Get a perfectly poached egg breakfast every time with this Instant Pot Poached Eggs recipe. Whether you like a slightly solid outside and soft center inside or a softer egg white with a runny yolk, pressure cooker delivers consistent results every time in 2, 3, 4 or 5 minutes!
Because eggs are not only easy to make but high in protein and Omega 3’s, I like to enjoy healthy egg recipes as healthy egg salad, Instant Pot hard boiled eggs and Instant Pot egg bites.
Table of contents
Instant Pot Poached Eggs
Instant Pot poached eggs is a life hack game-changer when it comes to cooking eggs.
This method takes the guesswork (and the stress!) out of poaching eggs on the stovetop- pair with Ukrainian breakfast potatoes, a sliced tomato and avocado toast for a complete healthy breakfast idea.
One of the best things about eating breakfast at a restaurant is ordering meals you don’t normally make at home but now you can save yourself money by cooking poached eggs in a pressure cooker. Serve with healthy strawberry muffins, and it’s upscale coffeehouse quality.
Whether you eat it as is, use it for egg Benedict or even to top a beef and rice bowl, you can do it up big any day of the week!
Why Make Easy Poached Eggs in Instant Pot?
- Healthy breakfast idea: Low carb and protein packed.
- Restaurant quality results: Without breaking the bank.
- Simple seasonings: Salt and pepper or everything bagel seasoning makes everyone happy!
- Perfect results every time: With no dropping of an egg into boiling water!
- Buttery, golden yolk: Whether you like your poached eggs in 2, 3, 4, or 5 minutes!
Ingredients You Will Need
- Eggs: There is no limit to the number of eggs you can cook at a time.
- Water: Cold water to add to each individual mold as well as for the Instant Pot itself.
- Cooking spray: Cooking spray will help the eggs slice right out of the mold.
- Seasoning: Everything Bagel seasoning, salt and pepper or flaky sea salt for pure deliciousness.
Along with these 4 basic ingredients you’ll also need your silicone egg bites mold and you’ll be enjoying homemade poached eggs in no time! It is also great for cheesecake bites, so it’s multi-purpose!
How to Make Instant Pot Poached Eggs
This foolproof guide to 10-minute Instant Pot poached eggs in an egg bite mold allows you to cook as many as you want at a time. Check it out!
- Prepare mold and add egg: Spray your egg mold (however many you’re using) with cooking spray and add a tbsp of water. Crack an egg into each mold. If you are just using one tray, you don’t need to cover it. If you are using more than one mold, cover it.
- Add water and trivet: Pour a cup of water to the Instant Pot and use the trivet with handles to place the molds inside the pot.
- Cook and release: Close the lid and set the valve to Sealing position. Pressure cook until poached eggs are done then immediately Quick Release the pressure. Remove the molds from the pot.
- Serve: Carefully going along the walls of each mold, gently remove the eggs onto a plate. Serve with a simple seasoning of salt and pepper or Everything Bagel Seasoning and a generous helping of delicious breakfast potatoes.
Use small silicone spatula to remove eggs from the mold for best results. This way eggs stay intact.
Poached Egg Cooking Times
Below is a guideline based on the size of your Instant Pot and how long you cook them for. Timing and consistency may change depending on the size of your Instant Pot.
Generally speaking in 6 quart Instant Pot:
- 5 minutes will give you sold egg whites with a firmer yolk.
- 4 minutes will give you soft egg white with a slightly runny, soft yolk
- 3 minutes will give you soft whites with a runny yolk (default for this recipe).
- 2 minutes will give you soft white with a very runny yolk.
Your Instant Pot size matters! In 8 quart Instant Pot cook on Low Pressure for 4 minutes. If you don’t have low pressure, you can try 2-3 minutes on High Pressure. A larger pot takes longer to build up pressure, so it may come out a bit overcooked. Test and see!
Tips for Best Results
- Use fresh eggs for best results. Place your egg in a bowl of water, if it lays on its side, it’s fresh. If it stands upright, it may not work as well for poaching.
- Serve immediately: For best results and an enjoyable taste experience, serve eggs immediately out of the molds.
- Centering the yolk: If you’re looking for pretty-looking poached eggs, here’s a neat little trick. Crack your egg and separate the yolk by keeping it in the shell. Allow the egg whites to fall into the mold. Then carefully place the egg yolk in the centre of the whites.
- Condensation droplets: Condensed steam may collect on the lid. When you’re removing them be careful not to allow the water to drip back onto your eggs. If water does leak into the tray, use the corner of a paper towel to gently soak it up.
- Same cook time: Cooking time is the same no matter how many eggs you’re poaching at once. Need just one? Same cooking time. Need 7? Same cooking time.
- No cooking spray? You could also try coconut oil or ghee to line the molds.
- Glass vs. Silicone. Glass bowls will cook differently than silicone. You’ll need to lower your cook time if you choose to use ramekins.
FAQs
If you don’t have silicone molds made specifically for the Instant Pot, then by all means you can use a ramekin. Depending on the size of your Instant Pot, you could potentially fit about 4 in there at once. Alternatively, you could also use a mason jar as long as they are OVEN SAFE! Glass containers will heat up differently than silicone, so you may find that you need to adjust your cook time.
Traditionally, when you are poaching eggs, adding vinegar to the boiled water helps keep the egg whites
intact. Cooking poached eggs in an Instant Pot means they don’t make direct contact with any boiling water, therefore no vinegar is needed!
Eggs Benedict is a North American breakfast staple, made popular by brunch enthusiasts. It’s an open-faced English muffin layered with bacon, a poached egg, and a topping of Hollandaise sauce. Making a healthier version of hollandaise sauce is easy peasy. So good!
