Find the best cook time

When it comes to hard boiled eggs, there are plenty of theories and ideas about how to get the right cooking time. The fact is, unfortunately, that there are so many different factors that contribute to finding the ideal cooking time. That is why every food blogger, chef and hobby cook have their own opinions and secret tricks! The temperature of the air fryer, the temperature of the eggs, the size of the eggs, the amount of eggs used, the quality of the eggs and your personal preferences are the main factors that can influence the cooking time. Use this recipe as a guide for how to make hard boiled eggs, and if they don’t come out quite as expected, please consult the troubleshooting guide below.

Leftovers

Hard boiled eggs last for several days in the fridge. If you plan on storing leftover eggs, I recommend refridgerating them with the shells still on, as this will make them keep longer.

Troubleshooting

What if the eggs have yellow or brown spots? – This means the eggs are slightly burned. Try reducing the cook time next time, and make sure they are not cooked on a too high temperature. Are the yolks still a bit wet or runny? – The eggs are under cooked, or soft boiled instead of hard boiled. Try cooking them for slightly longer next time. They are still safe to eat. Are the egg whites still runny? – The eggs are extremely under cooked. If you followed the instructions and this happened, it means something is wrong with your air fryer, or you overcrowded the basked with way too many eggs. Why do eggs get a green ring around the yolk? – This happens when the eggs are slightly over cooked. Reduce the cooking time next time. Although they might look funny, they are still safe to eat! Is the egg yolk and white mixed together inside the egg? – This happens when the yolk breaks inside the egg before cooking. It is very rare, and means the egg was either shaked very hard, or it might have gone off.

Adapting the recipe

For this recipe we assume that you use 6 medium, free range, chilled eggs straight from the fridge. This is how you can adapt the recipe to suit other situations: Using different air fryers: Some air fryers cook faster than others, some keep the temperature better than others etc. You might find that the times suggested don’t match exactly. If this is the case, use the troubleshooting guide above to find out how you can get the eggs just to your liking! Using small eggs: Small eggs require a shorter cooking time than medium eggs. You might have to experiment, but 13-14 minutes should be ideal. Using large eggs: Large eggs require longer to cook through. You might have to experiment, but try 18-19 minutes. Using a preheated air fryer: This recipe assumes that you add the eggs to a cold air fryer. If you use a preheated air fryer, you would want to reduce the suggested times with 2-3 minutes. Using room temperature eggs: Room temperature eggs get hot faster than cold eggs, and require a shorter cooking time. Reduce the time by 1 minute. Medium – soft boiled eggs: If you want your eggs to be slightly soft but not completely runny, try reducing the cook time by 3-4 minutes. Runny soft boiled eggs: For a runny, soft boiled eggs, try reducing the cook time by 5-6 minutes. Changing the amount of eggs used: The fewer eggs you use, the lower of a cook time you need. If you use less than 4 eggs, reduce the cook time by 1 minutes. If using more than 8, add 1 minute to the timer. Don’t overcrowd the basket, and make sure that every egg has enough space to move. If you have to cook many eggs, you might have to do it in batches.