Natural Easter egg dyeing has become a family tradition in our household! This week will be our 5th year experimenting and practicing our techniques. We did a lot of research online and tried our own experiments to see what worked and what failed. It has taken us several years to figure out our best methods so I thought I’d share what we’ve learned so far!

*Warning: Before you commit, please note this is not a quick process, it does take some time and patience!

“Must have Ingredients”:

1. White vinegar – 2 Tbsp for each dye
2. Red cabbage – 4 cups chopped
3. Turmeric – 3 Tbsp
4. Brown onion skins – from ~ 10 onions
5. *Peeled Beets – 4 cups chopped

Natural Dye Colour: 

1. BLUE eggs = Red cabbage dye
2. YELLOW eggs = Turmeric dye
3. ORANGE eggs = Brown onion skin dye
4. GREEN eggs = Turmeric dye then red cabbage dye (double dip)
5. PINK eggs = *Beet dye

*Note: We have had mixed results with beet dye over the years. Sometimes it works and other times the eggs look pinkish-brownish. We are trying some different pink dyes this year so I will update this post if we find something that works better.

Directions: 

1.  Prepare each dye by mixing 4 cups of water with 2 Tbsp white vinegar in each pot. (If making all of the natural dye colours you will need 4 pots.)
2. Next place your dyeing agent in each pot and mix well.
3. Bring each dye to a boil and then simmer for ~30 minutes.
4. Strain the dye into bowls. (we just use recycled and washed yogurt containers) Let the dye cool before using (at least to room temperature).
5. Gently drop the precooked hardboiled eggs into the dyes with a spoon (we just do one at a time for best results).
6. For most colours it takes about 30 minutes in the dye. (Except for the green eggs: try turmeric for 30 minutes and then red cabbage for 10 minutes.)
7. Pull egg out of the dye but do not wipe. Place on a cooling rack with a paper towel underneath to dry.
8. Enjoy!

Additional Tips:

• We found it made no difference whether we cooked the eggs first by boiling them in water or cooking them by boiling them in the dye. Therefore, we just find it easier to boil them all first in water then dip them in the dye after.
• Don’t waste your time on a single green dye using spinach or parsley, etc. They don’t work!
• Don’t waste your time on a coffee dye – why would you spend time on this when you can just buy brown eggs?
• Berries like blueberries and raspberries did not work for us either.