How to Make All-Natural Easter Egg Dyes and Designs

We're big fans of natural egg dyes and with Easter right around the corner, we tested several expiring vegetables, herbs, spices and teas to see which ones make beautifully colored Easter eggs.

Natural egg dyes are a great way to make use of the leftover produce wilting away in your crisper or spices and teas that have lost their potency. Your eggs will get a rustic look that's hard to achieve with store-bought dyes. We recommend beginning this project no more than two to three days before you want to use the eggs for your holiday. Since you're using organic ingredients, there are no preservatives and they won't keep for too long. Eggs and dye will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To get started, hard boil as many eggs as you would like to dye. A full-proof way to do this is to fill a pan with eggs and then pour cold water into the pan about an inch taller than the eggs. Bring the water to a boil and then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit for 15 minutes. Immediately after, put the eggs in an ice bath and let them cool. Following these steps will ensure that you can eat your eggs after the dyeing process. The USDA recommends leaving eggs at room temperature for no more than 2 hours and consuming hard-boiled eggs within one week.

2 cups blueberries
4 cups water
2 Tbs. vinegar
Boil, simmer and strain.

This dye will turn your eggs beautiful shades of blue depending on how long you leave them to soak. A full 24 hours will give the eggs a darker color. Leave the eggs in the dye for at least 10 to 20 minutes to see a color change.