How Long to Cook Eggs in an Air Fryer

Whole eggs in their shells take about 9–15 minutes in an air fryer at 270°F (132°C), depending on whether you want very soft or hard-boiled eggs. These starting times assume large refrigerated eggs and a preheated air fryer. Shell-on eggs can range from very soft whites and yolk to a hard-boiled-style egg with a fully cooked yolk; fried, scrambled, and poached-style eggs need their own methods.

Shell-On Egg Texture	Starting Cook Time
Very soft whites and yolk	9 minutes
Set whites with a jammy yolk	11 minutes
Mostly firm but slightly undercooked yolk	13 minutes
Hard-boiled-style egg with a fully cooked yolk	15 minutes

Choose the Right Air-Fryer Egg Method

Choose the egg style before choosing the timer: shell-on eggs and eggs cracked into bakeware do not use interchangeable cooking times.

For “boiled” eggs, the air fryer cooks the egg inside its shell with circulating hot air. For fried eggs, a shallow pan holds the raw egg. Scrambled eggs need a deeper pan and stirring, while poached-style eggs need water in a ramekin.

The container matters, too. A thin metal tin heats differently from a thick ceramic ramekin, and a shallow layer of egg cooks differently from a deep one. Changing the pan can change the result even when the temperature and timer stay the same.

The soft and jammy timings describe texture, not full cooking. For fully cooked eggs, both the whites and yolks should be firm. Use pasteurized eggs if you plan to serve them undercooked.

How to Cook Whole Eggs in an Air Fryer

You’ll need eggs with intact shells, tongs, a bowl of ice water, and your air fryer. Start with eggs straight from the refrigerator so you can reproduce the result next time.

Step 1: Set the Temperature and Start Small

Preheat the air fryer to 270°F (132°C).
Keep shell-on cooking below 300°F (149°C) when possible. If that is your appliance’s lowest setting, confirm it is selected and subtract about 1–2 minutes from your target cooking time. Higher heat can cause uneven cooking and may crack or burst the shells.
Test 1–2 eggs before making a large batch, especially when using the warmer setting.

Egg size, starting temperature, and air-fryer model all affect the timing. Your test egg confirms the exact setting for your preferred texture; the printed times are common starting points, not a guarantee that every appliance cooks identically.

If your air fryer cannot use a low-temperature setting, choose a pan method rather than forcing the shell-on method at high heat.

Step 2: Arrange the Eggs and Cook

Place the eggs directly in the basket or on the appliance’s cooking rack in a single layer.
Leave space around them for air to circulate. Don’t stack the eggs or pack the basket tightly.
Cook for 9–15 minutes, depending on the yolk texture you want. Start timing when the eggs enter the preheated basket.

There’s no need to shake the basket or turn the eggs. Handle the basket gently so they don’t roll into one another and crack.

A larger batch does not automatically need a longer cooking time.

Step 3: Cool, Peel, and Check the Eggs

While the eggs cook, prepare a bowl of ice and cold water deep enough to cover them.
Transfer the cooked eggs into the ice bath with tongs immediately. Leave them for at least 2 minutes and until cool enough to handle.
Tap the shell gently, start peeling at the wider end, and work under a trickle of water if the membrane sticks.
Cut open a test egg to check the white and yolk before committing to a larger batch.

Cooling limits carryover cooking, which matters most when you’re aiming for a soft or jammy center. Very soft eggs are delicate, so peel them without squeezing.

Serve the eggs after peeling, or place cooled, fully hard-cooked eggs in a covered container and refrigerate promptly.

How to Fry, Scramble, and Poach Eggs in an Air Fryer

Cracked eggs need a container that holds them securely. Don’t pour raw egg through a perforated basket, and don’t rely on loose parchment paper to contain it.

Fried Eggs in a Nonstick Tin

A shallow tin gives you a fried-style egg without using the stovetop.

Choose a 5-inch-diameter nonstick pie tin that fits inside the basket with room around its edges. Lightly grease it.
Preheat the air fryer, then crack an egg into the tin.
Air fry at 375°F (190°C) for 3–5 minutes, checking at 3 minutes because some appliances cook faster.
Check that the white is opaque and set. Continue cooking for a firm yolk; the starting window may leave it runny.
Remove the tin with oven mitts, lift out the egg with a spatula, season, and serve.

Keep the tin level when moving it. The container, not just the basket, will be hot.

Scrambled Eggs in a Deeper Pan

Use a greased, higher-sided cake pan rather than a shallow tray. A thin layer of beaten egg can turn firm before you have time to stir it.

