HOW TO DYE EGGS NATURALLY

Have you tried to dye eggs naturally? It is actually fairly easy, plus it’s definitely a safer, chemical free way to go.

My sisters and I were talking about different Easter projects we would be doing, and I mentioned dying Easter eggs naturally. We previously used carrot juice to dye white chocolate, so I thought it would be a fun experiment.

I had some good successes, and some failed attempts. I will share those too, so you don’t have to try those options.

WHY NOT USE REGULAR FOOD COLORING FOR DYING EGGS

I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t normally eat what food coloring is made out of.

Food coloring is made from petroleum. Yes, petroleum like Vaseline, “a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is present in certain rock strata and can be extracted and refined to produce fuels including gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil; oil” -Oxford Dictionary.

The U.K. actually requires a warning label for items containing different food colorings.

With some negatives on food coloring, let’s look at the positives: There really aren’t any, besides making your food colorful, which is not what they mean when they say “eat the rainbow”.

Foods come in so many different colors, so it shouldn’t be too hard to create a dye from everyday ingredients.

HARD BOILED EGGS

I searched for the easiest hard boiled recipe. One that the shell would peel easily. I tried the Pioneer Women’s version, and have stuck with it:

Fill pot with water – Temp should be on high – once water comes to a boil, add eggs – bring down to a medium/low temperature – let simmer for 13 minutes – then, immediately transfer to a bowl of cold water for at least 5 minutes.

YELLOW DYE FOR DYING EGGS

• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 2 TB white vinegar

Bring the water and turmeric to a boil.

Let simmer until desired color is met. (The deeper the color, the better)

After liquid cools, add vinegar

Once mixed, add all contents to glass jar with 2 hard boiled eggs

Place in fridge until desired color is met (Can leave overnight)

BLUE/PURPLE DYE FOR DYING EGGS

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 2 TB white vinegar

Bring water and blueberries to a boil

Let simmer until desired color is met (The deeper the color, the better)

Let cool and strain liquid into jar with vinegar and hard boiled eggs

Place in fridge until desired color is met (Can leave overnight)

ROSE DYE FOR DYING EGGS

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup strawberries
• 2 TB white vinegar

Bring water and strawberries to a boil

Let simmer until desired color is met (This one took the longest, as I let the strawberries strip all their color)

Let cool and strain liquid into jar with vinegar and hard boiled eggs

Place in fridge until desired color is met (Can leave overnight)

*Note that this mixture didn’t seem to actually dye the shell, but more left a crackle on the surface of the shell. I could have wiped it off initially, but I let it dry, and actually liked the texture it made.

ITEMS THAT DIDN’T WORK FOR DYING EGGS

I will note that I did not go out and buy any items for this project. I wanted to see what I could make work with items I already had in my kitchen. With that came a few items that did not pan out (at least in my case), which is okay! I can now share those with you, so you don’t have to try them.

• Spinach
• Carrots (we previously dyed white chocolate with carrots, so I thought I would try)
• Paprika

All of these gave color in the liquid, but gave more of a light bubbly film over the eggs, instead of dying the shell.

MORE OPTIONS TO DYE EASTER EGGS

I have a feeling some of you may have some ingredients in your kitchen that I did not have, so I am sharing a few different ideas from Farmhouse Harvest you can try if you have these items in your cabinets or fridge:

• Beets: pink
• Purple cabbage: blue
• Purple cabbage/Turmeric: green (soak blue eggs into turmeric mixture to turn green)

I have also seen matcha powder for green dye, coffee for brown, red wine for purple, and more. There are just so many different options to try, and honestly some might work better for you depending on your exact measurements. It is a fun experiment for sure!

PIN IT FOR LATER

NEED SOME EASY HOMEMADE TREATS FOR EASTER?

Check out my post on how to make easy almond butter cups here.