Instant Pot hard boiled eggs

By Tanya Francis · Updated October 17, 2026

A pressure cooker is handy when you're doing a dozen eggs at once. The 5-5-5 method is the usual starting point for hard boiled eggs in an Instant Pot or any electric pressure cooker.

The 5-5-5 method

1. Pour 1 cup (250 ml) of cold water into the pot and set the trivet in it.
2. Put the eggs on the trivet, straight from the fridge.
3. Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
4. Let the pressure come down on its own for 5 minutes, then release the rest.
5. Move the eggs into ice water for 5 minutes, or longer if you want them cold.

The time under pressure doesn't include the time the pot takes to come up to pressure, so the whole job takes longer than the numbers suggest.

Soft and jammy eggs

Soft and jammy eggs go straight from the pot into ice water. Pressure cookers vary by model and size, so treat these as a starting point and adjust by a minute.

How much water

Most 6-quart pots use 1 cup (250 ml). Larger pots can need more to come up to pressure. Check the minimum in your manual.

Without a trivet

The trivet keeps the eggs off the hot base, where they can crack or pick up brown spots. A metal steamer basket does the same job.

Cooking a lot of eggs

More eggs don't change the time at pressure much, but the pot takes longer to get there. Keep them in one layer if you can, and test your first batch.