Whisk the eggs until the whites and yolks are combined, then pour them into the pan.
Set the air fryer to 300°F (149°C). Cook for 3 minutes, stir, then cook for another 2 minutes.
Stir again and continue in 1-minute increments, checking the consistency in the pan you’re using. Stir whenever you open the basket, bringing the firmer edges toward the center.
Cook until no liquid egg remains in the center.
Remove the pan with oven mitts and transfer the eggs to a plate promptly.

The last part of cooking happens quickly. Don’t leave finished scrambled eggs sitting in the hot pan while you prepare everything else; retained heat can make them dry.

Poached-Style Eggs in Ramekins

For poached-style eggs, cook a cracked egg with water in an oven-safe ramekin. The ramekin’s thickness and the depth of the water affect the result, so test 1–2 eggs before making a larger batch.

Lightly grease an oven-safe ramekin and crack an egg into it. Add room-temperature water to surround the egg, leaving room below the rim so you can move the dish without spilling.
Air fry the egg in its ramekin, checking whether the white around the yolk has set.
Gently stir the water around the egg without breaking the yolk, then cook for another 2–4 minutes.
Check that the white is set, including around the yolk. A chopstick inserted into the center should not reveal watery, uncooked white. For a fully cooked egg, continue until the yolk is firm as well.
Remove the ramekin with oven mitts. Lift out the egg with a slotted spoon, drain, and serve.

Cool and Store Cooked Eggs Safely

After serving, refrigerate cooked eggs within 2 hours; don’t leave them sitting in the switched-off air fryer. That deadline follows the USDA’s air-fryer food-safety guidance.

Use these storage limits:

Fully hard-cooked eggs: Refrigerate for up to 7 days, whether peeled or unpeeled. Keep peeled eggs in a covered container.
Scrambled eggs and other cooked egg dishes: Refrigerate in a covered container and use within 3–4 days.
Soft and jammy eggs: Make them for immediate eating rather than weeklong meal prep.

Hard-cooked eggs can be eaten cold. When reheating cooked egg dishes to serve hot, heat the center to 165°F (74°C). Fried eggs often lose their best texture during reheating, so making only what you plan to eat is usually the better option.

Check Doneness and Fix Common Problems

Use the finished egg, not the shell’s appearance, to decide what to change.

The white is looser than expected. The cooking time was too short for that egg and appliance. Give the next batch longer, and keep the starting temperature consistent.
The yolk is firmer than you wanted. Shorten the next cook and move the eggs into their cooling bath promptly.
The whites are rubbery or the yolk is chalky. Reduce the cooking time rather than raising the heat to make the process faster.
There is a green-gray ring around a hard-cooked yolk. This is a harmless reaction associated with overcooking or slow cooling, not proof that the egg has spoiled.
The shells crack during cooking. Check that you started with intact shells, used gentle heat, and avoided knocking the eggs together. A cracked shell does not tell you whether the center is cooked.
The shells are difficult to peel. Make sure the eggs have cooled enough to handle, then loosen the membrane under running water. Egg freshness also matters.

For pan-cooked eggs, watch the center as well as the edges. A browned edge can surround a loose white or an undercooked pool of scrambled egg.

Once you get the texture you want, record the cooking time, temperature, egg size, starting temperature, and whether you preheated. That gives you a repeatable method for your appliance instead of another timer to guess at.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Air Fry Eggs at 400 Degrees?

Don’t use 400°F for the shell-on method. That high heat can cook the eggs unevenly and make the shells crack or burst; start shell-on eggs at 270°F instead. Cracked eggs in bakeware use different settings, but a hotter setting is not automatically a useful shortcut.

What Can I Put in an Air Fryer to Cook an Egg?

Use oven-safe cookware that fits the basket while leaving space for airflow, such as a metal baking tin, oven-safe ceramic ramekin, or silicone baking cup rated for the cooking temperature. Don’t use plastic storage containers, ordinary drinking glasses, or cookware with heat-sensitive parts. Changing the container’s material or depth can change the cooking time.

Do You Need Water to Cook Whole Eggs in an Air Fryer?

No: whole eggs in their shells cook with circulating hot air, so you don’t add water to the basket or drawer. The water bath comes after cooking, to cool the eggs. For poached-style eggs, water belongs inside the oven-safe ramekin with the cracked egg.

Can you air fry shell-on eggs at 300°F?

Yes, if 300°F is the lowest setting your air fryer offers. Reduce the target 270°F cooking time by about 1 to 2 minutes, and test one egg first to find the timing that works in your appliance.

Do you need parchment paper for fried eggs in an air fryer?

No, you do not need parchment paper when you cook a fried egg in a mini nonstick pie tin. Use a 5-inch tin and cook the egg at 375°F for 3 to 5 minutes.