Making natural egg dye is a super simple process from ingredients in your pantry, fridge, or freezer. You won't believe how pretty your Easter eggs will turn out with this easy method.
Easy Ideas for Homemade Egg Dye
There are so many different ways to dye Easter eggs. Some of them are simply gorgeous but require that they be used for decorative purposes only. So I wanted to try my hand at natural Easter egg dye, because we love eating hard-boiled eggs, and I like the primitive look the natural dye gives them.
I've tried this process once before without a lot of luck. The turmeric is steadfast and worked wonderfully, but the others such as purple cabbage not so much. However, I found that the key is simply patience. Using mason jars to allow the eggs to really soak in the dye made all the difference. I used pint-sized jars which easily held two eggs and could have held a third (you'd use less liquid with a third egg). If you use quart jars you could probably dye four or more in each jar.
How to Make Natural Egg Dye
Supplies
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups of boiling water or juice
- pint mason jar
- natural food/spice
For these eggs below:
- Beet juice left over from pickled beets
- Blueberries that were frozen and boiled in water for about 5 minutes.
- 1 Tablespoon of Ground Turmeric,
- 2 Tablespoons Coffee Grounds,
- 2 Tea Bags of TJ Red Refresh Tea
Steps
- Into a clean mason jar add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
- Next, add your spices and 1.5 cups of boiling water. If you're using berry or beet juice bring the juice to a boil, let cool slightly and then add it to the vinegar.
- Then gently add the boiled eggs.
- Let cool on the counter, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Here's what they looked like after five hours in the refrigerator. Not bad.
Eggs After 24 hours
They all deepened in color except for the beet juice, but it is a nice pink color. The blueberries may even be too dark, almost black. The greenish ones in the middle were made with Trader Joe's Red Refresh Hibiscus Tea, which is a pretty red in the cup, but ended up dying the eggs this beautiful green color. To be fair the tea also has peppermint and lemongrass in it, so maybe that's where the green color comes from?
Other Vegetable Options
- Onion skins, Yellow and Red Onions
- Red Cabbage
- Spinach
All in all, I'm thrilled with the way these turned out.
I think I will be making natural dyes from now on. I just need to make sure I have a little extra time and patience.
P.S. Another great Easter post involves making an Easter Lily Centerpiece. Or you may want to try making Homemade Candles from Orange Rinds for your Easter table.
Natural Egg Dye for Easter
Materials
- 2 hard-boiled white eggs
- 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups of boiling water or juice
- pint mason jar
- natural food/spice
Instructions
- Into a clean mason jar add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
- Next, add your spices and 1.5 cups of boiling water. If you're using berry or beet juice bring the juice to a boil, let cool slightly, and then add it to the vinegar.
- Then gently add the boiled eggs.
- Let cool on the counter, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight until you get your desired color.
Notes
- Beet juice leftover from pickled beets
- Blueberries that were frozen and boiled in water for about 5 minutes.
- 1- 2 Tablespoons Turmeric
- 2 Tablespoons Coffee Grounds
- 2 Tea Bags of TJ Red Refresh Tea
Christine
I don't have a lot of patience but the variety of color in your eggs sure are pretty! I'm a huge pink fan so the beet juice one is definitely my favorite. Love that your dye is all natural. I'll have to send this to my daughter. She was looking for ways to color eggs with my grandson! Thanks for the tips!!!
Patti Estep
I'm so glad you liked it. Dying eggs with natural pigments is not new but I was so happy with how they finally turned out I had to share them. Who knew letting them soak for hours would make all the difference.
Carole
Awesome idea and I really like the color from the tea, so pretty and natural. You are one clever lady,
Patti Estep
Thanks Carole. This is something I have dried before but failed. All I really needed is patience. 🙂