How Long Do Hard-Boiled Eggs Last?

Food and Recipes Dairy Eggs How Long Can You Store Hard-Boiled Eggs In The Fridge? Find out when to keep and when to toss those eggs. By Lisa Cericola Lisa Cericola Lisa Cericola has been on staff at Southern Living since 2015. As Deputy Editor, Lisa manages the food and travel departments and edits those sections of each issue, as well as digital content. Previously, she was the features editor at Food Network Magazine and has more than 15 years of experience writing, editing, and managing photo shoots for print and digital lifestyle brands. Southern Living’s editorial guidelines Updated on February 9, 2023 Medically reviewed by Jerlyn Jones Fact checked by Jillian Dara Fact checked by Jillian Dara Jillian is a freelance writer, editor and fact-checker with 10 years of editorial experience in the lifestyle genre. In addition to fact-checking for Southern Living, Jillian works on multiple verticals across Dotdash-Meredith, including TripSavvy, The Spruce, and Travel + Leisure. brand’s fact checking process Share Tweet Pin Email If you have extra hard-cooked eggs leftover from a batch of deviled eggs or egg salad, you don’t have to eat them on the spot a la Cool Hand Luke or feed them to the dog. You can store them in the refrigerator—and maybe even a bit longer than you might think. How to Safely Store Hard-Boiled Eggs According to the Food and Drug Administration, you can keep hard-cooked eggs in the refrigerator for up to seven days after they have been cooked. (Here’s the best way to make them.) And it doesn’t matter whether the eggs are already peeled or still in the shell. Either way, they will last for a week. The best way to store peeled eggs is in a ziplock plastic bag or airtight container. Unpeeled hard-cooked eggs can be stored, uncovered, in a bowl or in an airtight container. Antonis Achilleos Our Favorite Ways to Use Hard-Boiled Eggs There are many delicious ways to use hard-boiled eggs in recipes. Chop them up and add them to salads and sandwiches (they taste great in tuna salad). Grate them with a box grater over a pile of steamed asparagus or Caesar salad. Or pickle them! What About Easter Eggs? There is one big exception that you should know about—the seven-day rule does not apply to Easter eggs if the eggs have been outside for more than two hours—or less if it’s a hot day. You should never eat cooked eggs that have been left outside of a refrigerator for more than two hours, or one hour if the temperature is 90˚F or higher. As the old saying goes: When in doubt, toss it out. If you plan on eating Easter eggs, hide them indoors shortly before the egg hunt, then refrigerate them soon after. Or make a separate batch of hard-cooked eggs just for eating—you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy them! Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources Southern Living is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources to support the facts in our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What you need to know about egg safety. Updated May 10, 2022.