How To Naturally Dye Easter Eggs

Is it just me or does it seem like Easter is arriving super early this year?  I’m totally ready for it because it means spring is officially here with warmer weather, flowers blooming, and bees buzzing!

Have you ever tried to dye your Easter eggs with natural items you might already have in your pantry?  If you’re looking for a safe, easy, and fun way to dye eggs naturally for the holiday, look no further because I have you covered!

Here’s the basic recipe:

• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons table salt

Bring this to a boil and add the following to make these colors:

1.   1 cup raw beets, roughly chopped
2.   1 cup red onion skins
3.   2 tablespoons turmeric
4.   2 cups fresh spinach
5.   1  small head red cabbage, roughly chopped
6.   2 tablespoons sumac
7.   2 tablespoons granulated espresso powder
8.   2 tablespoons saffron

And here are a few tips that I learned through my own experiments in trying to achieve the most beautiful natural color possible:

• The addition of vinegar and salt helps to set the color so be sure to add those to the other ingredients of your choosing.
• Bring the water to a boil before adding your ingredients — I found this speeds up the process.  Better yet, just boil your eggs in the solution!
• Don’t rush the process!  Allowing the eggs to sit in the solution overnight yielded much deeper colors.
• To make the color pop even more, rub a small amount of olive oil over the dry, colored shells.  This helps them to glisten and shine, enhancing the color.
• Both the dark blue and lighter blue (in the picture below) came from the same source.  The difference was the amount of time they soaked in the solution.
• Your choice to leave the solids in or remove them:  To achieve a mottled or marbled effect, leave the solids in the liquid.  For a more even coloring, remove the solids before adding the eggs.
• In my experimenting, blueberries and pomegranate juice didn’t produce the colors I thought they would, but your results may be different if you try them.
• Saffron is terribly expensive but I lucked out and found a large quantity at a kitchen store on closeout so you might want check around at stores like Home Goods, Marshall’s, Tuesday Morning, and TJ Maxx because you never know what you might find to experiment with!

Click here to learn how to cook your boiled eggs perfectly EVERY TIME!

Have fun with your experiments and Happy Easter!

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