How to Make Natural Easter Egg Dyes: 20+ Recipes

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Did you know that you don’t have to buy egg coloring kits filled with artificial colors from the supermarket for Easter? You don’t even need food coloring … You can make your own natural Easter egg dyes with common natural ingredients from your pantry!

How to Dye Easter Eggs Naturally

With these natural egg dyes, you can create muted colors all the way to bright vibrant natural colors. You can change the result easily by altering the water:dye ingredient ratio and the soak time.

Notes for using Natural Dyes

Leave the eggs in the dye for 3 hours minimum for lighter colors and overnight for brighter or deeper colors.
Don’t forget the vinegar or the colors won’t set.
You can use white eggs or brown eggs, but you will see more vibrant colors with white eggs.
Use hard boiled eggs. If you use uncooked eggs, you will end up with a mess of egg yolk once your kids get their hands on them.
Let the eggs dry on a paper towel before wiping them off or touching them. The natural dyes wipe off pretty easily when they are still wet.

The Best Natural Easter Egg Dyes

Natural Green Easter Egg Dye

Easter eggs can be dyed green with spinach juice, matcha powder, lavender tea, or a mix of natural yellow and blue dyes.

Spinach

Place one cup of spinach in a sauce pan with 2-4 cups of water and boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain the juice into a wide mouth pint jar (¾ full).
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar
Soak eggs overnight.

Matcha Powder

Boil matcha powder in water until all the powder is dissolved. More matcha=brighter green.
Fill a wide mouth jar ¾ full of the matcha tea
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar
Allow to cool and dip the eggs.
Leave the eggs in the tea overnight for the brightest green.

>>Buy Matcha here<<

Lavender Tea

Boil 2 TBSP dried lavender flowers in one cup of water.
Add the lavender tea to a wide mouth pint jar
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar.
Allow to cool, dip your eggs, and leave overnight.

>>Get Lavender flowers here<<

Yellow + Blue Dyes

Dip your eggs into a natural yellow dye and then into a natural blue dye to make green.

Cardboard carton with 10 naturally dyed eggs. Labeled with Cranberry Juice, Beet, Turmeric, Red Cabbage, Red Wine, Coffee, Elderberry Tea, Grape Juice

Natural Brown Easter Egg Dye

Easter eggs can be dyed brown with coffee or strong tea.

Black Coffee

Brew a cup or two of strong coffee.
Fill a wide mouth jar ¾ full with the brewed coffee
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar
Allow to cool and dip your egg

The longer you leave the egg, the deeper the color will be.

Breakfast Tea

Brew a cup of strong breakfast Tea.
Fill a wide mouth jar ¾ full of tea
Add 1 TBSP vinegar
Allow to cool and dip one egg.

Natural Dye made with Breakfast Tea will typically make a lighter brown egg than the coffee dipped eggs.

>>Get breakfast tea here<<

Natural Purple Easter Egg Dye

Elderberry Tea, Grape Juice, and red wine can be used to dye Easter eggs purple.

Elderberry Tea

Fill wide mouth pint jars ¾ full with elderberry tea and 1 TBSP white vinegar
Dip your eggs.
Elderberry Tea can dye eggs a range of purple from light to deep depending on how concentrated the tea is and how long you soak the eggs.

I make my elderberry tea with the spent berries left after making elderberry syrup.

>>Find elderberries at Farmhouse Teas and Mountain Rose Herbs.<<

Grape Juice

Fill a wide mouth pint jar ¾ full of grape juice and 1 TBSP white vinegar.
Dip your eggs to make a soft lavender color.

Red Wine

Pour red wine in a wide mouth pint jar (¾ full)
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar.

Red Wine dyes eggs a deeper purple… Almost black.

Natural Yellow Easter Egg Dye

Turmeric is the best natural dye for yellow eggs, but certain teas can also be used.

Turmeric / Turmeric Tea

Boil 1-2 TBSP Turmeric powder in 4 cups of water.
Fill a wide mouth jar ¾ full with the turmeric water
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar
Allow to cool and dip one egg in. This will make a bright yellow.

You could also try this with Golden Turmeric Spice Tea!

