perfect every time.
Carlos says
Tried this method and it worked perfectly. Just to be on the safe side and may not have been necessary, i did put a pinhole in the large end of the eggs which I always did with my old method of putting them in a full pan of boiling water to keep them from cracking. The eggs using your method turned out absolutely perfect at 6 minutes. Thanks for sharing a new method for me to use to have perfectly soft boiled eggs.
sharyl says
this worked wonderfully! but next time I think i would only run it under cold water for about 15-20 secs., they were not real hot
Courtney says
I use this method (Cook’s Illustrated subscriber, well worth it) and it works perfectly every time. I wanted to acknowledge that if it doesn’t work for you, it might be that your cookware doesn’t conduct and distribute heat very well (I use All-Clad and Mauviel). An investment in good cookware (that will last a lifetime) is an investment in a better life!
Jennifer Farley says
Great point! I use All-Clad as well.
Grace Plata says
I just tried out this method and and my oh my what a huge difference this makes! My eggs were perfect! I wasn’t fond of them growing up as my mother always made them too runny but I enjoyed watching my sister gobble them up as if they were the best thing in the world. Now I can actually partake in enjoying them as much as my sissy did! Thank you!
Celeste Vargas says
I saw that episode of ATK and have been enjoying perfectly gooey soft-boiled eggs since then!
James in NZ says
We do not keep eggs in the refrigerator in NZ, so I wonder what impact room temperature eggs would have on the timing? Seems like an experiment waiting to be done!
Anna says
Didn’t work for me. Eggs poured out of the shell when ‘cooked’. Followed instructions to the letter…….
Jennifer Farley says
I’m so sorry to hear that it didn’t work for you! If you read the comments above everyone seems to be having good success with this technique. But I guess no methods are completely perfect.
Dano says
Perhaps you live at a higher altitude. At higher altitude the boiling point of water drops considerably. This fact was used to map Tibet mountains accurately when the country was closed to foreigners. USDA has correction tables.
Holly Bailey McAlister says
Hey, Jennifer. Have you tried steaming with a steaming basket? Think it makes any difference? Going to give this a try this weekend! Thanks!
Savory Simple says
I haven’t tried a steamer basket but I think that will work perfectly since the idea is just to get the eggs to the right temperature for a certain amount of time. Let me know how it goes!