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Tips & Guides

How to Naturally Dye Easter Eggs

Easter baskets, at home egg-hunts, pastel-painted this, egg-shaped that, chocolatey rabbit something or others. ‘Tis the season to be a little egg-sessive. But no need to go hunting for natural dyes to paint your Easter eggs with. Odds are, the main ingredients for naturally dyed eggs are already in your crisper drawer or on your spice rack. 

naturally died easter eggs

Turmeric Dyed Eggs

Materials

  • 1 tbsp ground turmeric
  • 2 cups water
  • 3-4 white eggs, hard-boiled
  • 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar

Directions

  1. Place turmeric in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, boil water and pour over turmeric. Steep for at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 hours. 
  2. Stir in vinegar. Submerge eggs into bowl and refrigerate eggs in the dye for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. The longer they soak, the more opaque the color will be.
  3. Remove eggs from dye with a slotted spoon. Rinse off excess dye and let dry on a wire rack. 
  4. For extra shiny eggs, polish the dry eggs with a little olive oil.  

Red Onion Dyed Eggs

Materials

  • Onion skins from about 4 red onions
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
  • 3-4 white eggs, hard-boiled

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, combine onion skins, water and vinegar. Stir all the onion skins into the water and bring up to a boil.
  2. Bring the mixture to a simmer, covered, for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Strain the onion skins from the liquid and allow to cool until slightly warm.
  4. Submerge eggs into the dye for at least 30 minutes, or up to an hour. The longer they soak, the more opaque the color will be.
  5. Remove eggs from the dye with a slotted spoon and cool on a wire rack.
  6. For extra shiny eggs, polish the dry eggs with a little olive oil.  

Purple Cabbage Dyed Eggs

Materials

  • ½ head purple cabbage (about 1 pound)
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
  • 3-4 white eggs, hard-boiled

Directions

  1. Roughly chop cabbage and put it into a medium saucepan with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
  2. Strain into a medium bowl and mix in vinegar.
  3. Submerge eggs into the bowl and refrigerate eggs in the dye for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. The longer they soak, the more opaque the color will be.
  4. Remove eggs from the dye with a slotted spoon and cool on a wire rack.
  5. For extra shiny eggs, polish the dry eggs with a little olive oil.   

Beet Dyed Eggs

Materials

  • 3 beets
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
  • 3-4 white eggs, hard-boiled

Directions

  1. Roughly chop beets and put them into a medium saucepan with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
  2. Strain into a medium bowl and mix in vinegar.
  3. Submerge eggs into the bowl and refrigerate eggs in the dye for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. The longer they soak, the more opaque the color will be.
  4. Remove eggs from the dye with a slotted spoon and cool on a wire rack.
  5. For extra shiny eggs, polish the dry eggs with a little olive oil.  

Notes

  • After your Easter egg hunt is over, gather all your eggs (hopefully someone found the one hidden behind the couch) and get cooking! Any recipe that works well with hard-boiled eggs such as a smashed eggs sandwich, deviled eggs, an egg salad. Or even this recipe which combines all three would be a great way to have your Easter eggs and eat them too.
  • Check out a few of our other festive recipes like this Swirly Chocolate Easter Bark and Cinnamon Bread Pudding.

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Caprice A Armstrong
Caprice A Armstrong
2 years ago

My mother in-law and her mother taught my husband and then me to dye eggs with onion skins by wrapping a raw egg with layers of onion skins, wrapping them in a paper towel and securing it by wrapping it as tight as possible with strong thread. We then put them in a pot of water with a few tbsp. of white vinegar and boiled them for 15 minutes. We took them out and cooled before unwrapping them.

Reply
Imperfect
Imperfect
1 year ago
Reply to  Caprice A Armstrong

So awesome! 💚

Reply
Donna Schempp
Donna Schempp
1 year ago

How can I get the delivery people to pick up the I’ve packs which I leave out every week and they just ignore?

Reply
Imperfect
Imperfect
1 year ago
Reply to  Donna Schempp

We don’t have this packaging take back program available in every market yet, but stay tuned for more information around this to come.

Reply
Connie
Connie
1 year ago

From my grandma – the green part of green onions – a light green-yellow

Yellow onion skins – golden brown

And a hint – any fruit or veggie that will stain your fingers when you cut it up will make a good dye

Reply
Imperfect
Imperfect
1 year ago
Reply to  Connie

Grandma knows best 🥰

Reply
Caroline
Caroline
1 year ago

Thanks for the article on egg dyeing with natural ingredients. I’ve always wanted to know how they ORIGINALLY did it. 😀😀😀

Reply
Imperfect
Imperfect
1 year ago
Reply to  Caroline

You’ll have to lettuce know how you enjoy doing this!

Reply
Paul Melmed
Paul Melmed
1 year ago

Thanks for the tips but we are Jewish…

Reply
Rachel J
Rachel J
1 year ago
Reply to  Paul Melmed

Me too. I hope you saw the recipes for Passover that are posted.

Reply
Carolyn Hundt
Carolyn Hundt
1 year ago

How did you get the blue/turquoise color eggs?
The others are gorgeous! Thanks for the info!

Reply
Imperfect Foods
Imperfect Foods
1 year ago
Reply to  Carolyn Hundt

It’s the purple cabbage dyed eggs that have that beautiful turquoise color! 🙌

Reply
Tagged DIYHoliday

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