The easiest way to dye eggs is using food colouring, that’s the method we are going to show you in our simple tutorial.
All you’ll need for this project is eggs, food colouring and vinegar.
What do you need for Easter egg coloring?
First things first you’ll need to prep your eggs. There’s two options, you can either hard boil your eggs, or you can blow the eggs (remove the egg so you’re left with an empty shell).
If you’re doing this activity with younger children it may be best to opt for hard-boiled eggs as they are less delicate than blowing eggs. With BBC Goodfood you can find out the best way to make perfect hard-boiled eggs.
If you’re opting for blowing eggs, we have a brilliant tutorial that you can follow. By blowing your eggs you can use the eggs for cooking or baking afterwards. It’s a straightforward method, and the dyed eggs can be kept for much longer than hard-boiled.
Whichever method you choose, the dyeing process is the same.
How to dye eggs with food colouring
What you’ll need
- Hollowed or hard-boiled eggs (white eggs work best)
- Food colouring of your choice
- A jar or cup per colour
- Water
- Vinegar
Step 1
In your jars or cups fill halfway with boiling water, a dash of vinegar and your 15 drops of food colouring.
Top tip: Don’t forget you can mix food colouring to create your favourite colours.
Step 2
Submerge your eggs in the mixture. You can use a spoon to push the egg into the water to ensure it is fully submerged.
Step 3
Wait around 10 minutes for your eggs to absorb the colour.
Top tip: Leave it less time if you want a lighter colour and leave longer if you want a deeper colour.
Step 4
Once you’re happy with the colour, remove the eggs from the water.
Place your eggs on a paper towel to completely dry (remember to turn it over so the other side can dry).
Step 5
Enjoy your brightly coloured Easter eggs!
Natural Easter egg dyes - alternatives to food colouring
If you’re all about natural colours you’re in luck! There’s many ways to dye eggs using natural colours.
Natural dye can be created from items you’ll likely have in your cupboard at home. From red onions to turmeric, there are loads of ways to colour your Easter eggs naturally.
Here’s our favourite ways:
1. Red onion skin to dye Easter eggs
Red onions have a bright pigmented colour to their skin so they are the perfect natural dye.
To release the dye from the skin it will need to be boiled first until your water is a deep red colour. Then you’ll add your eggs and leave them to absorb the colour. Omg Food has a brilliant tutorial on dyeing eggs with red onion skins – make sure to check it out.
2. Red cabbage to dye Easter eggs
Despite the colour of red cabbage, it will dye your Easter eggs a beautiful shade of blue. Soaking for longer in the mixture will lead to a more vibrant colour.
Make Life Lovely has shared a wonderful tutorial for creating a variety of blue-coloured Easter eggs using red cabbage.
3. Turmeric dyed Easter eggs
Turmeric is a deep yellow colour and so is ideal for dyeing eggs. Like other natural dyes, you can soak your eggs for more time for a richer colour, or less time for a pastel shade.
Eating Well shows us how to dye eggs using turmeric in their simple tutorial.
4. Beetroot dyed eggs
Beetroot will give your eggs a pretty pink colour. Design Mom has plenty of tricks and tips for dyeing with beetroot, including how much beetroot you need, and how long to soak your eggs to achieve your perfect shade of pink.
How to dye eggs with food colouring and create patterns
Now you know how to dye eggs, there’s space to be even more creative. If you want to add patterns and designs to your eggs you can do so in a variety of ways.
1. Wrap your egg with elastic bands
This works only with hard-boiled eggs as they are stronger. Wrap your eggs with elastic bands and, where the bands touch, the egg will not be dyed. This allows you to od layers of colour too!
This means you’ll be left with colourful stripey eggs. Kiwi Co has a brilliant tutorial for rubber band eggs.
2. Polka dot dyed eggs
This fab idea from Everyday Laura uses painter's tape and a hole punch to make polka dot dyed eggs! It’s a clever and easy way to add an extra touch to your Easter eggs.
3. Plaid dyed eggs
Creating plaid eggs is really simple with Watch Out For The Woestmans. You’ll need duct tape to create the criss-cross pattern, which is applied before soaking your eggs in colour.
Shaving cream eggs
That's right, you can use shaving cream to dye Easter eggs! It creates a beautiful marbled effect and is so much fun for kids. Martha Stewart has a brilliantly simple tutorial for creating them.
You don't need a lot of ingredients to do it either, shaving foam and food colouring will do the trick! mix it up, submerge your eggs and voila you have marbled eggs in a variety of lovely colours.
Discover how to dye eggs with our easy tutorial
Dyeing Easter eggs is so much fun for kids and adults! It’s an egg-citing way to keep the kids busy during the Easter holidays. Whether you choose to dye your eggs with food colouring or natural dyes, the outcome will be beautiful, bold Easter eggs!
Easter egg hunt ideas for more spring fun!
It’s not Easter without an Easter egg hunt! Get creative with your hunt this year with our round-up of Easter egg hunt ideas, from an amazing glow-in-the-dark nighttime egg hunt to an adventurous treasure map hunt.
