Don't let the title mislead you. While I'm calling these air fryer soft boiled eggs, they aren't boiled at all. They're cooked in the air fryer, and they couldn't be easier to make, or more perfect! Look...
If you're a fan of a soft runny yolk surrounded with a perfectly cooked white frame, then cooking soft boiled eggs in an air fryer is an easy method you simply must try!!
**Please Note - The printable recipe card with detailed instructions, complete ingredient measurements, and nutritional information for making air fryer soft boiled eggs is available at the end of this post. OR you can hit the "jump to recipe" button (found above) to be taken directly to the recipe.
The ingredient list:
- 2 eggs (per serving)
- salt and pepper
- bread or toast
Kitchen tools and equipment needed:
**Note - The following lists of kitchen tools and equipment contain affiliate links (highlighted in blue) for your consideration and shopping convenience. #CommissionsEarned
- air-fryer (I used a Bella brand)
- egg cups
- egg cracker topper (optional)
- mini egg spoons (optional)
- tongs
- medium bowl
- teaspoon
- toaster
Why this dish is also known as "eggs and soldiers?"
It's a British thing, and I love it!
I've read some say that the name goes back to the children's rhyme Humpty Dumpty.
Remember it? It goes like this;
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses, and all the king's men (the "soldiers," a.k.a "men" are toast or bread strips), couldn't put Humpty together again.
Sad, for Humpty. But tasty none the less.
Or, this more straightforward explanation...Maybe not as fun, but it is still just as scrummy;
Dippy-eggs wait patiently in their stand-up-straight egg cups for thin strips of toast or bread (the "soldiers") to eagerly dive in and be devoured.
For more about British foods, American's love, check out this article from The Daily Meal.
Savor the flavor of air fryer soft-boiled eggs:
Soft-cooked eggs are meant to be eaten slowly, with every dip and every bite being deliberately savored and enjoyed.
Like you never want the experience to end!
So, slow down and take your time! Your day will still be waiting for you when you're finished, but at least you'll have had a few moments of pure bliss to look back on the rest of the day!
For the love of a runny yolk:
You either love a runny yolk, or you're simply not a fan.
Personally, it took a long time for me to truly appreciate the silky rich goodness that only a runny yolk can provide.
Today, I can proudly boast that I fully understand, appreciate, and enjoy just how delicious the golden gravy of the gods truly is!
And now, with this quick and easy method for making soft boiled eggs in the air fryer, you can bet I'll be indulging in my new found love for the dippy yolk a tremendous amount going forward, and hopefully, you will too.
How to lop off the top of a soft boiled egg?
You can either use a spoon to gently tap around the top portion of the shell to crack and gently remove the "lid" from the soft boiled egg.
Or, you can use and egg cracker topper (as I did, and you'll see in the photos and video).
By using the egg cracker topper you'll get a clean-cut rim which makes removing the "lid" easy and effortless.
Tips for making the BEST air fryer soft boiled eggs:
- Bring eggs to room temperature before air-frying. 30 minutes on the counter before cooking should be sufficient.
- After cooking, use tongs (caution eggs will be hot), to place the eggs into a bowl of cold water for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Dry the eggs with paper towels before placing them into the egg cups.
- If you like your yolks cooked slightly harder than shown, cook them for an additional 60-90 seconds.
- Extra-large eggs will require a slightly longer cooking time.
- Since all air fryers can vary slightly (just as regular ovens), you may need to experiment with your brand of air fryer and cooking times to come up with the perfect soft boiled egg consistency to suit your preferences.
Want more air fryer egg recipes?
*Air Fryer Scrambled Eggs (pictured below)
"Think you can’t make scrambled eggs in an air fryer? Think again. I’ve done the testing on temperature and time, and the results are fluffy and delicious."
*Air Fryer Fried Eggs (pictured below)
"Follow along as I show you my easy method for how to fry eggs in an air fryer. Step away from the stovetop with this fast and cool cooking method."
*Air Fryer Soft Boiled Eggs (pictured below) THIS IS THE PLACE!!
The perfect soft boiled eggs aren't boiled at all…they're air fried!
Below is the printable recipe card along with the exact ingredient measurements and nutritional information for making today's easy air fryer egg recipe.
Air Fryer Soft Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- salt
- pepper
- 2 slices bread toasted
Instructions
- Gently place the room temperature eggs in the basket of an air fryer.
- Set the temperature to 250-degrees Fahrenheit and the timer for 8 minutes.
- Start the air fryer.
- Once cooked, use tongs to immediately add the eggs to a bowl of cold water for 1-2 minutes.
- Dry the eggs with a paper towel and place the soft-cooked eggs in egg cups.
- Gently lop off the eggshell "lid" (using your preferred method), and season the egg with salt and pepper to taste.
- Dip toast into the egg (if desired) and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
I sincerely hope you've enjoyed today's air fryer egg recipe as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!
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Dennis says
8.minutes only slightly runny 7.minutes perfect
Renée says
Glad you found the time that works perfectly in your air fryer, Dennis!
Have a great day!
Renee
Sarz says
Perfect in every way, quick, easy to follow and for my small bantam eggs perfect. Cooked at 140 degrees for us Aussies. Thanks for the effort of sharing yiur skills
Renée says
My pleasurer!
Thanks for the rating and for letting me know that you had success.
Have a great day!
Renee
Susan says
Oh my gosh I always thought I made the perfect soft boiled eggs but these were fabulous! I took the eggs right out of the refrigerator cooked them at 250 for 10 minutes and put them in icewater for 1 to 2 minutes. The BEST soft boiled egg I’ve ever have! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Renée says
Awesome!! Thanks for letting me know, Susan, and also for the 5-star rating!
