How To Dye Easter Eggs With Food Coloring (Easy Recipe)

Skip the egg dyeing kit and just follow this tutorial on how to dye Easter eggs with food coloring for pennies! You only need a few simple supplies you already have at home to make beautiful eggs in gorgeous colors from scratch for your holiday and spring.

Dyeing eggs is an Easter tradition!

Most people buy store-bought kits to dye Easter eggs. But did you know that you can actually make them at home without the kit?

And the best part is that you only need a few simple ingredients that you probably already have (no trip to the store or extra expense)! Plus, using natural ingredients at home is a safer alternative to the chemicals in the kids.

These step-by-step instructions will show you just how easy the process is. On top of teaching you how to dye Easter eggs with food coloring, I’m sharing some of our favorite color formulas to help you achieve the perfect shade!

Whether you want to put these eggs in your kiddo’s Easter basket, hide them for your Easter egg hunt, or decorate your house, dyeing Easter eggs is a can’t-miss tradition kids and adults both love.

Best Kind of Food Coloring To Use

Food coloring comes in two types: liquid and gel. You can use either one for this project, but I used gel food coloring and had great success!

Although you can find it anywhere, I’ve had good luck getting it on Amazon to save myself the trip to the store.

However, if you have “normal” liquid food coloring from any grocery store, it works well too. The downside to these food coloring dyes is that you’re more limited in the colors you can create for your eggs because you’re limited to what you can make with red, blue, green, and yellow.

NOTE: I recommend avoiding the gel food coloring that comes in the white tubes – it doesn’t dissolve and dye as well for this purpose.

Do I need to hard boil eggs before dyeing them with food coloring?

Short answer: No, hard boiling your eggs isn’t necessary to dye them

Longer answer: If you’re doing this activity with kids, I definitely recommend hard boiling them first to avoid dropped raw eggs. It drastically helps reduce the risk of mess!

Here’s how to hard boil eggs to dye them:

• Place a dozen eggs on the bottom of a large saucepan and add enough water to cover them.
• Bring the water to a boil over medium heat.
• Once the water begins boiling, cover the pan and remove it from heat.
• Let the eggs sit in the pan for 10-12 minutes. Remove them from the pot and rinse or soak in cool water.
• Before dyeing, dry the eggs on towels or paper towels.

Ingredients Needed For Dyeing Easter Eggs Without A Kit

• Eggs – boiled and cooled
• Gel Food Dye – all your favorite colors (check out my color formulas below)
• Hot Water
• White Vinegar
• Cup – at least 10 oz in size
• Paper Towels – optional
• Spoons – optional

NOTE: For more recipe details, please check out the handy printable recipe card at the bottom of the post!

How to Dye Easter Eggs With Food Coloring

Before you start dyeing eggs, pick the colors you want to make – then follow these easy step-by-step directions.

Step 1 – Make Color Formulas

Prepare the appropriate number of cups with water and vinegar for each color.

Add food dye, one color in each cup. Stir the mixture to create even colors.

Step 2 – Dye Eggs

Place eggs in the cups, one at a time. Allow the egg to sit in the mixture for the appropriate amount of time for the color you want. 

Pro Tip: Generally speaking, the longer you leave the egg in the dye, the darker and more vibrant the egg will appear.

Step 3 – Remove Easter Eggs From Dye Bath

Use a spoon to scoop the hard boiled eggs out of the cups.

Step 4 – Dry Your Dyed Easter Eggs

Place the colored eggs on a paper towel or paper plate and allow to dry. Let the eggs dry for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy your homemade dyed Easter eggs!

Easter Egg Dye With Food Coloring Notes And Expert Tips

• Can’t find (or afford) eggs this year? Grab some fake dyeable eggs and dye them with food coloring. You can use these same eggs year after year. Whether you reuse them or not, you may never go back to using real eggs!

• Heating the food coloring for about one minute in the microwave will produce a richer color. This step is not necessary but makes a fun experiment to see if you notice a difference!

• Yellow and orange are sometimes hard to get a bright, colorful result. Do a test egg and add more dye if necessary.

• The brand of food coloring you use could affect the richness of the colors. Some brands of food coloring will not work as well as others.

• Using food coloring helps to pull out the natural art of the egg shell creating a beautiful variation on each egg.

• Oil-based dyes and icing colors will not work because they will not mix with water.

• Using brown eggs will enhance some colors of the food coloring and limit your ability to use some of the lighter color variations.

Pro Tip: Remember that eggs are natural – no matter what you do, not all of them will look perfect or be uniform! I personally love the variation in the finished product and unique nature of each egg!

How to Add Fun Variations To Dyed Eggs

When you dye Easter eggs, you can personalize them beyond customizing your colors. Here are some easy ideas:

• Wrap the egg with rubber bands before placing it in the dye. After the dyeing process is complete and your egg is dry, remove the rubber bands to reveal a unique stripe pattern on your egg! 
• Place decals on the egg before placing it in the dye. After dyeing your egg, remove the decals to reveal the shape on the egg.
• Before dyeing, draw designs or write words on the egg with a white crayon. The crayon will prevent the dye from coloring that part of the egg. 

How To Serve Easter Eggs Dyed With Food Coloring

Incorporate your beautifully dyed eggs into your Easter Charcuterie Board Appetizer. They also make super fun deviled eggs and egg salad!

