Two Rules to Learn About How Long to Keep Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Fridge

Do you love eggs? Are hard-boiled eggs one of your favorite ways to have 'em? Do you typically make a batch of a half-dozen or dozen hard-boiled eggs and then store them in your fridge so you can grab them for easy consumption when hunger strikes? Well, we're glad you're savvy with time-saving meal prep techniques, but you might not be aware of the following basic food safety guidelines for hard-boiled eggs. Speaking for ourselves, we've definitely left things in our fridge a day or two longer than we should have and still ate the items. No more.

As we learned in a recent piece from Country Living how long you can safely store eggs in your fridge depends on whether or not you keep the shell on or not. "The best bet for hard boiled eggs is to keep them stored in the refrigerator, according to The Incredible Egg [a.k.a. the American Egg Board] website. In the shell, hard boiled eggs should last for up to a week when properly stored, but peeled eggs should be eaten the same day," writes the article's author Jennifer Aldrich. "The site recommends stowing all types of eggs at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less, and to keep them 'in their original carton on an inside shelf and away from pungent foods.'" Worth noting: According to the American Egg Board, it's not recommended that you freeze hard-boiled eggs, peeled or in-shell, in your freezer.

You can read their entire piece on "How Long Do Eggs Last?" here.

While you're thinking about it, be sure to always label storage containers—for hard-boiled eggs or otherwise—with the date something was prepared so you know how long it's been in the fridge and you can plan your weekly meals out accordingly.