It's much appreciated.
Take care,
Renee
Corina says
Awesome recipe! I love runny yolk eggs and sometimes I just don't want to dirty all the dishes it takes to make on the stove. Being able to toss them in the air fryer for 8 minutes while getting my son dressed for school and his backpack together is perfect! Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
As for the negative nellys, I am sorry. Some people just never learned that if they have nothing nice to say they should say nothing. Don't let their negativity get to you! Keep sharing your recipes, they are super helpful!!! ❤
Renée says
Corina, you are so sweet. I'm happy that you find this recipe helpful. It means a lot to me that you took the time to comment and leave such a wonderful review. Thank you.
I hope you have a wonderful day!
Renee
Alexandra says
Best soft “boiled” eggs I’ve had in a long time!
Renée says
Awesome!! Thanks, Alexandra!! I also appreciate the star rating. 🙂
Have a great day,
Renee
Sue says
Thank you for the recipe. my fryer is really small. 8 minutes for runny eggs was not enough in mine. next time I'll try 10. it's all trial and error. thanks have an awesome day
Renée says
You as well, Sue.
Unfortunately, it is all trial and error, especially with an air-fryer and soft-boiled eggs.
Thanks for being kind. I appreciate it!
Take good care,
Renee
Nancy says
How long do you think I’d need to add to do 4 eggs at once? 250degrees Fahrenheit would only be 121 degrees Celsius! This seems low??
Renée says
Hello, Nancy.
I don't have too much experience with 4 eggs at once, so all I can say is you'll need to experiment.
If you think 250 may be too low, by all means, turn the heat up to 325-350 and then check on them often.
The worst thing that would happen is that they overcook, but at least they're still edible.
I wish I had a better answer for you, but sadly I don't.
Take good care,
Renee
Jack Dillon says
Your literally putting 2 eggs In the air fryer. Tell us the temperature, and how long. Why did I have to read through novel to find that information.. 8 min not enough btw..
Renée says
Bless your heart! You actually didn't need to stay. Move along. I'm totally fine with that! BYEEEEE!!!
Kate says
Definitely not enough time. More like 10 min
Renée says
I suppose that's because every air fryer is different.
Mine took 8 minutes.
Have a nice day, Kate!
Renee
Spencer Whiteley says
@Renée, eggs will take a different time in the air fryer depending on whether they are straight from the fridge or at room temperature. They need perhaps 30 minutes on the bench to cook for the shorter time. I imagine most brands of air fryer could get reasonably close to a prescribed temperature,
Renée says
Thank you, Spencer.
Have a great day!
Renee
Annie says
Are your temp Fahrenheit or celceious
Renée says
Hi, Annie.
I write in Fahrenheit because the majority of my readers are from the USA.
Going forward, I'll make sure I mark every recipe as such, and I'll fix the ones I run across that weren't denoted.
Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.
Renee
Gah says
No idea why this needs a whole page of babble for a few lines of recipe. Why does everyone do that? That's time out of my life I'll never get back and now I don't even feel like any eggs....
Renée says
If you were really concerned about how to best spend the time you have left in your life you wouldn't leave nasty comments...anywhere!
Move along.
Can't find recipe says
@Renée, Gah is right. I actually haven't even found the recipe yet. I'm still looking for it
Renée says
What? Why? There's a "jump to the recipe" button, even. Hit that and you'll be taken directly to the recipe card.
Clancy says
@Gah, Wow! You have the opportunity to get a recipe, that’s been tested, for something you obviously want to cook and you complain?! Did three minutes out of your life really make that much of a difference to you?! If you feel you spent too much time to get to the recipe, how did you find the time to scroll to the Comment section and to write your complaint?! Move on, life is too short to complain.
Thank you, Renee, for your excellent recipes and thank you for your “Jump to Recipe” in large letters after the recipe title at the top. Can’t see how anyone could miss that!
Renée says
Thank you, Clancy! I couldn't agree more!
Have a great day,
Renee 🙂
Beth says
I love this idea! My family loves eggs and they are definitely going to love this! Can't wait!
Renée says
Awesome. Thanks, Beth!
IleneG says
Followed the instructions exactly (patiently waited 1/2 hour) but the white was only cooked a little and mostly runny. I put the 2nd egg back for about 4 minutes which came out fairly firm white and creamy yolk.
I have Philips HD9220 3ishQt AF.
FYI- I always pierce my eggs when I soft boil on the stove. I was worried that these might explode b/c I didn’t pierce these, but they didn’t. Thank you for the recipe. GrammyG
Renée says
Hi, GrammyG!
I'm sorry your eggs took so much longer to cook than mine, but I'm glad they didn't explode.
To be honest, I think every air fryer cooks for different times depending on the size. I wish I had several air fryers so I could experiment. Alas, I can only write for the one I own.
In any case, you're welcome for the recipe even though your eggs took longer than expected.
You're very kind.
Take good care,
Renee
Yvonne says
Mine were hardly done after 8 minutes:(. Even 12 wasn't enough.
Renée says
I'm sorry to hear that, Yvonne. I wonder why? Maybe it's because our air fryers are different sizes?
Or maybe our egg sizes are different? I used large. Or, possibly, like ovens, they (air fryers) tend to
run at different temperatures? Whatever the reason, it's too bad that my recipe time didn't work for you.
I do hope you figured out the best time and temperature for making soft boiled eggs in your own AF.
Take good care,
Renee
Erica Schwarz says
My eggs were perfect! Used my air fryer and followed the directions as written. Toast dipped in the runny yolk is the best!
Renée says
The air fryer is the way to go! Glad to hear it, Erica!