Can You Boil Eggs in a Slow Cooker? Times for High and Low

Updated 5 November 2026Egg safety from USDA FSISHard-boiled eggs in a Crock-Pot

Can you boil eggs in a Crock-Pot?

Yes. A slow cooker never reaches a rolling boil, but it gets hot enough to cook eggs through in water. The result is the same as a hard-boiled egg from the stove, as long as the yolk is fully set.

The slow cooker is not faster. On the stove, hard-boiled eggs take about 15 minutes. The benefit is that you can cook a big batch without watching a pot, for example while you get on with other jobs.

How to hard boil eggs in a slow cooker

1. Check the eggs. Use clean, uncracked eggs straight from the refrigerator.
2. Arrange. Lay the eggs in a single layer in the slow cooker. A 6-quart oval cooker holds about 12 to 18 eggs.
3. Add water. Pour in cold water to cover the eggs by about 1 inch.
4. Cook. Cover and cook on HIGH for about 2 to 2½ hours, or LOW for about 3 to 4 hours.
5. Test one egg. Lift out one egg with a spoon, cool it in cold water and cut it open. The yolk should be firm all the way through.
6. Chill. Move the eggs to a large bowl of ice water for 10 to 15 minutes. This stops the cooking and makes peeling easier.
7. Store or peel. Refrigerate unpeeled eggs, or peel and serve.

How long to cook eggs in a slow cooker

These times are a starting point, not a rule. Newer, larger and fuller cookers heat at different rates. After your first batch, note the time that worked so you can repeat it.

Leaving eggs in hot water much longer than needed can give the yolks a grey-green ring and a rubbery white. They are still safe to eat, but less pleasant.

Can you soft-boil eggs in a Crock-Pot?

It is hard to do reliably. Soft yolks need precise timing, and slow cookers heat unevenly. FSIS also advises cooking eggs until the yolks are firm, because raw and undercooked eggs can carry Salmonella.

If you want soft-boiled eggs, cook them on the stove or in an electric egg cooker, and consider pasteurized eggs.

Adding eggs to a slow cooker dish

Many braises and stews, such as Vietnamese thit kho, include whole eggs. The simplest way is to hard-boil and peel the eggs first, then add them for the last 30 to 60 minutes so they soak up the sauce.

Raw eggs in the shell can be cooked on top of a stew, but it is hard to know when they are done. Hard-boiling them separately is more predictable.

Keeping boiled eggs warm in a slow cooker

For a brunch or buffet, you can keep hard-boiled eggs hot in a slow cooker set to Warm or LOW. FSIS advises holding hot food at 140°F or above. Eggs held hot for hours will slowly become rubbery.

Do not reheat cold eggs in a slow cooker. Reheat them another way, then hold them hot.

Peeling and storing

FSIS explains that the egg white becomes more alkaline as an egg ages, which loosens the membrane. That is why eggs that are a week or two old peel more easily than very fresh ones.

• Refrigerate cooked eggs within 2 hours.
• Hard-cooked eggs keep 1 week in the refrigerator, according to FSIS.
• Do not freeze hard-cooked eggs. The whites turn tough and watery.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

Hard-boiling eggs in a slow cooker is easy for large batches. Cover them with water, cook on HIGH for 2 to 2½ hours or LOW for 3 to 4 hours, test one egg, then chill them in ice water.