How to Dye Easter Eggs with Food Coloring and Vinegar

Eek! Is it Easter time already?! Are you panicking because it’s time to dye those eggs and you forgot to pick up a kit? Fear not! You can actually use food coloring to dye Easter eggs! This egg dye recipe produces vibrant colors and requires just a couple of ingredients. In fact, you might never go back to those tablet kits again!

Recommended Grade Level:

Supply List
Coordinating Activities

Easy Dyed Easter Eggs Supplies:

Jars/glasses/containers for each desired color
1 spoon for each jar/color
Hard-boiled eggs
1 tablespoon distilled vinegar for each color
Food coloring
1 1/2 cup boiling water for each color

melted crayon easter eggs craft for kids

The How to Dye Easter Eggs with Food Coloring and Vinegar recipe below is simple. You likely have all the items in your pantry already! All that’s required are a few drops of food coloring, white vinegar, and boiling water. These dye baths are safe for the whole family and produce colorful results!

Dying Easter Eggs

Using food coloring for Easter eggs is one way to do it. However, there are lots of ways to get creative with eggs. What’s the best way to dye Easter eggs with food coloring or other items? You decide!

Natural Food Dyes: If you have little ones, using plain old food to dye eggs is a really fun experiment. You can rest assured whatever those little fingers grab is 100 percent au naturale! Foods that provide great color include blueberries, beets, onions, spinach, and cabbage.
Glue it on! You can opt out of the dyeing process entirely by gluing on desired embellishments. Start with mod-podge, or a mixture of glue and water. Paint it onto the egg, then start adding: glitter, sequins, paper, yarn…whatever you like!
Tie-Dye: With just food coloring, paper towel, and a spray bottle full of water you can achieve a super cool tie-dyed effect on your eggs! This is a really fun way to dye with older kiddos who are sort of “over” the traditional methods of Easter egg dyeing.

How to Color Easter Eggs with Food Coloring and Vinegar

Supplies

Jars/glasses/containers for each desired color
1 spoon for each jar/color
Hard-boiled eggs
1 tablespoon distilled vinegar for each color
Food coloring
1 1/2 cup boiling water for each color

Step by Step Instructions

Gather one jar or juice glass for each color.
Pour 1 to 1 ½ cups of water (boiling) into each jar. Remember to allow room for the egg.
Stir in 1 tablespoon vinegar.
Add 6 to 10 drops of food coloring into each container and stir the natural dye.
Using a spoon, lower a boiled egg into each container. Soak the Easter eggs in vinegar/water/color mixture for 5 minutes or more. The longer the egg rests in the dye, the darker the color will be.
Remove the dyed Easter eggs and place them on a wire rack over paper toweling until completely dry.

a child lowering an egg into food coloring and vinegar.

*While the best vinegar for Easter egg dyeing is white, apple cider vinegar does work because it contains the same acidity necessary for the acid dye to work.

Questions? We’ve Got Answers!

How much vinegar do you use to color Easter eggs?

Typical egg dyeing recipes call for anywhere from a teaspoon of vinegar, to a tablespoon, to a 50-50 vinegar water mixture. The vinegar provides necessary acidity for the dye to adhere to the egg. However, how much you use depends on the color saturation you are going for. The more vinegar you use, the deeper the colors will be. However, if you use too much vinegar (ie., over half the amount of water), your results will be a blotchy egg.

How long to soak Easter eggs in vinegar?

There is also wiggle room when it comes to leaving the egg in the dye solution. Typically, the longer you leave the egg submerged, the deeper the color. Just be careful to not leave it in too long! No one likes to peel an egg and find that the white flesh has become some shade of green!

eggs being dyed in food coloring and vinegar for easter.

How to color Easter eggs with food coloring without vinegar?

It is possible to dye eggs without vinegar. But, without that acidity in the color mix, your color results will be lightly pastel. If you want deeper color without vinegar, consider substituting the vinegar with lemon juice to add acidity.

Can I still embellish my eggs dyed with food coloring?

Yes! Eggs dyed with food coloring can still be embellished any way you like once the eggs are dry. Or, add stripes during the dyeing process by wrapping eggs in rubber bands before soaking in the dye mixture.