You get it about an egg cooker but did you know you can cook eggs in an Instant Pot? Here I look at these multi-cookers, in considering an Instant Pot vs an egg cooker for surefire ways of doing hard boiled eggs and what might suit you best.
“Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs are the BEST and ONLY way to make PERFECT hard-boiled eggs.” ~ Kristen, A Mind Full Mom
How does an egg cooker work
An egg cooker works using steam. It has a heating plate in its base that creates steam from water placed in an inner basin. A tray suspends eggs above the water and a covering contains the steam within to cook the eggs.
The Bear ceramic egg cooker
There are many brands and models of egg cookers on the market. I focus on ceramic because ceramic is a natural product, which gives a certain feel to the kitchen. So, it makes sense to feature a ceramic egg cooker.
Bear brand multi-functional egg cooker
does more than just boil eggs and it’s available at Amazon
The ceramic design of this egg cooker adds a certain appeal and sturdiness when on the kitchen counter.
The unit has a black non-stick base tray for baking/frying, which appears to be Teflon based. The white plate that sits under the eggs is ceramic. It is easy to hand wash while the inner fixed tray can easily be wiped with a damp rag. It’s not designed for submerging to clean.
You can cook eggs any style from soft to hard boiled. The unit has a touch pad to set times for how you prefer your eggs cooked. It also has a pre-set timer, so you can set it to have breakfast ready for you the next morning.
It’s a mini steamer, so you can do a lot more than cook eggs — it can heat, fry, and steam a whole bunch of foods.
What I don’t like: The ceramic egg cooker instructions are difficult to read. So, for how do you use the Bear egg cooker…
How do you cook eggs in ceramic egg cooker?
You simply add water and then place them in the white ceramic tray. Then choose the ‘boil egg’ option and set your cooking time for the perfect soft, medium, or hard boiled eggs.
The basic time to set for boiled eggs in this unit:
- Soft: 8 min
- Medium: 10 min
- Hard: 12 min
You can adjust the timing to your liking.
The amount of water: 1 cup (US size) or 200 ml water.
Here’s a video for Bear egg cooker — what it’s about as a visual.
How does an Instant Pot work
An Instant Pot is an advanced pressure cooker, which also uses steam to cook food. See my article on Instant Pot vs Pressure Cooker for more on how this multi-cooker works. It’s versatile, as shown in my article about its use as a rice cooker and the one on how to toast bread in an Instant Pot.
Instant Pot as an egg cooker
The best way to use an Instant Pot as an egg cooker is with an accessory that’s designed to hold your eggs. You can get the silicone baskets, but I prefer the wire egg racks similar to what’s shown here.
Instant Pot Wire Egg Racks
Available at Amazon
Hard boiled eggs in pressure cooker without basket: If you don’t have a special basket or rack for the eggs, try using the rack that came with the Instant Pot. Take care to place the eggs so they sit upright if you can.
12 hard boiled eggs Instant Pot: You’ll nicely fit 12 hard boiled eggs using an Instant Pot basket or rack designed for eggs versus using the standard rack that came with the Instant Pot.
Instant pot hard boiled eggs 5 5 5 method
Thanks to Kristen at A Mind Full Mom for her fool-proof tip on hard boiled eggs in an Instant pot.
Add 1 cup (200 ml) of water to the pot then add eggs on rack and seal the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot hard boiled eggs time:
- Set cook time: 5 min high pressure
- Natural release time: 5 min
- Ice bath time: 5 min
So that’s five minutes cooking on high pressure, five minutes for the pressure to release naturally, and then releasing any remaining pressure by removing the vent knob or changing vent position.
Scoop the eggs up carefully and place them in an ice bath for five minutes. After removing, the eggs are ready to peel.
Instant Pot egg recipes
You’ll find Instant Pot egg recipes at Simply Recipes.
Ceramic egg cooker vs Instant Pot hard boiled eggs
What we know…
Both can cook hard boiled eggs to a perfection.
Both are multi-cookers. The Instant Pot has the most cooking functions; for example, it can work as a rice cooker or a slow cooker, which are beyond the use of an egg cooker.
Cooking times are not that different that you’d choose one appliance over the other in terms of cooking eggs.
An extra outlay of a rack for cooking the eggs is needed with the Instant Pot (if you want the most offered by the appliance for egg cooking).
Both are within a similar price range. Although rather than this ceramic one you’ll get other plastic types of egg cooker much cheaper than an Instant Pot.
One criterion to consider is your kitchen space. Do you have room for another appliance, and if so what would give you the most benefit with your style of cooking?
Bottom line
On one hand, if you already have an Instant Pot there’s no need to buy a separate appliance purely for cooking eggs. On the other hand, if hard boiled eggs feature a lot in the food you dine or entertain with, an electric egg cooker might be just the think you need.