Why You Should Make a Batch of Hard-Boiled Eggs Every Week, According to a Food Editor

Weekends are typically a time to decompress from the Monday-to-Friday grind, but for me, they are also a time to set myself up for success for the following week. That means doing a little meal planning, getting my grocery shopping out of the way and prepping a few things for the week ahead. One thing I like to do is roast a chicken every week; another thing I like to do is make a batch of hard-boiled eggs every week.

My husband and I are both pretty active, as he’s training for a marathon in November, and I strength-train, walk, run and practice yoga regularly. We turn to eggs often as a source of protein and energy for these activities. One large egg contains 6 grams of protein, plus eggs are one of the few food sources that naturally contain vitamin D, a nutrient that helps support bone health. You might already be including eggs in your daily meal plans for these benefits. 

I’m a fan of eggs every which way, whether scrambled or fried for breakfast or made into a frittata to slice and eat during the week, and I love a poached or soft-boiled egg too, but these take a little more attention to cook, so I don’t make them as often. But nothing is more convenient than having a bowl of hard-boiled eggs at the ready in my fridge to be peeled and eaten as is or added to any number of dishes.

There are a few methods for hard-boiling eggs out there. Some promise to make the eggs easy to peel; others suggest they’ll result in perfectly cooked yolks. Julia Child even has a method that doesn’t require boiling the eggs at all! That’s not actually a bad thing though. Boiling can agitate the eggs, which could lead to a bumper car situation in the pot and cracked eggs. There’s also more risk of overcooking the eggs and having them turn out rubbery.

EatingWell’s tried-and-true method avoids boiling the eggs as well and relies on gently simmering them instead. To make them, place the eggs in a saucepan, cover them with water and bring them just to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer the eggs until cooked, about 10 minutes. When they’re done, drain the eggs and transfer them to a bowl of ice water. This will stop the cooking and cool the eggs so you can peel them or store them in the shell until you’re ready to use them. They will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Sometimes, I will just give the eggs a quick dip in the ice bath because I’m in the mood for a warm hard-boiled egg. I’ll scorch my fingertips peeling a still-hot egg, slice the egg lengthwise into quarters and then put a little butter on each quarter and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. It’s probably my favorite way to eat a hard-boiled egg. But most of the time, I’m making hard-boiled eggs for the week ahead, and I cool them all as instructed and store them in the fridge until my husband and I need them for lunches and quick snacks throughout the week.

Once I have hard-boiled eggs on hand, the possibilities are nearly endless. I might slice or grate one as a topping for avocado toast or pair them with roasted sweet potatoes (also something you can batch-cook ahead for the week) and smoked salmon for breakfast. I might chop one or two and add them to a salad. Hard-boiled eggs work in just about any salad, but a Cobb salad is a classic place for them. They’re also delicious in a breakfast salad. While I always like my eggs chopped when added to salads, my husband prefers that I leave them whole, and eats them as a sort of side dish to his salad instead of mixing them in. 

I also like adding the eggs to grain bowls. I’ll toss in a handful of crispy chickpeas, too, if I have some. You can also use the hard-boiled eggs in the obvious ways and make egg salad or deviled eggs. When I’m busy or in a hurry and need a quick burst of protein to get me through to mealtime, I’ll just eat a hard-boiled egg plain.

Making hard-boiled eggs takes up about 15 minutes of my weekend but saves me time during the busy workweek and ensures that my husband and I both have an easy high-protein option on hand. If you need an easy make-ahead high-protein option to get you through the week, too, hard-boiling eggs on the weekend is the way to go!