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Elevate your egg salad game with these perfectly cooked, easy-peel eggs! This foolproof guide shows how long to boil eggs for egg salad so you nail the texture every time.
Making egg salad and need to know how long to boil the eggs? It’s not a simple answer, because the eggs don’t actively boil in the water. As soon as the pot of water comes to a boil, turn off the heat! That’s the key to perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs that make for one mean egg salad. Keep reading for a chart showing the timing for different sizes of eggs!
How long to boil eggs for egg salad?
Bring a pot of water to a boil with the eggs, then once it starts boiling turn off the heat and set a timer for the timing noted below. The most standard size of eggs, large eggs, sit in the water for 15 minutes to let them cook through.
| Qty | Size | Timing once boiling (turn off heat!) |
| 12 | Small | 13 minutes |
| 12 | Large | 15 Minutes |
| 12 | Extra Large | 17 Minutes |
Move the eggs to ice, then peel
After the eggs have finished cooking, drain the pot and add the eggs an ice bath, which is a bowl of ice water. This will stop the eggs from cooking. After the eggs are in the ice bath for 15 minutes, you can peel them to make your egg salad. Below is a video showing exactly how to boil eggs and peel eggs for egg salad!
Here are a few alternate methods if you have special equipment:
- If you have a steamer basket, go to Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs.
- If you have an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker, here’s our method for Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs.
Egg salad recipes
Egg salad is a tasty way to enjoy eggs, one of the most nutritious foods on the planet! Eggs have only 75 calories each, and are packed with nutrients and protein. They’re especially helpful for vegetarian diets as a natural source of B12. Recent research has found that instead of avoiding boiled eggs for cholesterol reasons, eggs actually increase the good cholesterol the body needs. They’re recommended as an affordable and easy-to-eat source of high quality protein.
Here are a few of our favorite egg salad recipes, and a few other ways to use hard boiled eggs:
More about hard boiled eggs
Here are some common questions related to hard boiled eggs! Let us know if you have any other questions in the comments below.
- How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs Easy to Peel?
- How Long Do Hard Boiled Eggs Last?
- How to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs?
- How Much Protein in a Hard Boiled Egg?
- How Many Calories in a Hard Boiled Egg?
How Long to Boil Eggs for Egg Salad?
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 eggs 1x
Description
Elevate your egg salad game with these perfectly cooked, easy-peel eggs! This foolproof guide shows how long to boil eggs for egg salad so you nail the texture every time.
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs (older eggs peel better than fresh)
- 1 green onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or basil (or substitute ½ teaspoon dried dill)
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Place the eggs in the bottom of a large pot and and cover with water 1 inch above the eggs. Bring the water to a boil, gently stirring the eggs several times.
- As soon as the water boils, remove the pot from the heat and cover it. Let the eggs sit in the hot water for 15 minutes (13 minutes for small eggs or 17 minutes extra large eggs). Prepare a bowl of ice water.
- After 15 minutes in the hot water, place the eggs in the ice water and allow them to cool completely, about 15 minutes. Peel immediately and chop them roughly.
- Thinly slice the green onions. Chop the fresh dill or basil.
- In a bowl, stir together all ingredients for the egg salad. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Tastes best freshly made, or refrigerate for up to 3 to 5 days; after refrigerating taste and add a little salt and/or mustard to refresh the flavors.
- Category: Essential
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Delicious recipe
Microwave method. No, your microwave won’t blow up and your eggs won’t explode, but you’ll need to put them in a microwave safe bowl with enough water and a little salt to cover them. Depending on how powerful your microwaves are, you should microwave them for about 5-7 minutes. After the bell has rung and your house is still standing, go ahead and throw in some ice water! As much as I like jammy, soft-boiled eggs, there is a time and a place for everything and sometimes I want a regular old, perfectly perfect, hard-boiled egg. Whether it’s making devil eggs, dying an Easter egg, or wanting to boil eggs as a quick, healthy, protein-packed snack, it’s a good idea to know how to boil an egg tightly. I’m lucky to have that strategy perfect! I need six eggs, some ice and a slotted spoon to make the best hard-boiled egg.
You can add the eggs to boiling water and keep it boiling. We’ve always done it that way. 8min for hard boiled. 4.5min for a perfect soft boil every time.