So you want to dye your Easter eggs naturally – without chemicals and artificial colors? While it takes longer than the commercial egg dye kits you buy at the store, dyeing your eggs with natural foods is better for you and your child(ren)’s health, produces much more interesting colors and is, quite arguably, more fun!
Why dye with natural colors instead of artificial?
According to Organic.org, “Many food colorings contain color additives such as Red No. 3 and Yellow No. 5, which, according to a 1983 study by the FDA, were found to cause tumors (Red No. 3) and hives (Yellow No. 5).” I wrote about the drawbacks of artificial colors a while back if you’d like to read more on the topic.
It is more time-consuming than using a store-bought conventional egg dye kit (and I highly recommend preparing the egg dye baths a few hours before you plan to dye the eggs with the kiddos), but it is healthier for your kids and the environment. “Dyeing eggs the natural way gives you the opportunity to spend more time with your family, teaching kids to use alternative project methods that are healthier for them and the environment.” I think it will be a lot of fun and a great family project.
To get started you will need:
- Hard boiled eggs (preferably white eggs since they take on the dyes better than brown eggs)
- Ingredients to make your dyes, which I will discuss in more detail below – As a guideline, use up to 4 cups for vegetable solids and 3–4 tablespoons for spices per quart. Mash up fruits.
- White vinegar (2 Tablespoons for every quart of water)
- Several pots and bowls
- Optional: stickers, rubber bands, and crayons for decorating the eggs and making interesting patterns
- Egg cartons for drying the dyed eggs
Natural egg dyes can be made from a variety of ingredients. Here’s a list of what I used last year along with comments on the colors that resulted.
RED
- 3 cans of beets in cranberry juice (instead of water) – produced a dark reddish hue
PINK
- Frozen cherries – made a very light pink
RED-ORANGE
- 3 tablespoons of chili powder produced a nice reddish-orange color
YELLOW
- 3 Tablespoons of tumeric produced a great yellow
GREEN
- A mix of spinach leaves, canned blueberries and their juice and a few tablespoons of tumeric produced a gorgeous earthy green color – I think it would work without the spinach leaves, but I happened to have some that were wilting so I threw them in.
BLUE
- 3/4 of a head of red cabbage (chopped) made a beautiful blue
GREY BLUE
- 2 cans of blueberries and their juice made a grey-blueish color
GREY
- Frozen cherries mixed with blueberries yielded a grey color (not the purple I was going for).
Instructions:
Last year I found a couple great web site with tips on “Natural Easter Egg Dyes” and Natural Dye from Organic.org. The natural dyes come from spices like paprika, tumeric and cumin; vegetables like spinach and red cabbage; fruit juices and even coffee. All of your dye ingredients can (and should) be composted after you are done.
On Organic.org, there is a boil method (which produces darker results) and a cold-dip method, which is suggested for children or if you plan to eat the eggs, which is the method we used last year.
The two methods are:
Method 1—Hot
Place eggs in a single layer in a large, nonaluminum pan. Add the dyeing ingredient of your choice—it’s best not to mix until you are comfortable with experimenting. Cover the eggs and other dyeing “agent(s)” with one inch of water. Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar per quart to help the color adhere to the egg, and bring to a boil. Next, simmer for 20–30 minutes or until the desired shade is achieved. If you cook the eggs longer than 15 minutes, they will become rather tough.Method 2—Cold
The cold method is the same as the hot method with the following exception. Once ingredients have simmered 20–30 minutes (depending on desired shade), lift or strain the ingredients out of the water and allow the water to cool to room temperature though you may wish to try keeping the ingredients in the colored water to give the egg more texture as the dye will become concentrated in areas where the vegetable touches the egg. Submerge the eggs until the desired color is achieved. You may keep the eggs in the solution overnight as long as it is refrigerated.The longer the egg stays in the dye, hot or cold, the deeper the hue will be. Using vinegar will also help the color deepen.
Definitely feel free to experiment and try out other foods and spices. For me, that was a big part of what made it so much fun, trying out different things to see what colors would come from them. For example, the dye from the spinach, tumeric, blueberry mix looked orange or brown, but the eggs came out green! And the red cabbage dye was purpley-pink, but the eggs came out blue. It was like a fun science experiment that the whole family could get involved in. Happy egg coloring! :)
Pictures:
The process of making the dyes:
And the results:
Links to other people’s natural egg dyeing results:
- Michelle at What’s Cooking Blog tried three different concoctions and got three lovely results
- Phyllis at Ima On and Off the Bima created Passover eggs using cilantro leaves and onion skins
- Shutterbug Mama, who had good luck using turmeric and curry powder, paprika, and blueberries
- Inexplicable Ways tried out a variety of ingredients and got some beautiful results
- Green Baby Guide – Natural Silhouette Easter Egg Dyeing
If you dye your eggs naturally and blog about it, please leave me your link and I’ll add it to the list. :)
Stumble it!