Or create a centerpiece for your Easter meal with these beautifully dyed and decorated eggs.

Variations Of Easter Egg Dye With Food Coloring To Try

• Neon food coloring…..need I say more. 😉

• Give the kids a paintbrush and watercolor paints and see where their creativity will take them. Acrylic paint will work well and is also water-soluble.

• Little ones will love to add their favorite stickers (after dyeing) to create unique eggs.

Color Recipes For Dyeing Easter Eggs With Liquid Food Coloring

All the different colors of dye make it possible to create tons of color options! Use these color formulas to get exactly the color you want!

I’m including both the number of drops of food coloring to use as well as how long to leave the plain white eggs in the cups of water and dye to get the color you want.

Red & Pink Easter Egg Dye Formulas:

• Candy Apple Red – 10 drops red + 5 drops yellow – soak for 5 minutes
• Watermelon – 5 drops red – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Neon – 5 drops red + 5 drops pink – soak for 3 minutes

Pink & Purple Easter Egg Dye Formulas:

• Light Pink – 5 drops pink – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Fuchsia – 5 drops pink – soak for 3 minutes
• Lilac – 5 drops pink + 5 drops purple – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Lavender – 5 drops purple – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Grape – 10 drops purple – soak for 5 minutes

Blue Easter Egg Dye Formulas:

• Periwinkle – 5 drops blue + 5 drops purple – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Cornflower – 5 drops blue + 5 drops purple – soak for 3 minutes
• Cobalt – 5 drops blue + 5 drops purple – soak for 5 minutes
• Sky Blue – 5 drops blue – soak for 3 minutes
• Aqua – 5 drops blue + 3 drops teal – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Turquoise – 5 drops teal – soak for 3 minutes

Green and Yellow Easter Egg Dye Formulas:

• Emerald – 10 drops teal + 10 drops green – soak for 3 minutes
• Spring Grass – 5 drops green – soak for 3 minutes
• Pale Green – 5 drops green – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Sunshine – 10 drops yellow + 3 drops green – soak for 3 minutes
• Bright Medium Yellow – 5 drops yellow – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Marigold Yellow – 5 drops yellow – soak for 3 minutes

Orange Easter Egg Dye Formulas:

• Peach – 5 drops orange – soak for 30 seconds or less
• Tangerine – 5 drops orange + 5 drops yellow – soak for 3 minutes
• Salmon – 10 drops yellow + 5 drops red – soak for 30 seconds or less

If you want even more color ideas, Martha Stewart has a great resource with tons of colors you can try!

How to Dry Eggs After Dyeing

Drying your hard-cooked eggs after dyeing can be dicey because the color won’t be even if you leave any part of the egg “sitting” in its dye (ex: put it in an egg tray). To help, here are my top two methods:

• Gently patting down with a rag: This is generally my go-to, but you will lose some color in the rag, so be prepared to sacrifice your rag. The eggs lose a little vibrancy, but the quick and efficient method for drying makes up for the slight reduction in color.
• Cooling Rack: Think of a cooling rack for cookies and baked goods. You can put your eggs on them to dry but there is a chance you’ll end up with a grid pattern on one side of your egg.

Pro Tip: I don’t recommend using something like a wire egg holder for this because the eggs will touch each other and the colors will bleed.

Storing Easter Eggs Dyed With Food Coloring

Dyed eggs can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week. If the eggs are unpeeled, you can place them in the original egg carton or a bowl after they have fully dried.

If the eggs have been peeled and you have used food-safe dyes, you can place them in an air-tight container or bag and place them in the fridge for up to a week.

Easter Egg Dye With Food Coloring FAQs

What is the purpose of the vinegar and is it necessary?

Great question! The acid in the vinegar helps to give the eggs a rich and vibrant color. If you do not have vinegar, I’ve read that you can use lemon juice. Fair warning, though – I’ve never personally tried it, so I can’t vouch for its effectiveness.

You do not need to use vinegar at all if you want your eggs to be a light pastel color.

Do I have to use hot water?

You can use room temperature or cold water, but I have found that hot water (or even warm water) helps the colors blend better and seems to make the color on the eggs more vibrant. I can’t prove that’s true, but that’s my experience.

Can I dye eggs that have cracked while boiling?

Yes, you can! Just be sure if you plan to eat the eggs once they are dyed, use food-safe dye. The dye will not change the flavor of the hard-boiled eggs.

If you have used non-edible items to decorate the eggs, you should be mindful that the eggs are likely not safe to eat.

Can I dye raw eggs?

Yep! Of course, they will be much more likely to break during the steps in the dyeing process. I have not tried it before because I prefer to use boiled eggs for dyeing and decorating.

Can I dye brown eggs?

Yes! Keep in mind that brown eggs tend to vary more in color, and the brown will cause your eggs to have darker colors. I recommend checking your eggs frequently as they dye and pull them out when they reach the color you want!

More Easter and Spring DIY Projects to Try

If you love this activity, here are more ideas that your kids will enjoy doing!

• DIY Easter Bunny Gnome Craft
• 20 Homemade Easter Basket Ideas Kids Love
• Easy DIY Rainbow Spaghetti Noodles For Sensory Play
• Easy Calming Sea Life Sensory Bottles DIY For Kids
• Egg Carton Painting Activity
• Salt Dough Dinosaur Fossils
• How To Make A DIY Nature Mandala Craft

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