Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs

Who knew Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs could be so easy?

So… we are using the term ‘boiled’ loosely because there is no boiling water involved. No pot either!

I am new to the air fryer party but each item I have tried has delighted me, from toast to ‘hard boiled’ eggs, to egg rolls to chicken.

So -be forewarned – more air fryer recipes to come!

Back to the eggs… I am using a Pampered Chef Air Fryer. I had to make 2 batches to find the right settings exactly for my air fryer. I have an upper and lower tray. I started with 4 eggs- 2 on top, 2 on bottom.

I switched trays from top to bottom and moved the eggs around (hard to ‘turn them over exactly’). It took 20 minutes at 250 degrees F for evenly hard cooked eggs.

16 minutes gave me a solid yolk but not opaque like you want for hard cooked eggs. So.. if you wanted a soft center for a breakfast egg try 12-14 minutes.

I suggest you start with one or 2 eggs in your machine and check which setting works in your machine best.

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When the eggs are done submerge them in cold water until they are cool enough to handle.

I tapped both ends of the eggs and rolled them slightly to break up the shell. Peeling was so easy! Once I had picked the ends off, the band around almost came off in one piece!

I tried to research if/why peeling hard cooked eggs from the air fryer would peel more easily than boiled. Did not come up with scientific answer but I can tell you the 3 times I have done it so far the eggs have been consistently super easy to peel.

The other tip is – don’t be tempted to cook at a higher temperature for less time – you risk getting that grey ring around the yolk that comes from the protein over-cooking. That is the other nice thing about the air fryer- the temperature is regulated so don’t risk over doing the heat. I know – gentle as I would try to make hard boiled eggs, the initial boil sometimes got away on me and resulted in that grey, unappealing yolk.

Speaking of boiling…. I would typically set a time for 13 minutes because that is how long it would typically take the water to almost reach a boil. Then there would be 17 minutes of ‘water bath’ time. So 20 minutes in the air fryer, turning half way is quicker and easier!

Clean up was a breeze as well. I had one egg that had released a tiny bit of liquid. All I had to do was wipe the rack and the drip tray with a wet cloth.

Chef’s Tips for Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs

• Use this as a guide and test your own air fryer to determine the final best timing for your machine.
• Don’t be tempted to increase the heat to reduce the cook time.  You will risk getting that grey, unappealing band around the yolk.
• Don’t over-crowd the eggs.  I tried increasing the number of eggs and the cooking became hit and miss.  The eggs tended to roll together to the center of the tray, impeding the air flow that is critical to even cooking.  
• If you need to cook a lot of eggs I would suggest working in batches in the air fryer or resort to a large pot on the stove.
• It is difficult to tell if you have moved the position of the egg at half time. I just made sure they had rolled around on the tray and hoped the ended up in a bit of a different position.