It’s almost EASTER WEEK! Which means it’s time to dye those eggs for your Easter egg hunt. Our chickens give us plenty of color and variety as it is, but I do love trying out different natural dyes – we spent a full 2 days last week experimenting with lots of different vegetables, fruits, spices, and teas… it was so much fun! We also used my favorite Ukranian powdered dyes. I look forward to the super vibrant colors every year. I linked my favorite ones at the end of this blog post.

Creating Your Own Natural Dyes

I’ve researched a lot of methods for natural egg dyes and tried a few different processes over the years. I’ve found that the key to rich colors is leaving them in the solutions to soak overnight. Vinegar is important in the right quantity to keep the color sticking, but not bubbling up dye on the surface. Some are better boiled and some sit in cold water.

It’s a fun experiment (especially with kids!) because they produce these rich, natural colors, and some you wouldn’t expect! For example, RED cabbage boiled in water will produce a beautiful BLUE hue on eggs. Probably my favorite discovery this year was using activated charcoal. I LOVE a black egg. We broke apart the capsules and dumped out the powder – but the capsule might dissolve in the boiling water on their own – we’ll have to try that out next year!

This year was the first time we wrapped the hard boiled eggs in yellow and purple onion skins (use a rubber band or hair tie to secure). They turned out to be some of my favorites, producing this gorgeous marbled design.

We used everything from red beets, turmeric, blueberries, carrots & cayenne, orange peels, avocado pits, coffee, tea, black beans, spinach, raspberries, and pomegranate juice. The spinach and avocado pits were a flop for us – we’ll have to try a few more methods! Here’s a little breakdown of how the rest turned out.

YELLOW - GOLD - LIGHT GREEN

Turmeric : Stir 2 tablespoons turmeric into 1 cup boiling water ; add 2 teaspoons white vinegar. Add eggs and soak overnight.

Hibiscus Tea : Steep 4 bags of hibiscus or chamomile tea in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes; add eggs and soak overnight.

Celery Seed : Add a few tablespoons of celery seeds to 1 cup of boiling water; add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar. Add eggs and soak overnight.

RED - ORANGE - BROWN

Yellow & Purple Onion Peels : Take the skin from 6 onions and simmer in 2 cups of water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 teaspoons of white vinegar. Add eggs and soak overnight. For a marbling affect, wrap your eggs in onion skins.

Carrots & Cayenne : Simmer 4 oz. chopped carrots in 1.5 cups water. Add 2 tablespoons of cayenne and simmer for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 teaspoons white vinegar. Add eggs and soak overnight.

Orange Peels : Simmer the peels of 6 oranges in 1.5 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar. Add eggs and soak overnight.

Pomegranate Juice : Mix 1 cup of pomegranate juice with 1 cup of water. Boil and add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar. Add eggs and soak overnight.

Red Zinger Tea : Steep 4 bags of Red Zinger tea in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes; add eggs and soak overnight.

Beets : Chop 2 beets and add them to 1 quart boiling water. Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar. Add eggs and soak overnight.

BLUE - PURPLE - BLACK - GRAY

Red Cabbage : Cut 1/4 cup of red cabbage into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water.

Blueberries : Boil 1 cup of blueberries in 4 cups of water. Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar; strain. Add eggs and soak overnight.

Coffee : Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 cup strong coffee. Soak eggs overnight.

Activated Charcoal : Boil 3 cups of water. Add 1/3 cup charcoal and dissolve. Add 2 tablespoons white vinegar. Add eggs and soak for 8-24 hours.

Black Beans : Soak black beans in water before you cook them. Drain beans. Add eggs to leftover water and soak overnight.

Ukranian Dyes

Natural dyes are beautiful, but lots of work – in my family, we’ve always loved deep dark hues for our Easter Eggs and found the best, quickest, easiest results with Ukrainian Egg Dyes!

These are traditionally used for the intricate style of egg decorating using hot wax and lots of layers called “Pansky Eggs.”

We’ve used the wax kits to decorate eggs in layers too and it’s lots of fun! Takes some practice – but you can also just use the dyes for super saturated, gorgeous colors.

*They say these dyes aren’t food-safe – but the eggs are great for decor and egg hunts! As long as the shell doesn’t crack, we always grew up eating the eggs inside anyway. If you’re looking for a food-safe option, these Ann Clark Professional-Grade Food Coloring Gels are great!

Here is the best bet to buy the UKRANIAN EGG DYES on Amazon!

Here is my post from a few years ago with some more ideas and inspiration!

Five Marys "Easter" eggs - in their natural colors and hues!

But dyeing eggs is always a fun tradition no matter what method you use. These are the natural dye methods and processes we found gave the best results - and a link to my FAVORITE tried and true Ukrainian egg dyes for a sure bet on vibrant, beautiful easter eggs!

Five Marys eggs with a variety of Natural Dyes - all left to soak in the refridgerator overnight.

I researched a lot of methods for natural egg dyes and tried a few different processes - but I found the key to rich colors was leaving them in the solutions in the fridge overnight to soak. Vinegar is important in the right quantity to keep that color sticking but not bubbling up dye on the surface. Some are better boiled and some just sit in cold water.

It's a fun experiment to see different kinds of product producing these rich, natural colors - some you wouldn't expect. For example, RED cabbage boiled in water will produce a BLUE hue on eggs! Carrot tops (the greens) produce a soft yellow and Tumeric is a sure bet for deep yellow-orange. Onion skins produce all different results and even coffee can be used for a brown dye!

Better Homes & Gardens recommendations for Natural Colors:

Bluish-Gray
Mix 1 cup frozen blueberries with 1 cup water, bring to room temperature, and remove blueberries.

Blue
Yes, red cabbage dyed Easter eggs turn out blue! Cut 1/4 head of red cabbage into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. vinegar. Let cool to room temperature and remove cabbage with a slotted spoon.

Jade Green
Peel the skin from 6 red onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 tsp. white vinegar.

Faint Green-Yellow
Peel the skin from 6 yellow apples. Simmer in 1-1/2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer 4 oz. chopped fennel tops in 1-1/2 cups of water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Orange
The longer you soak these onion dyed eggs, the darker the color will be. Take the skin of 6 yellow onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 tsp. white vinegar.

Faint Red-Orange
Stir 2 Tbsp. paprika into 1 cup boiling water; add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Yellow
Rich yellow: Simmer 4 oz. chopped carrot tops in 1-1/2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Mustard-yellow: Stir 2 Tbsp. turmeric into 1 cup boiling water; add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Various shades: Steep 4 bags of chamomile or green tea in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes.
Pale yellow: Chop 4 oz. goldenrod and simmer in 2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Faint yellow: Simmer the peels of 6 oranges in 1-1/2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. vinegar.

Brown-Gold
Simmer 2 Tbsp. dill seed in 1 cup water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Brown
Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup strong coffee.

Pink
Faint pink: Chop 4 oz. amaranth flowers and simmer in 2 cups water; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer the skins from 6 avocados in 1-1/2 cup water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Mix 1 cup pickled beet juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar.
Dark pink: These beet dyed eggs will darken the longer they sit in the liquid. Cut 1 medium beet into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. vinegar and let cool to room temperature; remove beets.

Lavender
Mix 1 cup grape juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar.

and then there are my favorite BOLD and BEAUTIFUL Ukranian Dyes if you love a saturated look!

HAPPY EASTER! Enjoy your eggs no matter how you choose to dye or not to dye! :)

Natural Easter Egg Dyes & Serious Saturation Ukrainian Dyes!