Okay, I haven’t done this myself, yet. I really want to try it this year. We have company coming in tonight and I’m not sure I will get a chance.
But… I wanted to share these recipes in case you want to try it! I promise to share pictures if I get to it!
Boil eggs the usual way…. place raw, white eggs in a single layer in a pan. Cover with cold water. Add a little more than a teaspoon of white vinegar. Add the natural “ingredients” for the color you want your eggs to be.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
If you like the color, pour off the hot dye liquid and rinse the eggs immediately in cold water to stop the eggs from cooking. Continue to change the water until it stays cool in the pot because the eggs are no longer releasing heat. Drain and allow eggs to cool in the refrigerator.
If not, cool eggs and cover in dyed water in the fridge. You don’t want the eggs to continue to cook.
So – how do you get the colors?
- Red – Pink — lots of red onion skins, cranberry juice, or frozen raspberries.
- Orange — Yellow onion skins
- Brown — Red beet skins or grape juice (produces a beautiful sparkling tan), coffee.
- Yellow — Saffron, tumeric or cumin, orange or lemon peels, or celery seed.
- Green — spinach, or carrot tops and peels from Yellow Delicious apples for a yellow-green.
- Blue — Red cabbage leaves make the most incredible robin’s-egg blue.
- Deep Purple — Red wine makes a beautiful burgundy color
Another idea that sounds neat is making a cracked eggs with tea.
You’ll need eggs, 1 1/2 tablespoons of black tea leaves, 8 cups of water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Place eggs in a large pan covered with water. Bring water to a gentle boil. Boil for 10 to 12 minutes. When the eggs are cooked, gently lift the eggs out of the pan and place them under cold running water for 2 minutes.
When eggs are cold, gently crack the eggshells all over by rolling them on a paper towel. NOTE: Do not allow the shells to detach from the eggs.
In a large pan, add black tea leaves, water, and salt. Place the cooked eggs into the pan. NOTE: If needed, add additional water to cover them. Bring water slowly to a boil; then cover the pan, turn off the heat, and allow the eggs to simmer for one hour.
Remove from heat and let the eggs cool in the liquid. When cool, drain and wrap the eggs in plastic wrap or a sealed plastic bag. Store in refrigerator.
Remove the shells just prior to serving. Eggs will have a marbleized appearance
Info and pictures from BHG.com, Allfreecrafts.com and Squidoo.com
Sounds like a great natural way to dye eggs. I’ve never tried this way before.
I have searched up ways to color eggs naturally this year too.
How cool! I’ll have to do this with my kids. I love that you can dye them naturally.
I love the colors the natural dye makes!
I’d love to try this, thanks!
We don’t do colored eggs (or boiled eggs for that matter) but it is so cool to know that you can do them with juices and tea!
I’m definitely going to try this, thanks!
Great ideas!
This looks like soooo much fun!
Wow! I never even thought of doing it naturally.
I was brainstorming (several weeks ago) ways to do naturally dyed eggs — great tips!
such a great idea thanks for all the suggestions
So fun!
I love the naturally coloured eggs. They are so pretty.
I love the idea of natural dye, especially since we eat them after!
I plan on on natural dyes when our sweet baby is older.
Cool tips, thank you so much! (natural is always better!)
Cool suggestions. I’ve always just used food coloring.
I like the effect the tea gives them, and I never would have thought the onions would give an orange color.
Wow I love this idea!
I think those are even prettier than the fake dyes.
Oh the tea ones are pretty cool!!
Wow, I had never considered dyeing the actual eggs! What a fantastic idea!
The colors are just gorgeous.
I love the natural coloring tips- and those tea eggs look awesome but I would fail miserably at that. 🙂 I may have to try the natural coloring next year though!
I really like the look of those cracked eggs. Will definitely have to consider making some next Easter.
Love this idea!
How awesome and a great way to use items you already have at home without the worry of artificial dyes.
I have done this before and it is lots of fun!
If I color eggs, this will be the only way I do it from now on. Thanks for sharing!
The only time I use food coloring is if I don’t plan on eating them. This is a great way to teach kids about colors and mixing them to make new shades. Love it!