Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

Growing up, I remember my mom only used natural ingredients to dye our Easter eggs. It was the only method we knew growing up and something she had learned from her mother and grandmother. Don’t you just love the old ways, sometimes? It is all natural, free of toxins, and safe to eat the boiled eggs after even if color had transferred inside. A few days prior to Easter, I remember her collecting onion peels, saving the beet water, or even saved used coffee and teas. Then, two days before Easter, egg dying was in full swing. As she dyed them, my sisters and I did artwork on them. So, fast forward a few decades, and you’ll find me doing the same thing with our kids.

We used our favorite organic and pasture raised brown eggs by Vital Farms. And, since they were brown eggs, I opted for darker hues. I used the following:

Beets
Red cabbage
Coffee
Frozen berries
Turmeric root

If you are dying white eggs, you can add onion peels, tea, spinach or parsley. Because I dyed brown eggs, these were not going to change much on the already brown tone eggs. Also, the longer you leave the eggs in the dye, the more vibrant they are. I left all the eggs in their dye containers for about three hours for these beautiful earthy tones. I was out of white vinegar but I did replace it with apple cider vinegar and it worked. And, unlike artificial dyes, there is no discoloration from touching the egg afterwards. So, huge plus.

Here is the recipe and easy instructions.

Beets:
2 peeled and chopped beats
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
Bring to boil for about 20 minutes. Then, strain the dyed water into a deep container and add the hard boiled eggs. You can keep it overnight in the fridge if you wish to have a very dark shade of the color.

Red cabbage:
Half a cabbage, sliced or chopped
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
Bring to boil for about 20 minutes. Then, strain the dyed water into a deep container and add the hard boiled eggs. You can keep it overnight in the fridge if you wish to have a very dark shade of the color.

Coffee:
2 cups of brewed coffee
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
Bring to boil for about 20 minutes. Then, pour the dye into a deep container and add the hard boiled eggs. You can keep it overnight in the fridge if you wish to have a very dark shade of the color.

Frozen berries
1 cup of blueberry and blackberry medley
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
Bring to boil for about 20 minutes. Then, strain the dyed water into a deep container and add the hard boiled eggs. You can keep it overnight in the fridge if you wish to have a very dark shade of the color.

Turmeric root:
2 tablespoons of grated turmeric root
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
Bring to boil for about 20 minutes. Then, strain the dyed water into a deep container and add the hard boiled eggs. You can keep it overnight in the fridge if you wish to have a very dark shade of the color.

Save your egg cartons to dry the eggs in. If you plan on keeping them in the dye overnight, let them cool to room temperature then store them in the fridge. It’s really an easy process. Especially if you plan on eating them after, it’s much safer to have natural food dyes seeped into the eggs than dyes full of toxins.

How do you dye your Easter eggs? Have you dyed eggs with natural ingredients? If so, what were your favorite ingredients with the best colors? Let me know below.

xo,
Salpie