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This Natural Easter Egg Dye is a fun and natural way to dye Easter eggs using all food items. No need to use food coloring or artificial dyes made with harmful chemicals. Instead, we use food items such as turmeric, red cabbage, and beets. This process is both fun and educational for kids as it doubles as a cool science project. Such a great way for the whole family to participate in this traditional Easter activity.
Natural Easter Egg Dye
We all know how fun dyeing eggs for Easter is. It makes a big part of this Holiday and it’s a traditional activity all the kids love to participate in. There are many ways on how to dye Easter eggs. Most of which involve using food coloring or other dyes that contain countless of chemicals.
This Natural Easter Egg Dye is a much safer way to coloring Easter eggs. This method uses all food and pantry items that you may already have on hand. Plus, it doubles as a fun and educational project the whole family can participate in. In this process, we use a few items to make 3 base colors; red, yellow, and purple. These colors are then combined to make more colors. Your kids will love this activity and it will become your go-to way to coloring your eggs and give them those vibrant and bright colors.
What you need to make Natural Easter Egg Dye:
Ingredients:
- White Eggs
- Distilled White Vinegar
- Beets
- Ground Turmeric
- Turmeric Root
- Red Cabbage
- Baking Soda
- Water
- Ice
Equipment:
- Small-Medium Pot
- Large Pot
- Strainer
- Mixing Bowls
- 12 Pint (16 oz) Mason Jars
How to make Natural Easter Egg Dye:
1. Hard Boil Eggs:
- Place 12 large white eggs in a large pot. Fill pot up with enough water to cover eggs. Place pot on stovetop and turn heat on high. Bring water to a boil and boil eggs for 12 minutes.
- Fill up a large bowl with ice and water. Once eggs are done boiling, drain and place eggs in ice water. This will stop the cooking process and cool eggs down. Let eggs sit in ice water while you prepare the colors.
2. Make 3 base colors:
We are starting off with making 3 base colors to dye the eggs, red, yellow and purple. From here we will then make more colors.
Red Dye:
- Peel beets and place in a small pot. Fill up with 4 cups of water and place on stovetop. Turn heat on high and bring to a boil. Allow beets to boil for 5-8 minutes. The longer the better as more red juice will be released resulting in brighter red eggs. However, I wouldn’t boil the beets more than 10 minutes as the water will start to evaporate decreasing it’s volume. Turn heat off and let beets sit in water as it cools-off.
- Drain beets over a large bowl making sure all the red water is poured into it. Stir in distilled vinegar making sure it is well mixed in with the juice. Set aside.
Yellow Dye:
- Pour 4 cups of water in a small pot. Place on stovetop on high heat. Add turmeric root and ground turmeric stirring the water. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 5-8 minutes. Again, the longer the better, but keep in mind no more than 10 minutes. Turn heat off and let water it sit until it cools-off.
- Strain water into a large bowl. Add distilled white vinegar mixing well with the yellow water. Set aside along with red water.
Purple Dye:
- Place shredded red cabbage in a large pot and fill up with 8 cups of water. Place on stovetop on high heat and bring to a boil. Allow cabbage to boil for 10-12 minutes. Turn heat off and let cabbage sit in water as it cools-off.
- Place a strainer over a large bowl and strain cabbage into it. Make sure all the water gets into the bowl. Stir in white vinegar into purple water. Set aside along with red and yellow waters.
3. Make more colors:
Blue Dye:
Measure 2 cups of the purple water and stir in 2 tsp baking soda. As you stir the water you will notice it will turn blue. Set aside.
Green Dye:
Measure 1 cup of blue water and 1 cup of yellow water. Mix together in a bowl and it will turn into green. Set aside.
Orange Dye:
Measure 1 cup of yellow water and 1 cup of red water. Mix together and it will turn into orange. Set aside.
Assembling eggs:
- Take 6 mason jars that are at least 12 pints (16 oz) and line them up along a flat surface such as the kitchen counter or table.
- Place two boiled eggs into each mason jar.
- Pour about 2 cups of each colored water into each one of them. Make sure it’s enough water to completely cover eggs but don’t overfill mason jars.
- Tightly seal mason jars and place in the fridge. Refrigerate overnight for best results.
- The next day, remove mason jars from the fridge. Place some towels or paper towels on kitchen counter or table.
- Drain each jar carefully and remove all the eggs. Gently place each egg over the towel or paper towel and allow eggs to air dry. Do not pat dry because this will make the colors dull or remove them from the eggs.
- Use the eggs as desired for your Easter festivities! Enjoy!
Why is vinegar used in dyeing eggs?
This is the part where essentially the science portion of this project comes in. Vinegar is acidic and contains about 3%-5% acetic acid. Eggs are made out of calcium carbonate. The calcium on the egg shell reacts with the acid in the vinegar which makes carbon dioxide. What this all means in lamest terms, is that the acid in the vinegar makes the coloring more binding. Which makes it adhere to the eggs creating vibrant and bright colored eggs.
Tips for making Natural Easter Egg Dye:
- Submerge eggs in cold water after boiling- You want the eggs to cool-down as soon as they are done boiling. This will stop the cooking process and prevent eggs from overcooking. If the eggs overcook the shell is more likely to crack while coloring. Also, for safety reasons its best if kids are not handling hot eggs.
- Don’t over boil water- It will start to evaporate, decreasing the volume of water there is which then won’t give you enough colored water to submerge eggs and/or mix with other colors.
