How to Make Natural Dyes for Easter Eggs

Dyeing Easter eggs with natural ingredients is a fun way to celebrate the holiday, turning a simple tradition into a hands-on creative project. Instead of relying on artificial dyes, you can achieve stunning colors using everyday kitchen staples—like red cabbage, turmeric, coffee, and onion skins. Kids will love the magic of watching eggs transform into rich blues, golden yellows, and warm oranges—all without synthetic dyes or chemicals. Read on to discover how to create beautifully unique eggs, each with its own organic pattern and color.

Methods for Natural Dyeing

There are two main ways to dye Easter eggs naturally. Both approaches workwell, though the cold-dipping method may be a better option if kids are helping.

Boiling Method: Our method involves boiling the eggs with natural easter egg dyes. With this method, heat allows the dye to saturate the shells, resulting in intense, more uniform color.

Cold-Dipping: An alternative, called the cold-dipping method, involves boiling the eggs and the ingredients for the dye separately. This produces subtle, translucent shades—but can result in uneven coloring unless the eggs are rotated vigilantly while in the dye. It is, however, a great (and safe) option for kids—and also allows you to create long-lasting keepsakes. For hollow eggs that will last indefinitely, cold-dip raw eggs, then blow them out after they are dyed.

Getting Started

To make our natural dyes, gather supplies from your pantry or fridge. Here's what you'll need:

• Red Cabbage Dye: 4 cups chopped red cabbage
• Turmeric Dye: 3 tablespoons turmeric
• Onion Skin Dye: 4 cups onion skins (skins from about 12 onions)
• Beet Dye: 4 cups chopped beets
• Coffee Dye: Use 1 quart strong black coffee in place of the water.

Color Glossary

Natural dyes can sometimes produce unexpected results, so don't be surprised if, for example, your red cabbage dye yields blue eggs. Use the following guide to help you achieve the colors you desire.

• Deep Gold: Boil eggs in turmeric solution, 30 minutes.
• Sienna: Boil eggs in onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.
• Dark Rich Brown: Boil eggs in black coffee, 30 minutes.
• Pale Yellow: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes.
• Orange: Soak eggs in room-temperature onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.
• Light Brown: Soak eggs in room-temperature black coffee, 30 minutes.
• Light Pink: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution, 30 minutes.
• Light Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution, 30 minutes.
• Royal Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution, overnight.
• Lavender: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution, 30 seconds.
• Chartreuse: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution, five seconds.
• Salmon: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.