Perfect Instant Pot Soft-Boiled Eggs
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For perfect soft-boiled eggs, set your Instant Pot to 3 minutes and low pressure. The eggs will have perfectly jammy yolks and will peel like a dream!
My first Instant Pot success was a hard-boiled egg, my second was a soft-boiled. The virtues of making “boiled” eggs in an Instant Pot can be summed up as follows: 1. They peel like a dream. 2. They come out perfectly every time. Recipe is below.
My Instant Pot egg successes led me to make rice, which also came out perfectly. I’m keeping this entry short because I shared my Instant Pot story and some thoughts on to buy or not to buy an Instant Pot here: Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice with Sesame, Soy, and Scallions.
PS: The Instant Pot Miracle: One-Pot Pasta with Meat Sauce
PPS: Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs
Here’s how to make Instant Pot soft-boiled eggs: Pour 2 cups water into the IP, place steamer insert inside, place eggs on top.
Set Instant Pot to 3 minutes at low pressure. {See recipe notes: times vary}
Open lid and …
… transfer eggs to a water bath to cool briefly.
Peel the eggs (this is an incredible experience if you’ve ever struggled peeling boiled eggs).
Eat on toast 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
… maybe with some dukkah sprinkled on top. This is quinoa-flax toasting bread.
PrintPerfect Instant Pot Soft-Boiled Eggs
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 eggs
Description
I have this 6-qt Instant Pot, which is important only because the size of the pot may affect the timing. These instructions work perfectly for my IP, but it did take some trial and error to get the timing down.
Another variable that could affect the timing is altitude: at higher elevations, you’ll need to increase the cooking time. Again this may take some trial and error to get right.
Instant pot boiled eggs peel so incredibly easily. As the title says, these instructions are for soft-boiled eggs, which are so delicious on many a dish, namely toast: quinoa-flax toasting bread.
If you want to make hard-boiled eggs, follow the instructions here: Perfect Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs.
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Pour the 2 cups of water into the insert of the Instant Pot. (Note: Do measure 2 cups as opposed to using the markings on the inside of the insert.) Lay the steamer insert inside. Place 4 eggs on top.
- Cover the pot. Using the manual button, set the pot to 3 minutes and low pressure. Make sure the valve on top is set to sealing. Fill a bowl with ice water or cold tap water. (See notes above regarding timing: timing will vary based on what model IP you have; timing will vary based on elevation as well. It may take some trial and error to get right.)
- When the 3 minutes are up, which will take more like 9 minutes, switch the valve to venting, let the steam escape for no more than 1 minute, carefully remove the lid to avoid steaming your face, transfer eggs to water bath, let cool for 30 seconds or so, then peel, season and eat.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
133 Comments on “Perfect Instant Pot Soft-Boiled Eggs”
I love to cook! It’s my passion, my life. finding and updating new recipes for the menu every day makes me excited and love it more. Today’s a lucky day, Instant Pot Soft-Boiled Eggs is great, just follow your instructions, the rest is easy, I love that. Thanks for your great sharing
I love your photos, very beautiful and artistic. I definitely have to try this dish
I just made these. Followed the recipe to the letter and it was perfection!
Wonderful to hear this!
I followed your recipe yet they are nearly impossible to peel. (I don’t live at high altitude) Any tips?
So bizarre! I make these every other day and never have an issue. Questions: is the yolk soft? As in, are you happy with the timing in regard to texture of the egg? Is it just the peeling that’s the issue right now?
You need to pierce the bottom of the egg with a needle.
Perfect! Thank you so much!
I followed the instructions and my eggs, although very easy to peel were medium! I should have looked more closely at the picture you show. I would not really call those soft. Back to the drawing board.
Toni, hi! Try 1 minute less and see where that gets you. It can be a little bit of a trial and error depending on a number of factors but especially the model of IP. Did you see the video? My yolks are soft by my standard, but it sounds as though you’re looking for super soft/runny?
Awesome! Boiled Eggs is my favorite food. It’s great to be able to cook it right at home, it’s really not as difficult as I thought, thanks for your detailed instructions. Best regards!
Thanks for the instructions! I think they came out just right. Perfect for my salads.
Great to hear, Erin!
Thank you Alexandra, I did two large eggs right out of the fridge with your directions and they came out perfectly cooked. I find it strange that the people who had trouble do not answer your follow up questions and I find it hard to believe that you could pressure cook an egg for three minutes and have it come out raw. I have a 6 qt. Duo Plus and I love it.
So happy to hear this, Dougy 🙂 Thanks so much for writing. I love my IP Duo, too, and especially love it for eggs.
Followed recipe exactly. Perfect eggs and peeled like a dream! If you have your own chickens or buy fresh eggs locally and are having trouble peeling. Try to use eggs that are not as freshly collected.
My first venture with the instant pot! The yolks were softer and runnier than I expected so the first egg I tried to peel I accidentally crushed, haha. Luckily once I got the hang of peeling them I actually liked the runnier yolks better.
Glad you got the hang of it! This definitely is a recipe that takes a bit of trial and error to get the timing to work for you 😍
I have the same instant pot and followed the directions exactly. My eggs didn’t peel well and came apart before the peel was off. We were trying to make scotch eggs, but had to throw them out once they didn’t keep their form after being wrapped in sausage. I’m not faulting the recipe, just letting you know it didn’t work for me.
