DIY Eco-Friendly Easter Egg Dye

After last years Easter extravaganza, (my niece said, “this is what it’s like when Easter gets extreme.”), I decided that this year, we would do things a little differently (read: scaled down). We are celebrating with just my parents and brother, at our house, no nieces and nephews, so we get to call the shots, making it a little easier to do it our way. And, since this is the first Easter when our little guy is running around and really appreciating things, we want to do start the fun traditions and do an egg hunt and a basket. I also wanted to let him “help” dye the eggs, so the dyes needed to be nontoxic and completely edible (if you know anything about toddlers, you understand why). I thought the Eco-Kids all natural, organic dye that I ordered might not get here on time, so I decided to try a little DIY Eco-Friendly Easter Egg Dye.

Side note: The Eco-kids egg kit did get here on time- and we will use it tomorrow night, with the grandparents. I’ll take a few pictures when we do. And if the dye is anywhere near as amazing as the finger paint, play-doh, and sea crayons, I am going to love it. But, back to the point…

I did a little Googling, and decided on magenta (beets), blue (red cabbage), and yellow (turmeric). I originally thought I would use some greens for green, and carrots for orange/yellow. I also thought I would use coffee for brown, and red wine for purple, but I realized I was getting carried away. So, I organized my supplies (the colors above, and white vinegar and salt), and got to chopping.

I treated my diy egg dye like I do most of my cooking and projects, unscientifically. For more precise instructions, and some really great color ideas, take a look at Martha Stewart.

But, if you want the quick version, follow my “instructions”…

1. Chop up the veggies.
2. Cover them in water
3. Put in two tablespoons of vinegar and two tablespoons of salt
4. Boil the water.
5. Once it is boiling, turn the stove down to simmer.
6. Walk away. The dye needs to simmer for about a half hour. I kept wanting to see the difference, and kept checking it. I should have walked away.
7.  Strain out the solids and empty the liquid into a glass container. I read mason jars somewhere, but I used our Pyrex containers because they are much shallower and I thought it would be easier to maneuver.
8. Submerge your eggs, and again, walk away. I checked the eggs about 15 times in 30 minutes. For the first round of eggs, I let them sit for about a half an hour, but the second round, I left them overnight. Not a huge difference, except for the blue.

For the yellow, I put about 2 tablespoons of turmeric in about 2 cups of water, and added the same amount of salt and vinegar, and did exactly the same thing as the veggies. 2 tablespoons was too much, as I had a lot of sediment on the bottom of the container and on the eggs (you can see the texture in the picture). We also had a little leftover cheap red wine, and some cold coffee, so I submerged a few eggs into those also, because why not?

We had both brown and white eggs, which made for a few interesting color combinations. I really like the golden hue that the brown egg in turmeric.

I love the way the yellow and blue turned out, but I was a little disappointed by the “magenta.” It ended up looking like an earthy pink, beautiful still, but not quite the vibrant color I was hoping (especially considering the color it dyed the shirt I was wearing!). Maybe if I had been more precise they would have turned out better. But, all in all, I think they look lovely, and would make a really beautiful soft spring toned tablescape. Maybe I’ll host brunch next year!

But, our Buggy loves them, and I felt great letting him drop the eggs in, and splash around a little. We did this as an outdoor activity, in just his diaper, so he was free to make as big of a mess as he wanted. And when he ended up with dye on his face, hands, and in his mouth, I was not at all bothered. The colors might not be the vibrant hues that older kids are used to, but I think they are lovely and will do it again. And, as opposed to last year’s “extreme” Easter, I already feel better about our more sustainable holiday.

Have you tried any food based dyes? How did they turn out?