Soft Boiled Egg Timer

How long to boil a soft boiled egg

A soft boiled egg has a fully set white and a warm, liquid yolk — the texture people want for dippy eggs with toast soldiers, for ramen, or spooned over avocado toast. For a large egg, boil for 6 minutes at a full rolling boil, timed from the moment the egg goes into the water.

Thirty seconds matters a lot at this end of the scale. At 5 minutes the white nearest the yolk is still loose; by 7 minutes the yolk has begun to set into a medium boiled texture. If your eggs are not large, use the size-adjusted times below rather than the headline number.

Soft boiled times by egg size

• Small: 5 minutes
• Medium: 5 minutes 30 seconds
• Large: 6 minutes
• Extra large: 6 minutes 30 seconds

Method

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a full rolling boil, enough to cover the eggs by an inch.
2. Lower the eggs in gently with a slotted spoon so they do not crack against the base.
3. Start the timer as soon as the last egg is in. Keep a steady boil, not a violent one.
4. Move them into ice water for 2 to 3 minutes — long enough to stop the cooking, short enough that the egg is still warm inside.

Serving and peeling

Soft boiled eggs are usually served in the shell in an egg cup with the top sliced off. If you need to peel one, be gentle: the white is far more delicate than a hard boiled egg's and tears easily. Peeling under a thin stream of cool running water helps the shell separate cleanly.

Cooking at elevation, or want every variable accounted for? The egg cooking time guide covers altitude, starting temperature and alternative methods.