Dyeing Easter eggs naturally is really easy and so much fun! 😀

Each Easter we dye Easter eggs with natural dyes. Over the years we’ve tried different vegetable dye materials: vegetables, herbs, teas etc. Onion skins and red cabbage produced the most vibrant colors. But this Easter I also wanted naturally dyed green, pink and yellow Easter eggs! 😀

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Difference Between Hot Method And Cold Method

Easter eggs can be dyed using the hot method or cold method.

Hot method: The eggs are cooked in the dye bath for 10 minutes. Then the eggs are removed from the dye.

Cold Method: Boiled eggs are soaked in the (cold) dye solution for some minutes or overnight.

How To Prepare Eggs For Dyeing

Wash the eggs with warm water and soap. For the cold method: Bring eggs to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

19 Ways How To Dye Easter Eggs Naturally

Light Blue

While it’s difficult to dye fabric blue with natural dyes, dyeing Easter eggs blue is very easy.

Red cabbage, cold method, white eggs:

• 1 cup red cabbage
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Bring red cabbage and water to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Strain out the red cabbage – use it for another recipe – add vinegar and boiled eggs. Let the eggs soak for about 5 hours in the dye.

Blue

Red cabbage, hot method, white eggs:

• about half a head of red cabbage, chopped
• enough water to cover the eggs
• 1-2 tbsp vinegar

Bring red cabbage and water to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain out the red cabbage – use it for another recipe – add vinegar and eggs and cook for another 10 minutes. Let the eggs soak overnight in the dye.

-> Tutorial: How To Naturally Dye Easter Eggs Blue With Red Cabbage

Turquoise

If you pour off the first red cabbage water, and simmer the red cabbage again with fresh water, the eggs will dye a greenish blue.

Red cabbage, hot method, white eggs:

• about half a head of red cabbage, chopped
• enough water to cover the eggs + 1 cup
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Bring red cabbage and water to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Pour off the dye, add 1 cup fresh water, bring it to a boil again and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain out the red cabbage – use it for another recipe – add vinegar and boiled eggs. Let the eggs soak for some hours or overnight in the dye.

Dark Blue

Easter eggs dyed with blueberry juice are purple at first, blue the next day, and turn brown after about two days.

Blueberry juice, cold method, white eggs:

• 1 cup blueberry juice
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Let the eggs soak for about 1.5 – 2 hours in the dye solution.

Red cabbage, hot method, brown eggs:

• about half a head of red cabbage, chopped
• enough water to cover the eggs
• 1-2 tbsp vinegar

Bring red cabbage and water to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain out the red cabbage – use it for another recipe – add vinegar and eggs and cook for another 10 minutes. Let the eggs soak overnight in the dye.

Hibiscus tea, cold methot, brown or white eggs:

• 1/2 cup of hibiscus tea
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Pour boiling water over the tea, steep for 15 minutes. Strain out the tea and add vinegar. Let white eggs soak for 15 minutes for blue eggs, let brown or white eggs soak for 2.5 hours for dark blue eggs.

Spring Green

Green is very difficult to dye naturally. I tried to dye Easter eggs green with spinach, stinging nettle, grass … – but all didn’t work. This Easter I thought why not overdye yellow eggs with blue – and it worked! Yay! 😀

Turmeric + red cabbage, cold method, white eggs:

Dye eggs yellow in yellow turmeric dye below. When the eggs are dry, let the eggs soak in the blue red cabbage dye for about 2 hours.

Grey Green:

Red cabbage, cold method, brown eggs:

• 1 cup red cabbage
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Bring red cabbage and water to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Strain out the red cabbage – use it for another recipe – add vinegar and boiled eggs. Let the eggs soak for about 5 hours in the dye.

Olive Green:

Turmeric + red cabbage, cold method, brown eggs:

Dye eggs yellow in yellow turmeric dye below. When the eggs are dry, let the eggs soak in the blue red cabbage dye for about 2 hours.

Yellow

Dandelion flowers, hot method, white eggs:

• 1 cup water
• 20 dandelion flowers

Bring dandelion flowers and water to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Add the eggs and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the eggs from the dye.

Carrot tops, hot method, white eggs:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chopped carrot tops

Bring carrot tops and water to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Add the eggs and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the eggs from the dye.

Turmeric, cold method, white eggs:

• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Let the eggs soak overnight.

Orange

Onion skins, hot method, white eggs:

• 1/2 cup red or brown onion skins
• enough water to cover the eggs

Bring water and onion skins to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Add the eggs and cook for another 10 minutes.

-> Tutorial: How To Naturally Dye Easter Eggs Orange Brown With Onion Skins

Turmeric, cold method, brown eggs:

• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Let the eggs soak overnight.

Red

Onion skins, hot method, brown eggs:

• 1/2 cup red or brown onion skins
• enough water to cover the eggs

Bring water and onion skins to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Add the eggs and cook for another 10 minutes. Optional: For a deeper color, let the eggs soak overnight in the dye.

Pink

I’ve seen beautiful pink Easter eggs naturally dyed with beetroot on the internet. So I tried to dye eggs with boiled beetroot, raw beetroot, with and without vinegar or salt – but all was just brown or brownish pink. I also tried to overdye brownish pink beetroot dyed eggs and red onion skin dyed eggs with natural blue and purple dyes but nothing dyed the egg pink. I think the egg shell is too alkaline: so it’s easy to dye Easter eggs blue, but it’s not possible to naturally dye Easter eggs a true red or pink. Below you’ll find the beetroot dye which produced the best color.

Beetroot, cold method, brown or white eggs:

• 1 grated beetroot
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp vinegar

Strain the raw beetroot through a sieve, add water, vinegar and eggs. Allow eggs to soak overnight.

Purple

Grape juice + baking powder makes sparkling Easter eggs – they look like glittering jewels! 😀

Grape juice, cold method, white eggs:

• 1 cup red grape juice
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

Let the eggs soak overnight.

Dark Purple

Cranberry juice dyes eggs a dark purple, but the color rubs off and because cranberry juice is so acidic it eats away the shell!

Cranberry juice, cold method, white eggs:

• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 1 tbsp vinegar

Let the eggs soak for some hours or overnight.

The Best Natural Easter Eggs Dyes

So it’s possible to dye Easter eggs with natural dyes in all colors of the rainbow! 😀 My favorite colors are grape juice (cold method, white egg), red cabbage (hot & cold method, white & brown eggs), hibiscus tea (cold method, white & brown eggs), turmeric overdyed with red cabbage (cold method, white & brown eggs), turmeric (cold method, white & brown eggs) and onion skins (hot method, white & brown eggs).

Naturally Dyed Speckled Easter Eggs

You can also make naturally dyed speckled robin eggs! 😀

-> Tutorial: How to make naturally dyed speckled Easter eggs