Soft-Boiled Eggs: Timing for a Runny Yolk

The soft boiled egg time for a large, fridge-cold egg lowered into water at a full boil is 6 minutes, which gives a fully set white and a warm, runny yolk. Cook for 7 minutes for a jammy yolk that is thick but still soft, and always finish with a short ice bath.

How Long to Soft Boil an Egg

Soft-boiled eggs on this site follow one standard: large eggs straight from the refrigerator, lowered gently into water at a full, rolling boil, 212°F (100°C) at sea level, and timed from the moment they go in. At 6 minutes the egg comes out with a white that is set all the way to the yolk and a yolk that flows when you cut into it. At 7 minutes the yolk thickens into the jammy, deep orange texture popular on ramen and toast.

Move the eggs into ice water as soon as the timer ends. For eggs you plan to eat warm in an egg cup, 1 minute in the ice bath is enough to stop the cooking without chilling the yolk. For eggs you plan to peel, give them the full 5 minutes so the white firms up and pulls away from the shell.

Soft-Boiled Egg Results at 5, 6 and 7 Minutes

A single minute changes a soft-boiled egg more than any other style, because the yolk is right on the edge of setting. This table shows what to expect from a large, fridge-cold egg with a boiling-water start.

Boil time	White	Yolk	Best for
5 min	Mostly set, slightly loose and translucent near the yolk	Fully liquid and warm	Dipping toast soldiers, if you like a very loose egg
6 min	Fully set and tender	Runny and golden, just warmed through	Egg cups, toast, grain bowls, salads
7 min	Fully set and firm enough to peel easily	Jammy: thick and sticky at the edges, soft in the center	Ramen, avocado toast, marinated eggs

Six minutes is the sweet spot for a classic soft-boiled egg because the white is no longer watery but the yolk is completely liquid. If you find the white around the yolk a little loose at 6 minutes, your water probably dropped below a full boil when the eggs went in; add 15 to 30 seconds next time or cook fewer eggs at once.

What Changes Soft-Boiled Egg Time

Because the window between runny and jammy is only about a minute, small changes in egg size or temperature matter. Start from the 6 minute standard and adjust in 30 second steps.

Egg Size

Smaller eggs cook through faster and bigger ones need more time for the heat to reach the yolk. These are the runny-yolk times by size.

Room-Temperature Eggs

An egg that has warmed up on the counter needs about 1 minute less, so a large room-temperature egg is soft-boiled in about 5 minutes. USDA advises that refrigerated eggs should not be left out more than 2 hours, so cooking straight from the fridge is both simpler and more consistent.

High Altitude

At higher elevations water boils at a lower temperature, about 208°F (98°C) at 2,000 feet and about 198°F (92°C) at 7,500 feet according to USDA, so eggs take longer to cook. USDA recommends adding cooking time rather than raising the heat. There is no single figure that works everywhere, so cook one test egg 30 seconds to a minute past the standard and adjust from there.

How to Make Soft-Boiled Eggs Step by Step

The whole process takes about 15 minutes, including bringing the water to a boil. Use a saucepan that holds the eggs in one layer with room to spare.

1. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Use enough water to cover the eggs by about 1 inch so the temperature does not drop much when they go in.
2. Set up an ice bath. Fill a bowl with ice and cold water and keep it next to the stove.
3. Lower the eggs in gently. Use a slotted spoon to place the cold eggs on the bottom of the pot one at a time.
4. Cook for 6 minutes. Start the timer as soon as the eggs are in, and keep the water at a steady boil. Use 7 minutes for jammy yolks.
5. Chill briefly. Transfer the eggs to the ice bath for 1 minute to serve warm, or 5 minutes if you plan to peel them.
6. Serve right away. Crack and eat the eggs while the yolk is still warm and runny.

How to Serve Soft-Boiled Eggs

The classic way to serve a soft-boiled egg is upright in an egg cup with buttered toast cut into strips for dipping. Tap around the narrow top with the back of a teaspoon or a butter knife, lift off the cap, season the exposed yolk with salt and pepper, and eat it from the shell. America’s Test Kitchen suggests a similar approach, or splitting the egg around its middle and scooping it out with a spoon.

Peeled soft-boiled eggs work well halved over a bowl of ramen, grain bowls, roasted vegetables, asparagus, or a green salad, where the runny yolk becomes part of the dressing. A 7 minute jammy egg is easier to slice cleanly and holds its shape on avocado toast. For soy-marinated ramen eggs, cook them for 7 minutes, chill them fully, peel them and soak them in the marinade in the refrigerator.

How to Peel Soft-Boiled Eggs

Soft-boiled eggs are more delicate than hard-boiled ones because the yolk is liquid and the white is tender, so peeling takes a lighter touch. The boiling-water start already helps, since eggs dropped into boiling water tend to release from their shells more easily than eggs started in cold water.

• Chill the eggs for the full 5 minutes in ice water before peeling so the white firms up.
• Crack the wide end first, where the air pocket sits, then tap gently all over rather than rolling hard on the counter.
• Peel under a slow stream of cold water or in the ice bath, working from the wide end and catching the thin membrane under your thumb.
• Use eggs that are a week or so old when you can, since older eggs separate from the shell more easily.

If you are serving the eggs halved, 7 minute eggs are noticeably easier to peel than 6 minute ones and are less likely to tear.

Are Soft-Boiled Eggs Safe to Eat?

Runny yolks are a personal choice, and official guidance is cautious about them. USDA and FoodSafety.gov advise cooking eggs until both the yolk and the white are firm, and a soft-boiled egg by definition has a yolk that is not firm. The concern is Salmonella, which can be present inside an intact shell.

Pasteurized in-shell eggs are sold in many grocery stores and are labeled as pasteurized on the carton. They soft-boil the same way as regular eggs, though some cooks find the whites slightly looser, so an extra 15 to 30 seconds can help. Buy eggs from a refrigerated case, keep them at 40°F (4°C) or below, and discard any with cracked shells.

Storing Soft-Boiled Eggs

Soft-boiled eggs are best eaten within minutes of cooking, while the yolk is warm and runny. If you need to hold them, refrigerate them within 2 hours of cooking, in line with USDA’s general rule for perishable food, and use them within a day. Reheat a cold soft-boiled egg in its shell by placing it in hot tap water for a minute or two; boiling water would cook the yolk further.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are short answers to common questions about how long to boil eggs for soft boiled results.

How long do you boil an egg for a runny yolk?

Boil a large, fridge-cold egg for 6 minutes after lowering it into water at a full boil, then cool it in ice water for 1 minute. The white will be set and the yolk fully runny.

What is the difference between a soft-boiled and a jammy egg?

A soft-boiled egg cooked for 6 minutes has a liquid yolk that flows when cut. A jammy egg cooked for 7 minutes has a thick, sticky yolk that holds its shape but is still soft in the center.

Is 5 minutes enough to soft boil an egg?

For a large, fridge-cold egg, 5 minutes usually leaves the white slightly loose near the yolk. It works for medium eggs or room-temperature eggs, but large eggs straight from the fridge are better at 6 minutes.

Can you make soft-boiled eggs ahead of time?

You can cook them, chill them, peel them and refrigerate them within 2 hours, then use them within a day. Rewarm them in hot tap water for a minute or two before serving.

Sources: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service; FoodSafety.gov; U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Oregon State University Extension Service; America’s Test Kitchen; The Globe and Mail.