Hard-boiled eggs are handy for a meal or a snack because they’re portable and easy to eat. You can also prepare them well ahead of time since they’ll stay fresh in the refrigerator for days. But can you take a boiled egg out of the fridge and reheat it? And if so, how?
You can reheat boiled eggs by steeping them in hot water, either with or without the shell, but you have to be careful not to overcook them. You should never use the microwave on eggs in the shell, whether they are raw or boiled.
Hard-boiled eggs are delicious when chilled. You can peel and eat them just as they are, season them with a little salt and pepper, or chop them up and put them in a salad.
If you’re going to be preparing a dish that calls for boiled eggs, such as deviled eggs, potato salad, or egg salad, it saves time to cook them the day before so they’re chilled when you chop them up.
Still, there are times you want a nice, warm egg, especially for breakfast, so it’s reasonable that you might want to know how to reheat a hard-boiled egg.
Soft-boiled eggs, on the other hand, cannot be eaten cold, so if you’ve soft-boiled your eggs ahead of time, you don’t have a choice—you have to warm them up to eat them.
Never fear—you can reheat both hard- and soft-boiled eggs with no trouble at all.
How to Reheat Boiled Eggs
Boiled eggs have already been subjected to a temperature of 212° F (100° C) for a sustained period of time and should be already fully cooked when you go to reheat them. So you must take care to reheat them without further cooking them.
The best way to reheat a hard-boiled egg is to place the cooked egg, still in its shell, into a pan and add boiling water until the eggs are covered. Put the lid on the pan, and wait about 10 or 15 minutes. The egg will be heated through and ready to eat.
This method will effectively heat the egg while preventing the egg from getting overcooked. Overcooking causes the outer part of the yolk to turn green and the white part of the egg to get rubbery.
For soft-boiled eggs, the process is similar, but you should pour the hot water in the pan first, and then add the soft-boiled eggs. Wait only about 4 to 6 minutes.
Soft-boiled eggs are eaten in the shell and are best when the yolk is still runny. The popular way to eat soft-boiled eggs is to dip “soldiers” (toast strips) into the yolk. Overcooking the egg will harden up the yolk, thus spoiling the fun.
Reheating an egg will not affect its quality or nutrition.
Can You Reheat Eggs With and Without Shell?
If you are serving a big breakfast or brunch buffet, you may want to boil your eggs the day before and then heat them up right before serving. But what if you’ve already peeled the hard-boiled eggs? Can you still reheat them?
Hard-boiled eggs can be reheated with or without the shell. If the eggs have been peeled, just pop them into hot water, cover, and wait for 3 to 4 minutes. If they don’t seem hot yet, leave them in for a bit longer.
Eggs without a shell don’t take as long to get hot as eggs in the shell.
You may also be able to heat a peeled egg in the microwave. Set the timer for about 10 seconds, and set the power at 50%. Check to see if it’s hot enough and add time as necessary.
Cutting the egg in half may allow it to heat more evenly in the microwave. Be sure to cover it with a microwave-safe lid. There is a possibility of spattering.
Will an Egg Explode in the Microwave?
You’ve heard the stories—don’t put eggs in the microwave because they’ll explode. It sounds like an old wives tale, but it’s true.
Eggs in the shell will explode in the microwave, whether they are raw or boiled. The shell will pop and the egg will splatter all over the inside of the microwave. A boiled egg will make a smaller mess than a raw egg, but it still will likely explode.
Eggs explode in the microwave because when the egg cooks, it releases steam that builds up against the inner surface of the shell. The pressure causes the shell to pop outwards, or explode.
This phenomenon is the same reason you prick the skin of a potato with a fork or cut a slit in a frozen dinner before cooking it in the microwave.
With a boiled egg, even though it might be cooked hard, there is still enough liquid left in it to create steam and put pressure on the eggshell.
That said, it is possible to boil an egg in the shell using the microwave. But, you must do it the right way to avoid making a messy mistake.
Good Housekeeping recommends the following procedure:
1. Heat up a large bowl filled with water in the microwave for 3 minutes.
2. Use a safety pin or needle to prick a hole in the bottom of the egg. This will create a release vent for the steam and prevent the egg from exploding. (Some cooks recommend adding salt instead of pricking.)
3. Place the egg into the bowl and microwave at half power (press 5) for 4 minutes.
Cook for a longer or shorter time, depending on how done you like the yolks.
A note about pricking the eggs: The American Egg Board cautions that pricking the shell of an egg with an unsterilized needle can introduce harmful bacteria into the egg that will be present even after they’re cooked.
To sterilize a needle, you’ll have to boil it in water for about 30 minutes. You can boil an egg to well done in about 12 minutes. You do the math.
Do Boiled Eggs Last Longer Peeled or Unpeeled?
Since boiled eggs heat up faster without the shell, you might consider peeling them all before storing them in the refrigerator. But will peeled boiled eggs keep fresh as long as eggs that are still in the shell?
Boiled eggs still in the shell will keep longer in the refrigerator than unpeeled ones. However, if you’ve peeled them, there are ways to store them to keep them fresher longer.
An unpeeled boiled egg will stay fresh for about a week in the refrigerator. Use your senses to determine if they are still good. If they smell strong, don’t risk it.
Peeled eggs should be used within 2-3 days. There are a couple of ways to help them stay fresh.
You can put the eggs in an airtight container, such as a Ziploc bag or a sealable plastic container. (This will help keep the egg smell from dominating your refrigerator, too.)
Another way to store peeled eggs is to place them in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Keep the bowl uncovered in your fridge, and change the water daily.
Be sure to refrigerate your eggs within an hour after cooking them, and don’t take them out of the fridge more than two hours before you intend to eat them or use them.
If you’re transporting boiled eggs, say to a picnic or potluck, put them in a plastic container lined with ice cubes.
By the way, it is possible to freeze boiled eggs, but only the yolks. The boiled whites don’t stand up to freezing well and tend to get tough or runny.
The yolks freeze up well, though, and can stay frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw them out and use them for salads.