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Dye Eggs with Natural Ingredients Around the House

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by
Danielle Sanzone
• Published on
Colorful, naturally died eggs
Naturally Dyed Eggs
Forts Ferry Farm
The Local Feed

Use food scraps and other food items around the house to make a natural dye for eggs.

For this fun family activity, you can make orange eggs with yellow onion, blue eggs with blueberries or red cabbage, yellow with tumeric or carrots, grey with hibiscus tea, or pink with red beets.

Here's the base recipe from our friends at Forts Ferry Farm in Latham, NY.

  1. Combine roughly 3-4 cups of water with around 2-3 tablespoons white vinegar in a medium pot.
  2. Bring it to a boil, add your dye ingredients (listed under the image below) for your desired batch color, and lower the heat. Simmer for 45 minutes.
  3. Let cool with ingredients inside for a few hours, overnight, or even a week for a stronger dye.
  4. Once the batch is cooled, strain the contents from the dye. (if you want to make a stronger dye then let it sit unstrained for longer)
  5. Add your cooked eggs into the strained mixture and let soak for at least 1 hour in the liquid. For a more vibrant egg, or if using brown eggs, let it soak longer or overnight.
  6. When it reaches the desired color, carefully remove the eggs and gently pat dry with paper towels or air dry for a darker tone.

Natural Egg Dye Colors & Ingredients:

For Pinkish hues: use 4 cups of grated raw red beets

For Yellow hues: use 1 tablespoon of tumeric per cup of water OR one cup of chopped carrot/tops

For Greyish hues: use 1 heaping tablespoon of hibiscus tea per cup of water

For Light Blue hues: use 3 cups chopped red cabbage

For Darker Blue hues: use 4 cups of blueberries, fresh or frozen

For Orange hues: use one full yellow onion skin per cup of water

For Greenish hues: use 2 full red onion skins per one cup of water

Happy egg dying at home! Feel free to share your photos with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.