Before heading out to the store to purchase the typical Easter egg dyes take a look in your pantry and refrigerator. You’d be surprised at the number of items you may already have on hand that will easily and naturally dye your Easter eggs. A variety of spices, vegetables and fruits will transform your eggs into hues of pinks, blues, purples, browns and yellows: turmeric, purple cabbage, yellow onion skins, blueberries, coffee and tea.

You’ll need:

White eggs. (Brown eggs don’t absorb dye as readily.) An array of natural materials for dying, like papery onion skins (raid your grocery store’s onion bin, or inquire with its produce manager), blueberries (fresh or frozen), red cabbage, beets and their tops, coffee, hibiscus tea, spices (turmeric, saffron, chili powder, etc.), pomegranate juice, citrus peels and the like. Lots of pots, bowls and towels. 1 tablespoon vinegar per dye color

Yellow

Two cups water + 1 tablespoon turmeric + 2 tablespoons vinegar creates this vibrant yellow on white eggs and a deep gold on brown ones. The egg to the left of the one marked “turmeric” above is an example of what a brown egg looks like. Other options: Strongly brewed chamomile tea creates a soft yellow.

Green/Blue

2 cups shredded purple cabbage + enough water to cover cabbage by 1 inch + vinegar (1 tablespoon per remaining cup after the dye is boiled) Brown eggs will turn green and white eggs will turn blue. Other options: Strongly brewed hibiscus tea (with one tablespoon vinegar per cup) will create the dark green pictured in the photo at the top. Blueberries will create a slightly marbled blue color.)

Blueberries were a little funky in color but I still liked it. I used approximately 1 cup of blueberries, 1 cup boiling water and 1 tablespoon vinegar.

Pink/Red

Two cups water + two cups peeled, grated beets + vinegar (1 tablespoon per cup of liquid that remains after you simmer the grated beets and water)

Red wine was really cool! I simply heated 1 cup of red wine and 1 tablespoon vinegar to a boil, let it cool slightly and added the egg. Other options: dried skins of 3 red onions, 1 cup of boiling water and 1 tablespoon vinegar. The egg sat in the solution for several hours.