Lisa says:
Very cute!
April 4th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
JessTrev says:
Right on. I will try again this year (had pretty disappointing results last year with natural dyes but your pics + instructions are great!)…
April 4th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Abbie says:
Cool! I probably won’t dye eggs this year, since the ones I like are brown and I don’t have kids… but I’ll be sure to keep this in mind for the future.
I also am planning to get chickens in the next few months, and one of the varieties I’m after is an “Easter Egger.” She’ll lay eggs in a shade of blue or green. I’m excited about that!
April 4th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Wendy at Babies Gotta Have It says:
This is such great information! I can’t wait to try it!
And, your eggs turned out absolutely gorgeous. Thanks!
April 4th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Topics about Bands » How to dye Easter eggs naturally - a tutorial says:
[...] Metal Underground .com placed an interesting blog post on How to dye Easter eggs naturally – a tutorialHere’s a brief overviewSo you want to dye your Easter eggs naturally – without chemicals and artificial colors? While it takes longer than the commercial egg dye kits you buy at the store, dyeing your eggs with natural foods is better for you and your child(ren)’s health, produces much more interesting colors and is,… [...]
April 4th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Green Me Alison says:
Awesome! Thank you Thank you Thank you! I remember seeing a few of these last year, but none that I loved and I was not relishing going back to search. So glad to know that you tried this and they worked well. I now have a use for the bulk chili powder I bought 5 years ago (product that I really don’t need in bulk). And, I am excited to try blueberries and turmeric for making other green foods…like cupcake frosting!
April 4th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Lady Pilgrim says:
Wow, that’s pretty neat! Thanks for sharing!!
April 5th, 2009 at 9:08 am
flowers says:
Thanks so much! I just came back from the co-op with w/ 3 dozen free range, local white eggs and wanted to find a more natural way to dye them.
Love your blog :-)
April 5th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Links and other fun stuff - 4/4/09 | Mom Of 3 Girls says:
[...] Easter coming up – here’s a very useful tutorial on How to dye Easter eggs naturally from Amy at Crunchy Domestic [...]
April 5th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
EcoLabel Fundraising says:
I read this just in time! I am going to give this a go this weekend! Beautiful picture of the eggs, by the way!
April 5th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Jidrel says:
You get best, most intense green from cold Mate tea (that’s important! Hot tea will only result in a pale brownish yellow – not very exiting). Let it sit overnight to intensify the color. Strangely, I haven’t seen this anywhere on the net. Thought I’d share it, since I finally found a way to dye my eastereggs blue here.
sent from: fav.or.it [FID5909611]
April 6th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Nicole says:
Good Afternoon everyone,
I saw the article about Easter and think it is great that so many people are buys making plans and getting excited about the festivities. My sister is coming home from America for Easter, so everyone is looking forward to seeing her. Easter is one of those religious festivals that can turn out to be quite stressful, what with all the family over demanding attention, and having to cook lunch for everyone… the list goes on. I always find Easter greetings cards quite expensive, and I really don’t like giving my hard earned cash to those big greetings card companies. So I may have found an alternative solution in the form of electronic greetings cards. Not only do they save paper, and stamps, but as long as you opt for a free site then the Easter e-Card is going to be free. I have done my research and have found a really lovely Free Easter e-Card site. I like this site as I found it so easy to use, which is great because I am not very confident with computers, also I liked the wide range of choice of cards they offer. There are loads of e-Card sites out there, so it maybe worth doing your own research in order to find the best one. Hope everyone has a great Easter whatever you decide to get up to.
April 6th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Kimberly says:
Oh, I love this post! We will be out of town for Easter but we’ll definitely use this information for next year. I always enjoying coming to your blog – I learn something every time! Thanks so much!
April 6th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
chelle says:
This is so awesome!
I shared this link on Being Savvy Halifax!
April 6th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
C-ster says:
How very timely and useful. :)
April 6th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
From Dates to Diapers and Beyond! » Today on Mom-2-Mom says:
[...] egg dye kits? And, it can be way more fun! She has the best tutorial in the blogosphere for dyeing eggs naturally. Amy uses items you may already have in your pantry or refrigerator, and gives you all of the [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Sarah @ BecomingSarah.com says:
We won’t be dyeing any eggs this year, but I’m glad you put this tutorial up. Maybe we’ll have a chance to give it a go next year!
April 7th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
How To Naturally Dye Your Easter Eggs | EcoVillageGreen says:
[...] more info? Check out this complete tutorial with pictures of what some dyes and finished eggs look like, along with links to other [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 9:35 am
9 ways the Easter Bunny can bring less waste this year | Cheap Like Me says:
[...] a year. If you eat or work with artificial colors more often, think twice. Find more tips here or here. Caution: Remember that some natural dyes are toxic! Use care and do your research before [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Liz says:
I’ve had trouble getting red dyes. I’ve had no luck with red cabbage, red onions, or beets. Even raspberries didn’t color the egg, or turned it purple when I added alum to the dye. I picked up a few new ideas from your post to try. Love your method of mixing several different pigments to get a new color – the possibilities are endless!
