Have fun decorating eggs this Easter using techniques that ensure that eggs are also completely safe to eat! Dyed Easter eggs are safe to eat when you use food-safe ingredients to dye and decorate them. Enjoy both the decorations and the nutritious eggs, too!
1. Natural Egg Dyes
Create natural Easter egg dye using a few items you might already have at home—like beets, red and yellow onion skins, purple cabbage, blueberries, chopped spinach and ground turmeric. All can be used to create vibrant colors! All you need is hard-boiled white or brown eggs, fruits and veggies, water, distilled white vinegar and a neutral oil like vegetable or grapeseed. Get easy step-by-step instructions.
Tip: Naturally Dyed Eggs require longer soak time in the dye solution for the color to take hold, so consider leaving them overnight for the best, most saturated color.
2. Whipped Cream Eggs
Use whipped cream and food coloring to create whimsical colored eggs! Simply drop food coloring into whipped cream and swirl the color to create a tie-dye effect. Dip hard-boiled eggs into the marbled food-coloring-and-whipped-cream mixture, then place on drying rack to dry and admire the designs!
3. Rice Eggs
Colored rice creates unique patterns on eggshells—and you can enjoy the hard-boiled eggs after marveling over your artwork! Mix white rice with food coloring in sandwich bags, then add a little vinegar. Add the egg to the bag and make sure to cover it in colored rice.
4. Dyed Brown Eggs
You can dye brown eggs, just like white ones! In fact, brown eggs will sometimes enhance the final color or change it—so have fun experimenting with both colors.
5. Easter Tree Decoration
Create ornaments using dyed eggshells to hang on an Easter tree! Using a sharp tool like a skewer, poke a hole in the small side of an egg and drain the contents, then wash the shells and let them dry completely. Decorate using dyes or decorations like paint, wax or glitter. Use the yolks and the whites right away in a tasty recipe, like Overnight French Toast or Mixed Vegetable Frittata.
If you’re purchasing egg dyes and decorating kits, be sure that the packages indicate that the dyes are food-grade and are safe to consume. When hosting an Easter egg hunt, do not hide eggs on chemically treated lawns, potted plants, windowsills or in or near pet housing, as contaminants from those locations can adhere to the eggshell and make it impossible to avoid cross-contamination.
Make sure to refrigerate hard-boiled eggs within two hours of cooking and decorating. It is not safe to consume hard-boiled eggs that have not been refrigerated after two hours. Hard-boiled eggs with their shells intact should be used within one week. Check out these frequently asked food safety questions to be sure everyone stays healthy this Easter season.
Looking for more crafty or tasty Easter ideas? Visit our Easter Hub!
