Every Way To Cook Eggs In Your Air Fryer, Explained

Should air fryers and eggs really mix? In our opinion, yes, they absolutely should. While it might be one of those foods you wouldn't think to put in your air fryer, the humble egg fares very well in this appliance. Like all foods, eggs benefit from the wrap-around heat of an air fryer, which allows them to cook from all sides. In many situations, this can result in more evenly-cooked eggs, especially compared to those cooked in a pan, which mostly heats your food from one side.

Plus, if you thought you could only cook your eggs a few different ways in your air fryer, you'd be mistaken. Virtually any style of egg, from soft-boiled to steamed, fried to frittata, can be made using your machine. Unlike cooking them on the stove, air fryers allow you to set it and forget it (most of the time). Plus, their consistent heat produces consistent results. However, we get that air-frying eggs can be pretty daunting — so we called in the experts. We spoke with Sarah Beth Tanner, recipe developer and resident "egg-spert" at Pete & Gerry's, as well as Nelson Serrano-Bahri, chef and director of innovation at the American Egg Board. Together, they cracked open every method out there.

Cooking hard-boiled eggs in the air fryer saves a lot of hassle, and if you have a large appliance, you can cook loads of them in one go. The dry heat of the air fryer works in much the same way as the wet heat of boiling water does, surrounding the egg from each side and heating it consistently until it's cooked through. Nelson Serrano-Bahri broke down the process for us. "Depending on the type of air fryer you have, you may want to preheat your air fryer," Serrano-Bahri says. "I suggest setting it at 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit to hard-boil your eggs."

Once you've placed your eggs in the basket, just press go and wait. "The air fryer cooks the egg faster because of the air convection," says Serrano-Bahri. "It can take anywhere between 10-17 minutes for the eggs to cook, and this depends on how well you want your eggs cooked." While you can rotate your eggs halfway through the cooking process to ensure they're cooking evenly, if you don't have a liner in your basket, it's not that essential.

Once they're done, there's one more step. "Be sure to immediately transfer to an ice bath to halt cooking," says Sarah Beth Tanner. Putting them in an ice bath will also make them easier to peel, as the cold temperature will make the egg contract slightly. This pulls the egg away from its membrane and causes the shell to come off more easily.

You shouldn't make a soft-boiled egg in a microwave, but in an air fryer, it's a different story. The only difference in the methods between hard and soft-boiled eggs is your timings and temperature. Sarah Beth Tanner recommends keeping things low temperature-wise: You should start by preheating your air fryer to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and then cooking your eggs for 10 minutes. Interestingly, Nelson Serrano-Bahri recommends the same amount of time, but aiming for the 350-400 degree Fahrenheit range.

It's important to remember that the ideal temperature for you and your eggs will vary considerably, and depend on a few different factors. If you're working with especially large eggs or cooking loads in one go, for example, you may need to lean toward the higher end of the temperature scale. Crucially, air fryers also have a high degree of variation in their temperature accuracy across different models, and two different appliances set to the same temperature may yield vastly different results. As such, you should expect to have to try your soft-boiled eggs a few times before you get them just right. "This method will take some trial and error with your particular air fryer and how you like your eggs," Tanner states.

Making sunny-side-up eggs in the air fryer is not only easy, but it yields excellent results. Using the air fryer for sunny-side-up eggs harnesses the appliance's ability to cook foods from every angle. This helps you avoid the top side of your egg being undercooked and stringy, which is a common problem when cooking them in a pan.

"To make a sunny-side-up egg in the air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 300 degrees Fahrenheit," says Nelson Serrano-Bahri. As you might expect, you can't just crack your egg straight into the basket: You'll need a receptacle for it, and it's wise to pre-heat that too. "Preheating a shallow pan (like a round cake pan or a small cast iron skillet) in the air fryer is crucial for crispy edges!" Sarah Beth Tanner advises. Serrano-Bahri points out that this dish should be lightly greased with oil or butter, which will both help it crisp up and make it easier to flip out once it's cooked.

Once your egg is cracked onto your pan of choice, it's time to fire up your air fryer again. "Cook it for about four minutes, and don't walk away. You'll need to check on it early and often to nail your perfect yolk texture," says Tanner. You can tweak your temperature a little for better results, too. "If you like the edges crispy, you can slightly increase the temperature towards the end of the cooking time," Serrano-Bahri states.

Some eggs are pretty hands-off in your air fryer, but others take a little more work. Over-easy and over-medium eggs fall into the latter category. "Over-easy and over-medium eggs are a bit more tricky in the air fryer," says Sarah Beth Tanner. The reason for this is that you have to be pretty attentive to how your eggs are doing in the machine, to ensure that they're cooked just right. "This will require Jedi timing and a quick hand to flip the eggs for the last one to two minutes of cooking," Tanner states.

Luckily, while your timing needs to be on point, the timings and temperature of your air fryer are slightly simpler. Nelson Serrano-Bahri says that over-easy and over-medium eggs are best cooked at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for three to four minutes on the first side. Once you flip, an over-easy egg will take an additional one or two minutes, while an over-medium egg will need three to four minutes. It might be a good idea to set a separate timer to the one on your air fryer, so you can judge exactly when you need to open its drawer and flip the egg without setting a load of different cooking cycles. Crucially, too, you'll need to use some fat. "Don't forget to grease whatever pan or dish you're using because a quick release will be key!" says Tanner.

