How to Dye Easter Eggs Naturally

Want to skip the artificial Easter egg dye this year? Learn how to naturally dye Easter Eggs with food. It’s a fun and unique way to dye Easter eggs.

Naturally dyeing Easter eggs is a fun and simple project to do with children.  We searched our home for fruits, vegetables, and spices that would produce color.

We also took a trip to the produce section at the grocery store and talked about the various plants that dye our fingers when we eat them.  We skipped the bananas and looked at raspberries and blackberries.

There are two ways to naturally dye Easter eggs.  You can dye them after the eggs are hard-boiled or dye them while the eggs are cooking.

Because my children were young, we chose to dye the eggs after they were hard-boiled.  It was more fun for them, and it kept them away from the hot stove.  However, using a hot method does tend to provide a deeper color.

How to Dye Easter Eggs Naturally

First, we are going to talk about the two methods you can use to naturally dye Easter eggs. You’ll want to decide which seems best for your family and then you will be able to get the list of recommended dyeing materials to help you create the colors you want.

For the cold method:

1. Boil eggs and let them cool.
2. Cover the boiled eggs with water.
3. Add the dyeing material.
4. Add one tablespoon of vinegar.
5. Let the eggs soak for a couple of hours or even overnight in the refrigerator.

For the hot method:

1. Place the uncooked eggs in a pan and cover with water.
2. Add one tablespoon of vinegar.
3. Add the dyeing material.  Use more dye material for more eggs or to darken the color.
4. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Strain water and let eggs soak longer if a deeper color is desired.

For our dyeing material, we used fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, steamed spinach (blended), coffee, turmeric, steamed carrots (blended), and grape juice.

The coffee, turmeric, and grape juice worked well and produced even color.  The berries (smashed and placed in glasses) and the steamed carrots did not produce color.  However, my three-year-old was able to paint an egg with smashed berries and a paintbrush.  That was fun for her.

We left our eggs to soak overnight.  Because we did not strain our material, we made speckled eggs.  The kids thought these were fantastic.  I was disappointed none of our eggs turned bright pink, so the next day I tried the hot method with dried blackberries and cherries.  The eggs turned a peachy brown color which was not the effect I was hoping for.  Next time, we will try cooking beets.

How to Get Different Color Easter Eggs

Experiment with the following to see what colors you can create. You can also look through your food scraps and experiment to see if you can find another good option. It can become a fun science experiment for kids.

• Red or Pink Easter Eggs: Beets, Boiled Red Onion Skins, Canned Cherries, Cranberries, Pomegranate, Raspberries
• Orange Easter Eggs: Boiled Yellow Onion Skins, Cooked Carrots, Chili Powder, Paprika
• Yellow Easter Eggs: Boiled Carrot Tops, Boiled Orange Peel, Ground Cumin, Ground Turmeric, Various Teas (Chamomile, Green Tea)
• Green Easter Eggs: Boiled Spinach Leaves
• Blue Easter Eggs: Boiled Red Cabbage Leaves, Canned Blueberries, Grape Juice
• Purple Easter Eggs: Grape Juice (smaller quantities), Red Wine
• Brown Easter Eggs: Coffee, Black Tea, Boiled Freeze-Dried Cherries

If you have read all of this and think that’s just too much work, you can also buy natural Easter egg dye that only requires hot water. Both options are fun and a great way to naturally dye Easter eggs this year.

And don’t forget to get your eggs locally to help support your local farms.