How to Dye Easter Eggs Naturally

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Make beautiful Easter eggs with natural dyes! These easy, natural dyes give you a rainbow of colored eggs without the weird chemicals in packaged dyes.

close up of colorful naturally dyed easter eggs in wicker basket

Show of hands—who has run frantically to the store at 10pm the night before Easter to grab a couple dozen eggs and some Easter egg dye?

a surprised chicken

Surprised Chicken (who lives with my friends at Pasture Deficit Disorder) can’t figure out how you ran out of eggs in the first place, but that’s another story.

Great news! You can dye Easter eggs naturally, with stuff that’s already in your kitchen. You won’t have to fuss around with those tablets that stain everything on the planet, and your eggs will be dyed a beautiful rainbow of colors.

This is another great way to get your kids in the kitchen. Ask them what color they think the different ingredients will make. They may be surprised to learn that the colors don’t come out the way they expect!

bowl of naturally dyed easter eggs

Here’s everything you need to dye Easter eggs naturally. You’ll just cook the ingredients, let the eggs soak overnight, and in the morning you’ll have beautifully colored eggs.

These colors will work whether your eggs are white or brown. And I can just about guarantee that even if the store is out of Easter egg dye, they won’t be sold out of purple cabbage. 🙂

colorful, naturally dyed easter eggs in an egg crate

Natural Easter Egg Dye

Ingredients

1/2 head purple cabbage, chopped (blue)

Skins of 4-6 yellow onions (orange)

2 Tablespoons turmeric (yellow)

2-3 beets (pink)

Hard boiled eggs

White vinegar

Water

Jars for soaking the eggs in (I like these)

easter egg soaking in jar full of natural dye

Instructions

Rinse eggs with vinegar and water to remove any dirt or oil.

For each color, place 2 cups of water and the food item in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer with the lid on for 15-20 minutes. The liquid should be a rich, dark color.

Pour the water through a strainer into a jar (canning jars work great for this). Put the solids in your compost bin.

Add 2 Tablespoons vinegar to the liquid in the jar and stir gently.

Once the liquid has cooled, add the desired number of eggs and let them soak in the refrigerator. You’ll get the deepest colors if you let the eggs sit overnight.

To give the eggs some extra shine, rub them with a drop of coconut oil.

colorful naturally dyed easter eggs in wicker basket

Hi, Im Pam!

I created Brown Thumb Mama to share my natural living journey, and help you live a greener life. Thanks for being here!

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