The Only Way to Reheat Hard Boiled Eggs

Weekend meal prep is ideal for people who rush out the door in the mornings and don’t have time for a sit down meal, and hard boiled eggs are a solid choice to make the weekend before. Making meals in advance and storing them during the week actually saves you money and time, and breakfast meal prep in particular guarantees you a couple extra minutes of sleep. Breakfast burritos only require a quick zap in the microwave, overnight oats can be eaten cold, homemade granola bars can be stuffed in a bag for an on-the-go breakfast, and hard boiled eggs are small, easily transportable, and last a week in the fridge. If you’re down to eat your egg cold or at room temperature, you’re totally in the clear and safe from any egg danger. Reheating hard boiled eggs in a microwave, though, is an entirely separate issue. If you want to reheat a hard boiled egg, first step away from the microwave.

A quick spin in the microwave sounds totally painless, right? I mean, what could possibly happen to an egg in 30 seconds or less? Weirdly enough, reheating a hard boiled egg in a microwave is a hazard, and it can potentially explode. Hard boiled eggs explode in the microwave because a boiled egg still has moisture inside, allowing steam to build up in the yolk. The shell inhibits the egg from expanding when it’s heated in the microwave, so once the shell is removed it explodes, and unfortunately you’re going to be prying pieces of egg off your kitchen floor. The principle here isn’t that different from opening a shaken can of soda: All the pressure that’s collected inside will leave you soaked in soda, or, in this case, egg.

Instead of spending your morning cleaning your kitchen, try this one, foolproof, non-explosive trick. Place your hard boiled eggs in a heat proof bowl, pour boiling water until the egg is entirely submerged, then cover. Wait ten minutes before removing, crack, peel, and eat. No explosion and no mess—just breakfast.