Ensuring that your poached egg cooks without breaking apart and turning stringy is harder than it looks, folks. That's why we recommend using the air fryer, which makes short work of poached eggs and boasts multiple methods for producing them. The first method is pretty simple: You just have to crack an egg into a container that has a little water in it, put the container in your air fryer, and cook until the eggs are set." A thick, deep ceramic ramekin is the tool for this job," states Sarah Beth Tanner. "Be sure it's deep enough to completely submerge the egg in water to prevent the egg from poking out and crisping in the hot air."

The second method also uses water to cook your eggs but in a slightly different way. "Place a small amount of water in the bottom of the air fryer basket, then place the silicone cup or ramekin with the egg inside the basket," says Nelson Serrano-Bahri. He points out that once you fire your air fryer up, the basket will steam, cooking your eggs in a similar manner to poaching them. "Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5-6 minutes, depending on the desired doneness," Serrano-Bahri states, before popping your egg out onto a plate. Bear in mind that not all air fryers will be well-equipped to steam water in them, so check the manufacturer's instructions before doing so.

Scrambled eggs in the air fryer? Yes, it's a thing, folks! While it's slightly trickier to nail scrambled eggs in the air fryer, cooking them using the appliance can produce just as creamy and tender a result as pan-cooked scrambled eggs. However, to make sure they don't go rubbery, you need to keep things slow. "For creamy air fryer eggs, you must be patient and cook them slowly at a low heat and stir them often to create fluffy 'curds,'" explains Sarah Beth Tanner.

It can also be useful to mix in some additional ingredients to keep them tender. "Start by whisking the eggs thoroughly with a small amount of milk or cream, which adds moisture," says Nelson Serrano-Bahri. "If you like to be more adventurous, 1 to 2 tablespoons of sour cream or crème fraiche works beautifully, and for a higher protein option, add some cottage cheese." You should then cook the eggs at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about three minutes, pulling the eggs out and stirring them every minute or so. Like other methods of cooking eggs in the air fryer, you'll need to place a greased, heat-resistant dish in the basket to crack the eggs into.

For such a simple dish, cooking an omelet properly can take a lifetime of work. Well, if you don't have the time and resources to devote toward perfecting your omelets, you can simply make them in the air fryer instead. Now, we're not saying that this appliance will produce the world's best omelet, and we know that we'll have some chefs wincing at the mere suggestion — but in a pinch, it's a hands-off method that still produces tasty results.

"When making an omelet in the air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat the eggs well and pour them into a greased, heat-resistant dish," says Nelson Serrano-Bahri. You can then pop your fillings straight on top of your eggs, or hold off until the omelet's partially cooked.

"Cook for 8-10 minutes, checking halfway through," Serrano-Bahri continues. "To ensure even cooking, you can gently lift the edges of the omelet to allow uncooked egg to flow underneath." A minute or two before the omelet's done, you can also fold it in half, sandwiching your fillings. This can be a particularly good move if you're using cheese, as it'll melt and seal your omelet together. Serrano-Bahri also notes that there are a few tricks you can perform if you want your eggs to be extra light. "For a fluffier omelet, you can add a small amount of baking powder or whip the egg whites separately before folding them into the yolks."

While some cooking experts advocate for air fryer omelets, others think you should aim for a slightly different style of cooking for better results. "It's very difficult to create creamy French perfection with all that dry heat, so I say lean into the deliciousness of the air-fried frittata," says Sarah Beth Tanner. Because frittatas are denser and don't live and die, like omelets, by a balance of creaminess to tender egg, they're far easier to get right. The convection heating of an air fryer also helps them get nice and crispy on top, so you don't have to broil them at the end. Tanner also points out that frittatas give you way more bang for your buck than other styles of eggs, thanks to their fillings. "This is a great way to bump the nutritional value of your easy breakfast!"

Making frittatas in an air fryer is super simple, too. "Load up a silicone liner with veggies and cooked meats, and pour over some whisked eggs before baking," Tanner states. Make sure your fillings are spread evenly on the liner so that each slice has a little taste of everything. Frittatas cook at around 360 degrees Fahrenheit in an air fryer, taking approximately 18-20 minutes to do so — although if your air fryer runs hot or your frittata is thinner, you may want to aim for a few minutes less. 

As you might expect, steamed eggs require steam — something which air fryers don't produce on their own. However, you can still make it in your air fryer, with a nifty appliance hack. "You can make steamed eggs in an air fryer by using the water bath method," says Nelson Serrano-Bahri. This involves placing your eggs into a ramekin with a small amount of water, covering the ramekin with foil so that the steam traps around the egg, and cooking it until tender. "This method creates a soft, silky texture similar to traditional steamed eggs," says Serrano-Bahri.

Temperature-wise, Serrano-Bahri recommends setting your air fryer to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and cooking your eggs for 10-12 minutes. Japanese-style steamed eggs can also be cooked in an air fryer, by pouring a seasoned scrambled egg mixture into separate ramekins brushed with sesame oil and cooking them at around 280 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 minutes. If your air fryer allows you to put water in the bottom of its basket, adding a little in can create circulating steam that gives these eggs a soft, succulent texture.