Can You Freeze Hard Boiled Eggs? – The Best Way
When you need an on-the-go protein snack, hard-boiled eggs are a great option to come to your rescue. Hard-boiled eggs can take a little bit of expertise to make. You never know just how long you have to boil them to get them perfect.
Hard-boiled eggs really are not so challenging to make, it just takes some paying attention to ensure you get them boiled just right. It doesn’t take a lot of time to boil eggs and they last really well. If you make the effort to boil your eggs, you can have a quick snack or breakfast to pull out in a hurry when you need it.
If you’re going to make a big batch of hard-boiled eggs, you need to know your options for preserving them until you get them eaten.
Can you freeze hard-boiled eggs? While you are able to freeze hard-boiled eggs, you really only want to be freezing the egg yolks. The egg white will turn rubbery and inedible in the freezer, and really will be a waste.
Remove the egg yolks from the egg whites after boiling, pop them into a freezer container and leave them for up to 3 months in the freezer for the best quality possible, preventing any eggs from spoiling before you can use them!
In this guide, we will walk you through everything you should know about hard-boiled eggs, including our recommendations for attempting to freeze them. We will cover an assortment of details regarding boiled eggs and get you all of the most important tips.
Keep reading to learn about freezing hard-boiled eggs and so much more.
A Complete Guide to Boiled Eggs
Boiled eggs – you either love them or you hate them. But they are such a versatile food. You can use them in a multitude of dishes or you can eat them as they are.
Some people enjoy them cold while some people like them warm. You can pretty much enjoy your boiled egg any way you like!
The concept of a boiled egg is pretty self-explanatory. It is an egg that has been cooked in boiling water whole. The shell remains intact and unbroken for the boiling process.
Most of the time, boiled eggs are made with chicken eggs but you can use other types of eggs as well.
Boiled eggs can be made softly boiled or hard-boiled and anywhere in between as well. A soft-boiled egg will have a liquid yoke and potentially a partially liquid white as well. A hard-boiled egg is just the opposite and the yolk and white are both solid when complete.
The nice thing about boiled eggs is the process changes them so they can be handled in different ways. Boiled eggs are not quite as delicate as fresh or uncooked eggs. You can even leave hard-boiled eggs at room temperature for up to 24 hours.
Making Boiled Eggs
Hard-oiled eggs are relatively easy to make but some people find it challenging to get the timing just right for the perfect hard-boiled egg. There are many ways to make boiled eggs. You can even steam them.
Many people have started making hard-boiled eggs in crockpots and Instapots as well. These tools are a great option for simplifying the process and maybe making it easier and more convenient to be able to make boiled eggs in large quantities.
We would like to note that if you intend to freeze your boiled eggs, we recommend making hard-boiled eggs. While freezing isn’t great for any hard-boiled eggs, it does work best for hard-boiled eggs.
Here is a quick walkthrough for making hard-boiled eggs. Keep in mind that you can boil them in different ways. We just want to share this to give you a general idea of the process.
- Place your eggs in a large saucepan and cover them with water about an inch over the top of the eggs.
- Cover the pan with a lid and bring the water to a rolling boil.
- When water hits a rolling boil, start timing the boil time. You can reduce your heat to medium heat at this time as well.
- Boil for 6-7 minutes for a smooth and creamy center, boil 9 minutes for a fully firm center.
- Remove from heat, uncover, and allow to cool.
- Serve and enjoy.
This is just one of the many ways you can boil eggs. Timing is everything when it comes to the process. Note that the timing started in this case as soon as the water came to a rolling boil.
There are some recommendations out there that would tell you to bring the eggs to a rolling boil uncovered and then remove from heat, cover, and let them sit for 15-30 minutes.
Both of these processes are effective and both will get you deliciously hard-boiled eggs for your uses.
Using Hard-Boiled Eggs
We will share with you some quick tips for freezing hard-boiled eggs shortly. But, since we think freezing your hard-boiled eggs should be a last resort, we want to give you some other options first.
Hard-boiled eggs preserve pretty well in the fridge. You can feast on them for up to 2 weeks without any noticeable changes or deficiencies.
If you’re reaching the end of your hard-boiled eggs life and you need to figure something out, you can always try to make something using boiled eggs.
Here are some ideas for putting your hard-boiled eggs to use.
- Deviled eggs
- Egg salad sandwiches
- Salad toppings
- Make Gribiche dressing
- Chop and use with tortellini
- Pickled eggs
- Egg and avocado salad
- Pasta salad
- Slice for toast
- Slice to layer a burger or a sandwich
These are just a few good ideas for using up those hard-boiled eggs. There are really a lot of things you can do with them. Some people add hard-boiled eggs to their potato salad or even their tuna salad.
There are a lot of great ways to enjoy them and get them used up if you need some options.
If you’re looking for something to get rid of all those leftover Easter eggs that you spend so much time boiling, coloring, and decorating – these may be good options for you.
Storing and Freezing Hard-Boiled Eggs
Another interesting fact about boiled eggs is that you can store them peeled or unpeeled and it doesn’t make a difference. It boils down to your preferences (pun intended). You can take the time to peel all of your boiled eggs at once or you can boil them as you eat them.
Leaving the eggs unpeeled will not prolong their shelf life. Peeling the eggs will not shorten their shelf life.
Hard-boiled eggs store really well in the fridge. However, we do recommend that if you plan to store them for an extended length of time that you hard boil them rather than soft boil them.
Your hard-boiled eggs can be placed into a container, egg carton, or even in an open bowl. You can store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Take care that if they start smelling bad, you throw them out though.
If you feel like you’ve exhausted your options and you have no choice but to try to freeze your eggs, here are your steps for doing so.
- We recommend freezing the yolk only, but you do what you feel works for you. The yolk freezes just fine, while the white turns slightly rubbery.
- If you choose to only freeze the yolk, scoop it out of the eggs.
- Place eggs (or yolk) into a freezer bag or a freezer-safe container.
- Freeze for up to 6 months.
Just know that if you choose to freeze the entire hard-boiled egg, your egg white may not be the same when you pull it out. They tend to become slightly rubbery and maybe even watery when frozen.
If you freeze just the yolks, you shouldn’t notice any differences and can enjoy them as you are ready to. We recommend freezing them individually or in set portions so you can just grab and go when you need them.
Related Questions
We hope that you have found this guide to freezing hard-boiled eggs to be informative for your purposes. While freezing is not highly recommended, it is a viable option when you need one.
We invite you to take a look at the following question and answer section to see if there might be any information that you find valuable.
How Can You Tell if a Hard-Boiled Egg Has Gone Bad?
There is more than one way to note whether your eggs have gone bad. An obvious telltale sign of a bad egg is the smell. If you notice an off smell, it’s better to be safe and toss them out. They might smell rotten or even of sulfur when they go bad.
Are Hard-Boiled Eggs Healthy?
Hard-boiled eggs are very low in calories. They are high in protein but host only about 17 calories. Additionally, they also contain limited fat because they aren’t soaked in butter or anything like that.
Boiled eggs have long been a diet recommendation for snacks and even meals based on their high protein and low-calorie count that will leave you feeling full for longer.
Can You Freeze Scotch Eggs?
If you love all things eggs, then you may be wondering if Scotch eggs are any different when it comes to the freezing process. Luckily, we have another article waiting for you here.