Yes, you will want to be sure they are covered with a lid or foil if you are directly stacking them. If you do not have a lid/foil you will not want to directly stack them, stack using the ‘off set’ method so that they are not directly on top of each other.
No, only to the ones you are using.
While I have not tested this recipe in a 3 quart, I would set on high pressure at 4 minutes and go from there next time.
Poached vs. Hard Boiled
Both eggs are cooked in water, but each method yields different results. A hard boiled egg is cooked in its shell. Once it’s cooked, you peel it revealing a cooked egg with a solid yolk, depending on how hard or soft boiled it is. Instant Pot boiled eggs are great for avocado egg salad, placing on a charcuterie board, adding protein to your green salads, having a snack on the go, and perfect for packing in lunches.
Poached eggs are not cooked in the shell. They are typically made with the yolk still runny. How long they are cooked will determine how runny the yolk is. Poached eggs are great on toast, as a signature part of Eggs Benedict and are a traditional brunch item perfect for the holidays.
Serving Recommendations
- Brunch spread: With Ukrainian breakfast potatoes, healthy waffles and some fresh healthy fruit salad.
- Favorite side dish: Alongside sautéed brussels sprouts with bacon and pecans.
- In a salad: Avocado salad or smoked salmon salad.
- On top of a grain bowl: Like Korean ground beef and rice, Instant Pot turkey quinoa bowls or chicken quinoa bowl.
- Gourmet burger: Try on top of turkey burger or black bean burgers – another restaurant quality hack!
Making This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: Poached eggs are definitely best eaten right away. If you do find you have leftovers or have made enough for healthy breakfast meal prep they will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Reheat: Boil a bit of water in a pan and remove it from heat. Lower the eggs into the water for about a minute until heated through.
More Favorite Egg Recipes
- Healthy breakfast casserole
- Spinach quiche
- Broccoli quiche
- Crustless zucchini quiche
- Sweet potato and eggs
You may also love these healthy egg recipes plus browse 45 most popular healthy Instant Pot recipes.
Instant Pot Poached Eggs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp cold water
- Cooking spray
- Salt, pepper, Everything Bagel Seasoning for garnish
Instructions
- You can cook as many poached eggs as you like at same time. Spray silicone mold with cooking spray.
- Add 1 tbsp cold water and crack an egg in it.
- Cover molds with lid if it's silicone one or foil if it's plastic. Can also be left uncovered if cooking only 1 tray. Place mold on a trivet with handles.
- Add 1 cup cold water to Instant Pot.
- Place trivet with egg mold inside. If don't have one with handles then carefully place mold in Instant Pot on a trivet.
- Close the lid, set valve to Sealing and cook:°6 quart Instant Pot: On High Pressure for 3 minutes.°8 quart Instant Pot: On Low Pressure for 4 minutes. If you don't have low pressure, you can try 2-3 minutes on High, see which one you like more. Larger pot takes longer to build up pressure, so poached eggs come out a bit overcooked with 3 minutes.
- Release pressure immediately to prevent further cooking by turning valve to Venting. Carefully remove molds, open the lid and using small silicone spatula go around the edge of inside of the mold to remove the poached egg.
- Serve immediately garnished with salt and pepper, or delicious Everything Bagel Seasoning, and with breakfast potatoes.
Notes
- Store: Poached eggs are definitely best eaten right away although they will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Reheat: Boil a bit of water in a pan and remove it from heat. Lower the eggs into the water for about a minute until heated through.
- General cooking times in a 6 quart:
- 5 minutes will give you sold egg whites with a firmer yolk
- 4 minutes will give you soft egg white with a slightly runny, soft yolk
- 3 minutes will give you soft whites with a runny yolk (default for this recipe)
- 2 minutes will give you soft white with a very runny yolk.
- In 8 quart Instant Pot cook on Low Pressure for 4 minutes. If you don’t have low pressure, you can try 2-3 minutes on High Pressure.
- Condensation droplets: Condensed steam may collect on the lid. If water does leak into the tray or your eggs, use the corner of a paper towel to gently soak it up.
- Same cook time: Cooking time is the same no matter how many eggs you’re poaching.
- No cooking spray? Try coconut oil or ghee to line the molds.
- Glass vs. Silicone. Glass bowls will cook differently than silicone. You’ll need to lower your cook time if you choose to use ramekins.
Are eggs refrigerator or room temperature before cooking? Melaney from SoCal
Eggs are from the fridge.
It didn’t work for me for this first time..
I have a 6qt IP, put 1 tbsp of cold water followed by the cracked egg (I did 2eggs) in my silicone mold, put my silicone lid on it, down in IP on my rack, added 1 cup of water, put it on High for 3 min, Quick release and my eggs were literally raw.
The only thing that was slightly different was that the 1 cup of water was warm, not cold. Would it be enough to mess it up?
I would try 1 egg per mold opening as recipe has been tested like that and yes cold water is preferred.
Will do (even if there’s only 2 of us), as we’ve been enjoying healthy eggs Benedict lately.
Will try to reheat as you’ve instructed, and will report back.
Thank you! 😁
Looking forward to hearing how it goes!
I need to know how to use the silicone round (7 receptacles) in microwave to cook hard boiled or
any other way eggs. Thank you for helping.
Can you stack one mold on top of another?
That should work, I would go a bit ‘off set’ one from another, so not a direct stack.
Hello,
I only want to make two eggs. Do I need to spray and add water to those molds I don’t use?
No, only to the ones you are using.
Hello Olena! What pressure and how long to cook in a Mini 3 Qt Instant Pot?
Hi Diana. I haven’t tested but I would try high pressure and 4 minutes and go from there next time. 🙂