Quick Answer: The calories in 2 boiled eggs come to about 155 for two large eggs. That is 78 calories each, plus 12.6 g of protein, 10.6 g of fat and roughly 1 g of carbohydrate.
However, size changes the answer. Two small eggs give you about 118 calories, while two jumbo eggs give you about 196. Boiling adds nothing, so the figure stays low. Moreover, two eggs supply around half your daily choline, which most people fall short on.
Calories in 2 Boiled Eggs by Egg Size
Most articles quote one number. In reality, egg size moves it by more than 60 calories. Therefore, check the box before you count.
| Egg size | Weight (shelled) | One egg | Two eggs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 38 g | 59 cal | 118 cal |
| Medium | 44 g | 68 cal | 136 cal |
| Large | 50 g | 78 cal | 155 cal |
| Extra large | 56 g | 87 cal | 174 cal |
| Jumbo | 63 g | 98 cal | 196 cal |
In short, “large” is the default assumption behind almost every figure you will read. Consequently, if you buy medium eggs, your two-egg breakfast is nearer 136 calories than 155.
Boiled Egg Nutrition: The Full Picture
Here is what two large hard-boiled eggs actually deliver.
| Nutrient | One large egg | Two large eggs | %DV (two eggs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 78 | 155 | – |
| Protein | 6.3 g | 12.6 g | 25% |
| Total fat | 5.3 g | 10.6 g | 14% |
| Saturated fat | 1.6 g | 3.2 g | 16% |
| Carbohydrate | 0.6 g | 1.1 g | 0% |
| Fibre | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Cholesterol | 186 mg | 372 mg | 124% |
| Sodium | 62 mg | 124 mg | 5% |
| Choline | 147 mg | 294 mg | 53% |
| Selenium | 15.4 mcg | 31 mcg | 56% |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.6 mcg | 1.1 mcg | 47% |
| Riboflavin | 0.26 mg | 0.5 mg | 40% |
| Vitamin D | 1.1 mcg | 2.2 mcg | 11% |
| Calcium | 25 mg | 50 mg | 4% |
Two things stand out. First, choline is the headline. Two eggs cover roughly half the Daily Value, and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans name choline an under-consumed nutrient. Few foods match eggs here.
Second, eggs are not a calcium source. Two eggs give you about 50 mg, roughly 4 percent of the Daily Value. Claims that boiled eggs are high in calcium are simply wrong.
What the Yolk Carries
Plenty of people bin the yolk to cut the calories in 2 boiled eggs. Before you do, look at what leaves with it.
- Choline: about 99.7 percent sits in the yolk.
- Vitamin B12: roughly 93 percent.
- Folate: roughly 95 percent.
- Iron and zinc: about 97 and 98 percent.
- Vitamins A, D, E and K: all of it.
- Protein: around 43 percent, which surprises most people.
So dropping the yolks saves you roughly 110 calories across two eggs. Meanwhile, it costs you most of the nutrition. Our guide to egg white nutrition covers that trade-off in detail.
How Cooking Method Changes the Count
The egg itself never changes. Instead, the fat you cook it in does all the work.
| Method (two large eggs) | Approximate calories | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Boiled or poached | 155 | Nothing added |
| Scrambled with a splash of milk | 170 to 180 | Milk adds a little |
| Scrambled with butter | 230 to 250 | One teaspoon of butter adds ~34 cal |
| Fried in one teaspoon of oil | 195 to 200 | Oil adds ~40 cal |
| Fried in one tablespoon of oil | 270 to 280 | Oil adds ~120 cal |
Boiling therefore wins on calories by default. Similarly, poaching adds nothing. Above all, the pan is the variable, not the egg.
One more point worth knowing. Cooking also raises how much protein you absorb. Specifically, a stable-isotope study measured true digestibility at about 51 percent for raw egg protein against about 91 percent cooked. Raw eggs in a shake are a poor deal.
Do Eggs Need to Be Refrigerated?
In the United States, Canada and Australia, yes. Absolutely. This is the part earlier versions of this page got wrong, and it matters.
US commercial eggs are washed and sanitised before sale. However, washing strips the cuticle, the natural coating that seals the shell’s pores. As a result, the shell becomes porous and bacteria can get in. Therefore, USDA requires refrigeration, and the two-hour rule applies: do not leave eggs at room temperature for more than two hours, or one hour above 90°F.
In the UK and much of the EU, the rules differ. Notably, retail eggs there are generally not washed, so the cuticle stays intact. Consequently, supermarkets display them unrefrigerated and they keep on a cool counter for roughly three weeks.
Even so, one rule holds everywhere. Once an egg has been refrigerated, keep it refrigerated. Moving eggs between fridge and counter causes condensation, which helps bacteria move through the shell.
How Long Boiled Eggs Last
Boiling removes the cuticle entirely. Accordingly, hard-boiled eggs are more vulnerable than raw ones, not less.
- Refrigerate within two hours of cooking. Hard-boiled eggs follow the same two-hour rule as any perishable food.
- Use within one week, peeled or unpeeled. USDA guidance gives the same window for both.
- Do not store cooked eggs at room temperature. Earlier advice on this page suggested you could. You cannot.
