How to Make Naturally Dyed Eggs for Easter

If you want to dye eggs but don’t care for the chemical-laden colorants commonly found in typical kits, you’re in luck. Our friends at Nellie’s Free Range teamed up with the genius DIY blog Five Marigolds to create gorgeous eggs using all-natural dyes that happen to look amazing on brown eggs. Here are the smart instructions from Five Marigolds:

Step 1

Start by choosing which colors you'd like to make, and stock up on the following ingredients for each natural dye color:

• Red or pink: 2 cups 100% pure beet juice
• Deep orange: 2 cups yellow onion skins
• Golden yellow: 2 tablespoons ground turmeric powder
• Teal: 2 cups chopped red cabbage
• Dark brown: 2 cups peeled red onion skins
• Plum or navy blue: 16 ounces frozen blueberries
• Shimmery grey: 2 cups 100% pure Concord grape juice

Step 2

Gather the kitchen tools you’ll need

• White vinegar
• Fine strainer (and optional cheesecloth)
• Reusable containers (pint-sized Mason jars work well)
• Medium or large pot (depending on dye batch size)

Step 3

Make the natural dyes

• These recipes make enough dye to color 2-3 eggs at once when using pint-sized Mason jars as your dye containers. If you’d like to dye more eggs at once, you can double or triple each recipe and use a larger container or pot to dye a big batch of Easter eggs together.
• For the juice-based dyes, purchase 100% pure juices from your store (you’ll need at least 2 cups of juice, and you want to look for ones with no additives!). Store juice in the fridge until ready for use.
• For the stove-top dyes, place your colorant ingredients (using the amount listed above), 2 cups water (see notes below), and 1 tablespoon white vinegar in a pot. Bring to a boil, turn heat down enough to maintain only a slow rolling boil for 30 minutes with the pot covered (see notes below), keeping the colorant fully submerged in the water throughout the cooking time. If you find your water is boiling below the level of the colorant, add just enough hot water to the pot to keep your colorant submerged through the full cook time. Let dye cool, then strain through a fine strainer (lined with a cheesecloth if available). Store finished dyes in the refrigerator until they are ready for use.
• Please note: the fumes from the turmeric dye can get pretty strong, so we recommend running your stove fan while it boils. For the frozen blueberry dye, use only 1 cup of water instead of two per 16 ounces of blueberries.

Step 4

What to know about natural dyes

All dyes should be stored in the refrigerator before and between use. You can also prepare your dyes ahead of time according to the specified shelf-life below:

• Red or pink (beet juice): refer to manufacturer's expiration date
• Deep orange (yellow onion skins): dye can be made up to 4 days in advance
• Golden yellow (turmeric): dye can be made up to 7 days in advance
• Teal (cabbage): dye can be made up to 4 days in advance
• Dark brown (red onion skins): dye can be made up to 4 days in advance
• Plum or navy blue (blueberries): dye can be made up to 4 days in advance
• Shimmery grey (grape juice): refer to manufacturer's expiration date

Step 5

Gather your egg-dying essentials. Here’s what you need:

• Nellie's Free Range Eggs, hard-boiled and chilled in an ice bath
• Chilled natural egg dyes (prepared ahead of time)
• Tall, skinny containers (we found pint-sized Mason jars work well)
• Large spoon, preferably slotted
• Paper towels or dish rags
• Wire cooling rack

Step 6

Dye those eggs!

• Line your dye containers up on the counter with paper towels or dish rags underneath them to catch any drips when removing the eggs.
• Using a large spoon, gently lower your desired number of eggs into the dye, ensuring that the whole shell is fully submerged.
• Allow the eggs to remain in the dye until your desired color level is achieved
• When your eggs have reached the desired color, use the spoon to remove the eggs from the dye containers. Gently blot the eggs dry with paper towels, and set on the cooling rack to dry completely.
• To store finished eggs, place them on a plate lined with paper towels. Eggs should be consumed within one week (please just be aware that natural dyes have a tendency to peel or change color over time).

Step 7

Important info about natural egg dyeing:

• The dyeing process can range from 30 minutes to overnight, but we found that the following times worked best. Please note: if dyeing any eggs for more than 2 hours or overnight, store them in the dye in the refrigerator rather at room temperature.
• Red or pink (beet juice): 1 hour 30 minutes
• Deep orange (yellow onion skins): 2 hours
• Golden yellow (turmeric): 1 hour 30 minutes
• Teal (red cabbage): 2 hours (note: this dye tends to change color after drying for a bit)
• Dark brown (red onion skins): 2 hours
• Plum or navy blue (frozen blueberries): 15-30 minutes for violet blue, overnight for deep navy blue
• Shimmery grey blue (100% Concord grape juice): 1 hour 30 minutes

Step 8

Tips for best results

• It’s helpful to check your eggs every 30 minutes or so to see how they're progressing in the dye to make sure you catch them when they’re at your favorite tone of each color.
• If you see any bubbling on the surface of the eggs as they’re sitting in the dye, don't worry! This just means that the acidity of your dye is beginning to break down the eggshell, which is common when using these types of dyes. Just remove the egg from the dye to keep the shell’s surface from peeling.
• If you find your eggshells have already started to peel, it’s no big deal! Simply rinse it off in cold water, then re-dye the egg (you’ll actually find with a lighter starting base your final color will be more vibrant). This may occur for certain colors more than others, depending on the acidity of your particular fruit, vegetables, or juices.
• If possible, do all your egg preparation (hard-boiling and cooling) and dyeing on the same day for the best results. To help move things along, you can prepare the dyes ahead of time according to the timelines suggested above.
• Natural egg dyes do tend to fade quickly, especially when the finished eggs are kept in the refrigerator so they’re still safe to eat. To ensure they maintain their vibrant color, we recommend dyeing them the day before, or the day of Easter Sunday.
• If you aren’t interested in eating your dyed eggs, you can seal the colors in by spraying the finished eggs with a glossy or matte acrylic craft varnish.