Our Natural Egg Dye, made with real food ingredients, is perfect for dyeing peeled eggs, turning them into a fun, edible snack. This activity is great fun for the whole family!
This is a fun and easy edible craft for Easter for the whole family! We love how you can enjoy the egg without the peel and still have a colorful egg!
Ingredients you’ll need:
- Eggs: While the colors are the star of the show, the eggs are the base for this recipe. We love peeling them and letting everyone enjoy them as is, with natural dyes. They absorb the colors and you can enjoy them without peeling!
- Turmeric Powder: We use turmeric to create a bright yellow dye. Turmeric is a natural colorant.
- Red Cabbage: When boiled, red cabbage releases a natural dye that can color the eggs purple. The beautiful pigment comes from anthocyanins. This makes it sensitive to pH changes, allowing for color variation.
- Beets: Boiling chopped beets in water creates a natural dye that ranges from pink to red, depending on the boiling time. Beets contain betalains which provide the color.
- Baking Soda and Vinegar: These two work together to make a purple dye. The baking soda adjusts the pH of the blue mixture and the baking soda activates it with fizzy fun.
You’ll also need:
- Mason Jars: We use mason jars to hold the dye and dip the eggs. You can easily see inside the jars.
- Spoon: You’ll need a spoon to remove the eggs from the mason jars.
How to make natural dye for Easter eggs
Natural Egg Dye Ingredients:
- Yellow Dye: Turmeric mixed with warm water.
- Purple Dye: Shredded red cabbage boiled in water.
- Blue Dye: Purple cabbage mixture combined with baking soda and vinegar for a reaction.
- Red/Pink Dye: Chopped beets boiled in water; duration varies for color depth.
Detailed Dye Instructions:
- Yellow Dye: Stir turmeric into warm water until fully dissolved.
- Purple Dye: Cook shredded cabbage in boiling water until the water turns deep purple, then cool and strain.
- Blue Dye: Carefully add baking soda and vinegar to the purple dye mixture, expect fizzing.
- Red/Pink Dye: Simmer beets in water until the desired color is reached; this process takes longer for red and shorter for pink. Cool the mixture and remove the beets.
Egg Dyeing Steps:
- Prepare Dyes: Follow the instructions above to prepare each color.
- Dyeing Eggs: Gently place eggs into the dye-filled containers. Leave the eggs in the dye for 2-3 minutes. You can leave them longer for a more vibrant color.
- Finishing Touches: Carefully remove the eggs using a spoon and place them on paper towel-lined plates to absorb excess dye.
Refrigerate hardboiled eggs peeled or unpeeled for up to 1 week, 7 days total.
Recipe Tips and Alterations:
- You can use this on hard-boiled eggs with or without the shell. You’ll need to add a little vinegar to each one to help the color bind to the eggshell. Using peeled eggs makes it more fun and easier to eat.
- Turn this into a festive and fun egg salad or deviled eggs.
How to serve:
You can enjoy naturally dyed eggs as is or make them into delicious dyed deviled eggs or even egg salad!
Is there a way to make the egg colors more vibrant?
We suggest leaving the eggs in longer than 2-3 minutes to achieve more vibrant colors. These natural food dyes won’t be as vivid as artificial food dyes, but they are pretty!
Can I reuse the natural dye for multiple batches of eggs?
Yes, but we do not recommend saving the dye. We have dyed up to 3 dozen eggs!
Can these dyes stain clothes or surfaces?
Natural dyes can stain clothes and porous surfaces just like regular dye. We recommend protecting surfaces and wearing clothes you don’t mind getting stained if you know things will get messy. This is the best way to prevent stains.
More Easter recipes
Natural Egg Dye
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Print Pin SaveIngredients
- 1 dozen hard-boiled eggs peeled
Yellow Food Dye
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 cup warm water
Purple Food Dye
- 1 small red cabbage shredded
- 2 1/2-3 cups water
Blue Food Dye (also a bit teal)
- 1 cup Purple Mixture
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
Red or Pink Food Dye
- 2 beets chopped 1 beet for pink
- 2 cups water
Instructions
Yellow Food Dye
- Mix the turmeric and water and set aside.
Purple Food Dye
- Place the cabbage in a saucepan and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil and mash down with a potato masher to get the color out.
- Strain out cabbage and allow water to cool before using.
Blue Food Dye
- Take some of the purple mixture and mix it with the baking soda and vinegar. This will volcano up so use a large container and then transfer to a smaller container for dunking.
Pink Food Dye
- Place chopped beets and water into the saucepan.
- Bring to a boil and allow the beets to color the water. The longer you boil, the darker and more concentrated it will get. More time for red, less time for pink
- Remove the beets from the water and allow to cool before using.
Dying the eggs
- Pour the food dye mixtures into separate mason jars. Place the peeled eggs into the mason jars one by one. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes, or longer for more vibrant colors, and then use a spoon to remove them. We suggest placing them onto a plate lined with paper towels.
- Enjoy the eggs right away or refrigerate until ready to enjoy.
Tried this recipe?
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Notes
- Nutrition info includes the hard-boiled eggs, as we only use vegetable pigments.
- If you want to dye the eggs without peeling you’ll need to add vinegar to help bind the color to the eggshell.
- These natural dyes can be used for coloring food, Easter eggs, or even crafts.
- The intensity of the color can vary depending on the amount of dye used and the duration of exposure. It will also darken over time out of the dye.
- Refrigerate hardboiled eggs peeled or unpeeled for up to 1 week, 7 days total.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
This is so so awesome!!! I’m always looking for natural ways to replace things in our foods, and I typically just avoid food dyes altogether. I can’t wait to give this a shot though when my son gets a little older! Thanks so much for sharing <3
You’re so welcome! I hope you guys have fun dying your eggs 😀
Does the egg take up the beet and turmeric flavor? And is the vinegar necessary? Just don’t want to add any pronounced flavors.
They do take on a slight flavor, but not too much! 🙂 You can leave the vinegar out of some colors –
here’s another post to show even more ways! https://www.courtneyssweets.com/homemade-easter-egg-dye/
Can anyone recommend how to make green natural food dye for eggs?
There are many alternatives on the market. We tried a few options, but nothing gave us a beautiful color like the beets and turmeric.