I just gave your technique a try and the eggs turned out perfect. Thanks for sharing.
So happy to hear this, Jeremy!
I always prefer scrambled one when it comes to cooking eggs. I tried several times, but it always ended up a hard-boiled one until I just gave up. But this easy instruction changed the game. Now I can say that I can cook a perfect soft-boiled egg.
Every hard boiled egg recipe I have tried in the instapot has been a fail- really dry eggs with a gray ring or even a discolored white. These were absolutely perfect! I probably left then a tad too long before releasing so the weren’t quite soft but YUM!
Wonderful to hear this!
Followed the recipe instructions and ended up with super raw and unpeelable eggs. The whites didn’t even fully firm up 👎🏻
I live by the ocean at sea level so altitude can’t be an issue, and I only put 3 eggs in the 6qt instant pot.
Weird.
Hi Sarah! Sorry to hear this, I would try another minute. This definitely takes a bit of trial and error — every IP seems to cook slightly differently.
It’s very important that you measure not only 2 cups of water, but be sure that it is actually cold. I used the cold water dispenser from my fridge, and my girlfriend was ecstatic about how fast and easy this was and how perfect they turned out for her ramen.
Great tip. Thank you for noting this! Glad your girlfriend approves, too!
Looks great! The recipe is quite simple and easy to prepare, added to the menu for this weekend. hope to enjoy the best Soft-Boiled Eggs with my family. Thanks and have a nice day!
PERFECT! Ive had an instant pot for maybe 4 years now, and have made hard/soft boiled eggs at least a few dozen times. The results Ive had in the past varied even by using the same water level/timing. I decided to try something new and came across this 2 cup method at low pressure. The results I got were just like the video. Thank you for posting! <3
Wonderful to hear this! Thanks so much for writing.
i just thought i would add that the g.f is on the phone with her mom right now and she’s talking about how great your method worked out. she’s been using it frequently. Thank you again for posting.
So nice to hear this 😍😍😍😍 Thanks for writing again!
Perfect! Mine always come out too medium. These are just right for soft.
Wonderful to hear this, Lexy!
I love soft-boiled eggs and was so excited to try this IP recipe. Very easy to follow and fast which is great for meal prepping/work-days. My eggs were a little on the medium side with the 3 min time, but still tasty, and next time I’ll just set to 2 min. Thank you for sharing! This has already made my weeks easier!
Wonderful to hear this, Dana! Thanks so much for writing. Great tip regarding 2 vs 3 minutes — I do feel everyone needs to experiment a bit to get the timing right 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yay, after trying so many different methods, this one was fool proof! I used cold fridge water for my 2 cups (as others in the comments indicated) and only let the steam release for a minute before submerging them in an ice bath. I was wondering if the quantity of water and the time would be the same if I were to boil a bunch of eggs at once? (like 12-20)?
Great to hear this, Natasha! I have never done more than 6 at a time, so I can’t say for sure. One thing to keep in mind if you do that many is space — you may want to invest in one of those 2-tier racks for the Instant Pot … maybe you already have one.
Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.
Thank You!
Wonderful to hear this, Eric! Thanks for writing!
This worked great! I will probably try it with a minute less to get a more gooey yolk but it was still delicious and so easy to peel.
Wonderful to hear, Dana! And totally: I really think IP cooking is all about trial and error and finding out what works best for your IP. Thanks for writing!
Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.
Wonderful to hear this, Alex! I love making these with my 5-yr old.
Not sure I understand how altitude could affect cooking in a sealed pot that regulates its own pressure. On a stove top open to the atmosphere yes, but in a sealed container, 13psi is 13 psi, whatever the atmosphere is outside.
Indeed, this is tricky between brands of pots — mine is a 6 quart salton and the 3 min pressure cooked eggs were a mess (undercooked and awful to peel)–every thing else has been fine, but I don’t usually have the patience with a 10 minute “reaching pressure” prelude for only a 3 minute cook. It would help hugely if we knew what the precise pressure was and had specs on time to reach pressure etc.
Hi Bri! Honestly, I’m not sure. What I’ve read is that being closer or farther from sea level can in fact affect the timing on a pressure cooker … science isn’t my thing, and it sounds as though you have a better handle on it than I do.
My course of action is always trial and error. It sounds as though you need to add a minute or more, but again, it may take some trial and error to get right. Of course, you can always skip the Instant Pot and steam them stovetop, which is my new favorite method. The timing also may take some trial and error, but 9 minutes gets me jammy yolks. If you want them to be softer, you might want to try for 8 minutes.
I have an 8-quart Instant Pot and your soft-boiled egg recipe came out perfectly!
Great to hear, Jane! Thanks so much for writing and sharing 🙂
Thanks for the instructions! Just want to note that for IP newbies, the instruction to “let the steam escape for no more than 1 minute, [then] carefully remove the lid” could be dangerous. The steam needs to escape until the valve drops, however long that takes.
Followed your directions, and these turned out great! We made 6 eggs in our 8 qt pot and from start to ready-to-peel, it took 16 minutes. What a simple quick breakfast. Thank you!
Great to hear, Annie! Thanks so much for writing and sharing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Mind. Blown.
My life quest is complete. I may rest now.
With some jammy eggs!!!!!
Hooray! 🙂 🙂 🙂