- Pack them with a cold pack for lunches.
- Raw whites or yolks out of the shell keep two to four days in the fridge.
- Skip freezing hard-boiled eggs. The whites turn rubbery and watery. You can, however, freeze raw eggs out of the shell.
Finally, a word on the float test. A floating egg is old, because the air cell inside grows over time. Nevertheless, floating does not prove an egg is unsafe, and sinking does not prove it is safe. Use the date on the box instead.
Eggs, Cholesterol and Weight Loss
Two eggs carry 372 mg of cholesterol, which looks alarming against a 300 mg Daily Value. However, the advice has changed.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans dropped the 300 mg daily cap in 2015. Dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol turn out to be only weakly linked in most people. Furthermore, a 2025 clinical trial concluded that saturated fat, not dietary cholesterol, drives LDL. The American Heart Association now accepts up to one egg daily for healthy adults, and two for healthy older adults with normal cholesterol.
That said, people with diabetes, raised LDL or existing cardiovascular disease remain a separate case. Therefore, follow your own clinician rather than a general rule.
On weight loss, the case is simple. Two boiled eggs give 12.6 g of protein for 155 calories. Protein is filling, so eggs make a genuinely satisfying breakfast. Still, no food burns fat, and eggs are no exception.
How many calories are in 2 boiled eggs? | 2 Eggs = 140 kcal
Frequently Asked Questions
About 155 calories for two large eggs, which is 78 calories each. Size changes it though. Two small eggs come to roughly 118 calories, two medium to 136, two extra large to 174 and two jumbo to 196. Boiling adds nothing, so these figures assume no butter, oil or salt.
About 12.6 g, which is roughly 25 percent of the Daily Value. It is complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids. Note that the yolk holds around 43 percent of it, so discarding yolks costs you protein as well as calories.
In the US, Canada and Australia, yes. Commercial eggs there are washed, which strips the natural cuticle and leaves the shell porous. USDA therefore requires refrigeration, and the two-hour rule applies: no more than two hours at room temperature, or one hour above 90°F. In the UK and much of the EU, retail eggs are not washed, the cuticle stays intact, and they keep on a cool counter for about three weeks. One rule holds everywhere though. Once an egg has been refrigerated, keep it refrigerated.
One week in the fridge, peeled or unpeeled. Refrigerate them within two hours of cooking. Boiling strips the cuticle completely, so hard-boiled eggs are actually more vulnerable to bacteria than raw ones in the shell. Do not store them at room temperature, and pack them with a cold pack for lunches.
The egg does not change, but what you cook it in does. Two boiled or poached eggs stay at about 155 calories. Scrambled with butter, the same two eggs reach 230 to 250. Fried in a tablespoon of oil, they reach 270 to 280. Boiling and poaching add nothing, which is why they come out lowest.
No. Two boiled eggs supply about 50 mg of calcium, roughly 4 percent of the Daily Value. Claims that eggs are a good calcium source are inaccurate. What eggs do supply well is choline, at about 53 percent of the Daily Value for two eggs, plus selenium, vitamin B12 and riboflavin.
For most people, no. Two eggs carry 372 mg of cholesterol, but the Dietary Guidelines for Americans dropped the 300 mg daily cap in 2015 because dietary and blood cholesterol are only weakly linked. A 2025 clinical trial found saturated fat, not dietary cholesterol, drives LDL. The American Heart Association accepts up to one egg a day for healthy adults and two for healthy older adults. People with diabetes, raised LDL or heart disease should follow their own clinician.
No. Dairy comes from the milk of mammals such as cows, goats and buffalo. Chickens are birds, so they produce no milk. Eggs sit in the protein food group instead. People avoiding dairy for lactose intolerance can eat eggs freely, although a separate egg allergy is possible.
Many do. The most common pattern, lacto-ovo vegetarianism, includes eggs and dairy but excludes meat and fish. Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy. Vegans exclude all animal products, so they do not eat eggs. It comes down to which pattern someone follows.
Related Reading
- Egg white nutrition facts and the yolk trade-off
- How to read nutrition labels to make smarter food choices
- Balancing protein, carbs and fats
- Butter nutrition facts: what a teaspoon in the pan really adds
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central, for hard-boiled egg nutrient values.
- US FDA, Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Shell Eggs from Farm to Table, for refrigeration, the two-hour rule and hard-boiled egg storage.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source: Eggs.
- Harvard Health Publishing, Enjoy eggs, just skip the bacon, on the 2025 trial separating saturated fat from dietary cholesterol.
- Mayo Clinic, Eggs: Are they good or bad for my cholesterol?
- American Heart Association, Are eggs good for you or not?
Last reviewed and rewritten September 2026. Nutrient values come from USDA FoodData Central and are rounded; egg size varies, so figures scale with the egg. This article gives general information only. It is not medical or dietetic advice. Food safety guidance here follows USDA, so check your own national food safety agency if you live elsewhere. If you have an egg allergy, diabetes, raised LDL cholesterol or cardiovascular disease, or you are pregnant, follow the guidance of your doctor or registered dietitian. How we research and check this content is described in our editorial process and sources cited policy.