>>Get Turmeric here<<

>>Get Turmeric Spice Tea here<<

Chamomile Tea

Boil 2 TBSP dried chamomile in 1 cup of water.
Add the chamomile tea to a wide mouth pint jar
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar
Allow to cool and dip the eggs.
Leave the eggs overnight (works best in the fridge) and remove them from the tea the next day.

>>Get Chamomile Tea here<<

Calendula Tea

Calendula makes a pale yellow egg dye.
Boil ¼ cup dried flowers in 1 cup of water.
Add the tea to a wide mouth pint jar and stir in 1 TBSP white vinegar.
Allow to cool and dip the eggs.
Leave the eggs in the dye jar overnight in the fridge to develop color.

>>Get Calendula flowers and powder here<<

Natural Pink Easter Egg Dye

Beets are the most common natural ingredient for pink eggs, but cranberry juice works as well!

Cranberry Juice

Fill a wide mouth jar ¾ full of cranberry juice
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar.
Dip an egg in the juice
Leave the egg for 15 minutes-24 hours depending on how dark you want the color to be.

Red Beets

Peel and slice 3-4 red beets and boil them in 4 cups of water.
Add more water if needed. Just be sure that there is enough water to cover the beets, but not so much that the color will be diluted.
Once the water is a deep red (15-30 minutes), pour it up into wide mouth pint jars ¾ full.
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar to each jar
Allow to cool and dip your eggs.

Natural Red Easter Egg Dye

Red Onion Skins

Collect onion skins from 6 red onions.
Boil them in 1 ½ cups water for 15-30 minutes until the color is where you want it.
Strain the dye and pour it into a wide mouth pint jar.
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar
Allow to cool and dip your eggs.

You can even wrap the eggs with onion skins to create a design!

Natural Orange Easter Egg Dye

Orange eggs can be made from dry onion skins and certain teas.

Yellow Onion Skins

Collect onion skins from 6 onions.
Boil them in 1 ½ cups water for 15-30 minutes.
Strain the dye and pour it into a wide mouth pint jar.
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar
Allow to cool and dip your eggs.

You can even wrap the eggs with onion skins to create a design!

Rooibos Tea

Brew a couple cups of strong rooibos tea.
Pour it into wide mouth pint jars (¾ full)
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar to each jar.
All to cool and dip your eggs

Enjoy the burnt orange color that the tea leaves.

>>Get Rooibos Tea here<<

Natural Blue Easter Egg Dye

For blue eggs you can use blueberries, cabbage, or wild violets.

Blueberries

Boil 2 cups of mashed blueberries into 2 cups of water.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain the dye and add it to a wide mouth pint jar.
Allow to cool and dip the eggs.

Red Cabbage / Purple Cabbage

Chop up a head of red cabbage
Boil the cabbage in water (just enough water to cover the cabbage) for 15-30 minutes until the water color is saturated.
Strain and pour the dyed water into wide mouth pint jars ¾ full.
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar to each jar
Allow to cool and dip your eggs.

Violet Blossoms

Make a tea with wild violet blossoms by boiling 2 cups of blossoms in 4 cups of water.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain the tea and add it to wide mouth pint jars.
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar to each jar.
Allow the tea to cool and dip the eggs.
Leave the eggs in the tea overnight for best results.

Natural Black Easter Egg Dye

Activated Charcoal

Boil ⅓ cup activated charcoal in 3 cups of water.
Once it reaches a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pour the dyed water into wide mouth pint jars (¾ full).
Add 1 TBSP white vinegar to each jar and dip the eggs.
Leave the eggs in the dye jar in the fridge overnight.

Natural Easter Egg Decorations and Designs

Kitchen Twine

Wrap eggs with twine before adding them to the natural dye bath. Remove the twine after soaking in dye to reveal a fun design.

Twine wrapped around a hard boiled egg before dying to create a design

Tape

Stick tape around the eggs before dipping them into the natural egg dyes. Remove the tape after soaking to reveal your design.

Rubber Bands

Wrap rubber bands around eggs before dipping them in natural dye.

Rubber band placed around a hard boiled egg to create a design when dying

Herbs and Flowers

Dip your eggs in water and stick herbs and/or flowers to them. Wrap the eggs tightly with pantyhose to keep the flowers in place. Remove the pantyhose and herbs/flowers after dying to reveal the leaf patterns on the egg.