How to Make a Soft Boiled Egg

Co-authored by Vanna Tran and Jessica Gibson

Soft boiled eggs are a great breakfast food. They're quick to cook up, great when served with toast, and contain lots of protein which will stay with you through the day. You can easily cook soft boiled eggs by bringing water to boil and then letting the eggs sit in the hot water. Or you can use a hot start method where you simmer the eggs. Once you've cooked the eggs to your liking, serve the soft-boiled eggs with toast, soy sauce, or your favorite breakfast sides.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using a Cold Start

1
Prick the end of your egg. To prevent eggs from cracking and to make them easier to peel, gently prick the end of each egg. You can carefully use a small pin or tack to poke a very small indentation through the shell at the large end of the egg. Take care not to poke very far or the white will leak out of the egg.^{[1]
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- You could also use something with a slightly rounded point to poke the egg. For example, you could use a wooden pestle. If you use this, just tap the larger end of the egg.
2
Cover the eggs with cold water. Put your eggs into a small saucepan and pour enough cold water to cover the eggs by 1-inch (2.5 cm).^{[2]
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- If you want to cook more than 4 eggs, consider using a larger pot or cooking them in batches. This will ensure that you can remove the eggs quickly, so they won't overcook.
- Using a saucepan is the most common approach, but you can also boil an egg in an electric kettle if you don't have access to a stove.
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3
Bring the water to a boil and turn off the heat. Turn the heat on to medium-high and keep the lid off of the pan. Once the water begins to boil (bubble vigorously), turn off the heat and start your timer right away.^{[3]
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- If you continue to boil the eggs over such a high-heat, they may bounce around in the pan and crack as they bump into each other. That's why it's important to turn off the heat (or simmer them gently if you're using a hot start method of cooking).
4
Cook the soft-boiled eggs to your liking. You'll need to keep a close eye on the timer, since every minute makes a difference when boiling eggs. Leave the eggs in the hot water to get the desired consistency. Try cooking the eggs for:^{[4]
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- 2 minutes to get a raw yolk and very soft egg white
- 4 minutes to get a really runny, thick yolk and set white
- 6 minutes to get a mostly set yolk and set white
- 8 minutes to get a tender, but set yolk and fully set white

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using a Hot Start

1
Heat water in a saucepan. Place a saucepan on your stove and fill it with 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) of cold water. Turn the heat on to high, so the water boils. Turn the heat down a little, so the water rapidly simmers.^{[5]
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- For a rapid simmer, the water should be bubbling gently, but not creating large bubbles all over the surface of the water.
2
Place the eggs in the pan. Set your egg in a slotted spoon and gently lower it into the simmering water. If you're soft boiling several eggs, lower them in one at a time. You can cook up to four eggs at once.^{[6]
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- If you want to soft-boil more than four eggs, cook them in several batches.
3
Simmer the eggs. Start a timer, so you can perfectly boil the eggs. If you're cooking one or two eggs, you can use the following cooking times. But if you're cooking three or four eggs, add about 30 seconds to the times. Simmer the eggs for:^{[7]
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- 5 minutes to get a runny yolk with a barely set white
- 6 minutes to get a barely setting yolk with a set white
- 7 minutes to get a softly set yolk with a set white

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Serving Soft-Boiled Eggs

1
Serve the egg in a cup. Use a slotted spoon or wire strainer to scoop a soft boiled egg out of the hot water in your pan. Place the egg in an egg cup. You can place it pointy side up or down. The cup will prevent the egg from rolling around on your plate which will make it easier to eat.^{[8]
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- If you don't have an egg cup, you can set the cooked egg in a shot glass, small bowl, or tea cup.
2
Tap the egg to open it. You can take a teaspoon and tap around the top of the egg. Use the spoon or a butter knife to cut and lift away the egg cap. You can also whack the top of the egg, but this could get shell into your soft-boiled egg if you use too much force.^{[9]
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- You can also use tools designed to open soft-boiled eggs. These may look like small scissors, suction cups, bottle openers, or cigar cutters. They're made to easily slice off and remove the top cap of the egg.
3
Serve Malaysian style soft-boiled eggs. Malaysian style eggs and toast is a popular breakfast in Malaysia and Singapore. Crack one soft-boiled egg into a small ramekin, so the soft yolk is contained. Use a soft-boiled egg with a very soft white. Pour a little soy sauce over the egg and serve it with toast.^{[10]
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- You can also sprinkle the eggs with white pepper and serve the toast with coconut jam.
4
Serve dippy egg and toast. Soft boil an egg using the cold start method. Simmer the egg for exactly 4 minutes and then remove the egg using a slotted spoon. Set the egg in your egg cup and crack it open. Toast and butter a piece of bread to serve with the dippy egg.^{[11]
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- To make classic toast soldiers, slice the toast into several long strips. You can dip the toast soldiers into the soft-boiled egg yolk.

Expert Q&A

Question

Do you put eggs in hot or cold water to boil?

Vanna Tran
Experienced Cook
Vanna Tran is a home cook who started cooking with her mother at a very young age. She has catered events and hosted pop-up dinners in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 5 years.

Vanna Tran

Experienced Cook

Expert Answer

Boil your eggs in hot water first. Then, put your eggs into a bowl filled with icy water for 30 seconds right after boiling them. This stops the cooking process and ensures perfect consistency every time!
Question

Why is it that brown eggs are harder to peel after the four-minute method?

Community Answer

They shouldn’t be. Brown eggs are no different than white eggs, nutritionally or otherwise. The only difference is the shell color.
Question

Can you soft boil the yolk apart from the while and shell?

Community Answer

If you can separate the egg yolk and white while keeping the egg yolk intact, you should be able to very gently poach the egg yolk. Or you could put it in a ramekin with a little water and then microwave it until it's as cooked as you like.