Holidays & Entertaining Holidays 6 Natural Easter Egg Dyes You Can Make With Pantry Staples These homemade easter egg dye recipes will add colors to your eggs the all-natural way. By Morgan Noll Morgan Noll Morgan Noll is a digital home editor for Real Simple covering home, real estate, and holidays. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 16, 2024 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Getty Images Easter egg coloring is one of the highlights of the Easter season for many, but doing the same dyes and egg ideas year after year can get a little old. This year, try a new Easter tradition by coloring your eggs with homemade natural Easter egg dyes instead of store-bought or food coloring. While the colors may not turn out as vivid as they might with store-bought dyes, with a bit of experimenting and blending, you can have egg colors better than anything you could have purchased. Learn how to make orange, pink, yellow, green, blue, and brown dyes, all from ingredients in your kitchen. 01 of 06 Natural Orange Egg Dye Getty Images A dash of paprika, a little water, and some vinegar are all you need to make this natural Easter egg dye. The longer you allow the egg to soak, the brighter the color. And if you're inspired by the spice, paprika is delicious sprinkled over deviled eggs. GET THE RECIPE 02 of 06 Natural Yellow Egg Dye Getty Images While you may think that lemons are behind this ready-for-spring yellow, it's actually turmeric that is the star ingredient. Mix vinegar, turmeric, and water together for the perfect yellow hue. But be careful when handling the eggs, as turmeric is known to stain clothes and hands. GET THE RECIPE 03 of 06 Natural Periwinkle Blue Egg Dye Getty Images Blueberries give this Easter egg dye its pretty blue hue. Boiling the eggs in the homemade dye itself will help the color stick. Since blueberry juice can veer on the purple side, you might even get a batch of periwinkle eggs. GET THE RECIPE 04 of 06 Natural Green Egg Dye Getty Images To make green egg dye, you'll need to pull double duty and make one batch of blue dye and another batch of yellow. Combine the two colors in equal parts to make a leafy green color that will give your eggs plenty of seasonal flair. GET THE RECIPE 05 of 06 Natural Pink Egg Dye Getty Images If these eggs look like raspberry sherbet, it's because they're colored with the sweet berry. With the help of some frozen raspberries, you can give your dyed eggs a playful pink shade. This recipe swaps out vinegar for lemon juice. GET THE RECIPE 06 of 06 Natural Brown Egg Dye Getty Images Help your white eggs look a little more earthy—or create a canvas for some next-level Easter egg art—with this easy brown egg dye. The addition of instant coffee granules will give the eggs a unique color that may not be found in your quintessential Easter egg basket. GET THE RECIPE Is Natural Easter Egg Dye Better Than Food Coloring? If you're trying to detoxify your body and home by removing synthetic ingredients, it's OK to use natural food coloring to make your egg dyes. Unfortunately, synthetic food coloring has been linked to potential contaminants and health complications. If you want to take an even more natural route, making homemade egg dyes with whole foods and spices is a great option. Natural egg dyes offer a more muted hue that is unique and beautiful compared to the brighter store-bought dyes. 34 Creative Easter Egg Ideas That Are Easy and Fun Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources Real Simple is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts in our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy. Kobylewski S, Jacobson MF. Toxicology of food dyes. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2012;18(3):220-246.