Natural Egg Dyes for Coloring Your Eggs!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

As spring and Easter approach, consider creating natural egg dyes made from fruits, vegetables, and spices. It’s a unique way to share a fun activity with children, showing them that beautiful colors can come from the kitchen cupboard and garden. 

It’s also a lesson in avoiding artificial food coloring chemically manufactured from petroleum, a crude oil product used in gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt, and tar in your Easter egg dyes. Even the small amounts used in decorating hard-boiled eggs and other foods can cause hyperactivity and allergic reactions in some individuals.   

How to get started with natural egg dyes

A good way to start is by searching natural food dyes online or reading books that cover sources and methods. Many titles on the subject describe making natural food dyes for coloring Easter eggs, or decorating cakes, cookies, and other treats. 

There’s a rainbow of colors, ranging from soft and subtle hues to darker and richer shades. It depends on how concentrated the dye is and how long the eggs stay immersed in the Easter egg dye. Eggs with white shells will produce a slightly different color than brown eggs.   

Recipe for how to make homemade Easter egg dye

A simple formula for homemade Easter egg dye is:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chopped/crushed fruits or vegetables, juices, or other foods.

1. In a pot, add the chopped/crushed fruits or vegetables, juices, or other foods to the water and bring to a boil.
2. After boiling the liquid, simmer, strain.
3. Then add one tablespoon of white vinegar to every cup of dye.  

WARNING: Do not use aluminum pans or utensils when making homemade Easter egg dye as it can inhibit the effect of the dye.

Color chart of natural egg dyes: 

• Yellows: Yellow onion skins or a heaping tablespoon of turmeric. 
• Tans/browns: Brewed coffee. Black tea, cinnamon, cocoa powder.
• Pinks/reds: Chopped avocado seeds and skins. Shredded beets and juice. Crushed raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, red grapes. Madder root powder. 
• Oranges: Cooked sweet potatoes, shredded carrots. Paprika. Madder root powder: The center of the root produces vibrant orange hues, while deep red is in the outer area. 
• Purples: Chopped beets and juice. Cooked purple sweet potato. 
• Lavenders: Red Zinger tea. Crushed huckleberries or blueberries, blackberries, and juice. 
• Blues: Crushed blueberries or huckleberries. Red cabbage with a bit of baking soda that turns it blue. 
• Greens: Chopped spinach or kale. Matcha, finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves. 

Ways to save time on homemade Easter egg dye

If chopping and crushing different fruits and vegetables seems a bit time-consuming or overwhelming when coloring Easter eggs, many food and flower powders are available online and at health food stores. Just add a tablespoon or more to the boiling water to achieve the desired color. 

One example is organic blue spirulina powder, blue-green algae that’s a natural food coloring, and blue smoothie ingredient. One would think it has a fishy taste, but it rather bland and neutral. It takes on the flavor of added fruit to smoothies. 

There are many other powders available for coloring Easter eggs— beet, spinach, blueberry, and more. Many are added to smoothies, sauces, baked goods, and even stirred in a glass of water for an energy boost.   

Beyond just dipping eggs

Natural food and plant dyes can be used to marble the eggs or to color them whole with botanical imprints made from leaves. There’s no end to one’s imagination and creativity. It’s an adventure that can turn the ordinary into a family tradition a culinary adventure of coloring Easter eggs.   

What other natural foods do you use for dying eggs naturally?

Originally published in the April/May 2021 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.