- Submerge eggs completely in colored water- Make sure the eggs are entirely covered by the dye so they’re completely colored.
- Keep eggs refrigerated while they are dying- They can overcook while in the colored water. So keep them in the fridge to prevent this from happening.
- Keep eggs in the colored water overnight- The longer they stay in the dye, the more vibrant and bright colored the eggs will get.
- Allow eggs to air dry- Do not pat dry because this will make the colors dull or remove them from the eggs.
Did you like this guide for Natural Easter Egg Dye? You may also like these other fun Easter favorites:
Natural Easter Egg Dye
This Natural Easter Egg Dye is a fun and natural way to dye Easter eggs using all food items. No need to use food coloring or artificial dyes made with harmful chemicals. Instead, we use food items such as turmeric, red cabbage, and beets. This process is both fun and educational for kids as it doubles as a cool science project. Such a great way for the whole family to participate in this traditional Easter activity.
Ingredients
- 12 large white eggs
- ice
Red Dye
- 3 small beets
- 4 cups water
- 4 tsp distilled white vinegar
Yellow Dye
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1 inch turmeric root (peeled)
- 4 cups water
- 4 tsp distilled white vinegar
Purple Dye
- 4 cups shredded red cabbage
- 8 cups water
- 3 tbsp distilled white vinegar
Instructions
Hard Boil Eggs:
-
Place 12 large white eggs in a large pot. Fill pot up with enough water to cover eggs. Place pot on stovetop and turn heat on high. Bring water to a boil and boil eggs for 12 minutes.
-
Fill up a large bowl with ice and water. Once eggs are done boiling, drain and place eggs in ice water. This will stop the cooking process and cool eggs down. Let eggs sit in ice water while you prepare the colors.
Make 3 base colors:
-
We are starting off with making 3 base colors to dye the eggs; red, yellow and purple. From here we will then make more colors.
Red Dye:
-
Peel beets and place in a small pot. Fill up with 4 cups of water and place on stovetop. Turn heat on high and bring to a boil. Allow beets to boil for 5-8 minutes. The longer the better as more red juice will be released resulting in brighter red eggs. However, I wouldn't boil the beets more than 10 minutes as the water will start to evaporate decreasing it's volume. Turn heat off and let beets sit in water as it cools-off.
-
Drain beets over a large bowl making sure all the red water is poured into it. Stir in distilled vinegar making sure it is well mixed in with the juice. Set aside.
Yellow Dye:
-
Pour 4 cups of water in a small pot. Place on stovetop on high heat. Add turmeric root and ground turmeric stirring the water. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 5-8 minutes. Again, the longer the better, but keep in mind no more than 10 minutes. Turn heat off and let water it sit until it cools-off.
-
Strain water into a large bowl. Add distilled white vinegar mixing well with the yellow water. Set aside along with red water.
Purple Dye:
-
Place shredded red cabbage in a large pot and fill up with 8 cups of water. Place on stovetop on high heat and bring to a boil. Allow cabbage to boil for 10-12 minutes. Turn heat off and let cabbage sit in water as it cools-off.
-
Place a strainer over a large bowl and strain cabbage into it. Make sure all the water gets into the bowl. Stir in white vinegar into purple water. Set aside along with red and yellow waters.
Make more colors:
Blue Dye:
-
Measure 2 cups of the purple water and stir in 2 tsp baking soda. As you stir the water you will notice it will turn blue. Set aside.
Green Dye:
-
Measure 1 cup of blue water and 1 cup of yellow water. Mix together in a bowl and it will turn into green. Set aside.
Orange Dye:
-
Measure 1 cup of yellow water and 1 cup of red water. Mix together and it will turn into orange. Set aside.
Assembling eggs:
-
Take 6 mason jars that are at least 12 pints (16 oz) and line them up along a flat surface such as the kitchen counter or table.
-
Place two boiled eggs into each mason jar.
-
Pour about 2 cups of each colored water into each one of them. Make sure it's enough water to completely cover eggs but don't overfill mason jars.
-
Tightly seal mason jars and place in the fridge. Refrigerate overnight for best results.
-
The next day, remove mason jars from the fridge. Place some towels or paper towels on kitchen counter or table.
-
Drain each jar carefully and remove all the eggs. Gently place each egg over the towel or paper towel and allow eggs to air dry. Do not pat dry because this will make the colors dull or remove them from the eggs.
-
Use the eggs as desired for your Easter festivities! Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips for making Natural Easter Egg Dye:
-
- Submerge eggs in cold water after boiling- You want the eggs to cool-down as soon as they are done boiling. This will stop the cooking process and prevent eggs from overcooking. If the eggs overcook the shell is more likely to crack while coloring. Also, for safety reasons its best if kids are not handling hot eggs.
- Don’t over boil water- It will start to evaporate, decreasing the volume of water there is which then won’t give you enough colored water to submerge eggs and/or mix with other colors.
- Submerge eggs completely in colored water- Make sure the eggs are entirely covered by the dye so they’re completely colored.
- Keep eggs refrigerated while they are dying- They can overcook while in the colored water. So keep them in the fridge to prevent this from happening.
- Keep eggs in the colored water overnight- The longer they stay in the dye, the more vibrant and bright colored the eggs will get.
- Allow eggs to air dry- Do not pat dry because this will make the colors dull or remove them from the eggs.
**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links and sponsored content. All the opinions are my own and I only recommend products I use in my own home with my own family.
