Cooking technique  ·  5–15 minutes

How to boil

Boiling cooks food in vigorously bubbling water. It's how you cook pasta, blanch greens, or hard-cook eggs — simple, no added fat, and forgiving once you can recognize a true boil.

Why it matters

Water does all the work, so boiling is a no-fat way to cook grains, beans, and vegetables — easy to scale for batch cooking the week's bag.

Step by step

01
Fill a pot with enough water to cover your food with room to move.
02
Cover and set over high heat to come up faster.
03
Wait for a full rolling boil — big bubbles breaking across the entire surface, not just a few at the edges.
04
Add food, then start your timer; lower the heat slightly if it threatens to boil over.

You'll know it's ready when

→A rolling boil makes constant, vigorous bubbles you can't stir away.
→Steam rises steadily and the surface never goes still.

Common mistakes to avoid

→Adding food too early, before a real boil — it cooks unevenly.
→Not enough water, so the temperature crashes when food goes in.
→Letting it boil over — leave the lid cracked once food is in.

Keep learning

How to roast vegetables & chicken

→

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