April 9th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Organic Easter Egg Dyes! « Where Else Organic? says:
[...] Photo: illustration from “Crunchy Domester Goddess” [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
What’s Cooking Blog » Blog Archive » Playing with Food - Using Food to Dye our Easter Eggs says:
[...] have seen several blog posts recently about using natural ingredients to dye eggs, instead of purchasing kits full of artificial [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Caedmon says:
I was never able to get red cabbage to give me a blue egg till found a site that said you have to leave it in the cooking water till the next morning. I have always simmered my eggs in the water with the coloring agent, usually getting mottled colors from their uneven contact with the egg. I seem to find that letting eggs stand in the paprika water also strengthens the color.
I assume that after twenty minutes of simmering, the eggs are thoroughly sterilized, and that if covered while they cool off they are unlikely to become re-infected.
April 10th, 2009 at 2:42 am
Organic and Green Mom Blog | The Aftermath of the Green Moms Carnival: Hysterical Mommy Bloggers? at Organic Mania says:
[...] Easter, Happy Passover, everyone. I’m going to try to go off and focus on dying eggs the natural way. I’ll try not to eat too much Fair Trade Easter chocolate. But this isn’t over. If [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Baby Blogging Review » Smarter Babies & Kids Blog says:
[...] Green Domestic Goddess shows us how to dye Easter eggs naturally. [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Lisa Frack says:
Gonna try this tomorrow – thanks for the perfectly times inspiration. Down with Paas!
April 10th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Barb says:
Thanks. Someone on twitter pointed me to this post and it was exactly what I was looking for. Looking forward to becoming a more regular reader
April 10th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
phyllis says:
did you see my Passover eggs? They came out really cool, using onion skins and cilantro leaves….
great fun post!:-)
April 10th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Karma V. says:
I dye wool naturally and never thought about eggs until now! Shoot all the stores are closed and not a chicken in site. Oh well I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow.
thanks so much,
Karma
http://inpraiseoftheaberrantmuse.blogspot.com/
April 10th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Ingrid Johnson says:
Great info and lots of options ~ beautiful colors, too!
April 11th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Charissa says:
Thansk for the tips, the eggs look beautiful.
April 11th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Arts & Crafts Play | PhD in Parenting says:
[...] How to die Easter eggs naturally – a tutorial: Amy @ The Crunchy Domestic Goddess put up this wonderful step by step tutorial on dyeing eggs with natural foods. I’ve put this on my list to do next year for sure (we didn’t get around to dyeing eggs this year, but I think my kids will be the perfect age to enjoy it next year). [...]
April 11th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
A naturally beautiful rainbow of colors | Crunchy Domestic Goddess says:
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April 12th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Go Green This Easter with Eco-Friendly Egg Dye and More | Best Eco Stuff says:
[...] Skip the commercial store-bought egg dyeing kits and try the instructions from this tutorial by Crunchy Domestic Goddess. It goes through two processes of natural egg dyeing, and includes a list of all the great colors [...]
April 13th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Things to Write Home About - 4/19/09 | Feels Like Home says:
[...] Amy at The Crunchy Domestic Goddess posted how to dye eggs naturally [...]
April 19th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
(Anti) Social Lists 3/21/10 | (Anti) Social Development says:
[...] How to dye Easter eggs naturally – a tutorial – In my ongoing quest to become more green I decided we would dye easter eggs naturally rather than using the kits from the store. My first attempts have not been completely successful (well, that’s partially because my garlic loving cat got eggs out of the basket and batted them around the house until they cracked) but it’s been a lot of fun. We used grape juice to make purple eggs and tumeric for yellow/orange. [...]
March 20th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
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March 25th, 2010 at 8:57 am
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[...] http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2009/04/04/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-naturally-a-tutorial/ [...]
March 25th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Evoking Your Inner Eco Bunny: An Ethical Guide to Easter « Autonomie Project’s Blog says:
[...] palette. If you have decided to go the traditional egg dying route, check out this handy guide on crunchydomesticgodess.com that informs you how to dye your eggs using simply vinegar, fruits and vegetables. For wooden [...]
March 26th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Lori says:
Hi! I just made these with my kids following the directions given. The tumeric turned the eggs a really nice yellow, and red cabbage turned them a beautiful blue, but the chili powder made them a dull tan — was hoping for reddish orange.
We had to leave them in the boiling water for way longer than 20-30 minutes to get a decent color.
March 28th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Mini Breakfast Quiche « EZ Recipes says:
[...] palette. If you have decided to go the traditional egg dying route, check out this handy guide on crunchydomesticgodess.com that informs you how to dye your eggs using simply vinegar, fruits and vegetables. For wooden [...]
April 2nd, 2010 at 2:21 pm