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Natural Blue Easter Eggs

For as long as I can remember, Easter has been one of my favourite holidays. I mean, what’s not to love about being surrounded by family and friends while enjoying mountains of glorious food? And we can’t forget about the eggs.

Dyeing Easter Eggs Naturally with Red Cabbage

For me, eggs are synonymous with Easter. Eggs can make or break Easter. I’m sure we can all agree, as a kid there is nothing more exciting than waking up on Easter morning and searching out the dozens of colourful eggs hidden by the Easter bunny the night prior.

Dyeing Easter Eggs Naturally with Red Cabbage

Colouring eggs with my family is one of my favourite traditions. When my sisters and I were little, I remember gathering around a table brimming with mis-matched mugs filled with colourful dyes, sticker embellishments, feathers, googly eggs, markers, and dozens of hard-boiled eggs. We would work for hours meticulously crafting our special prizes, for these, come morning, would be little hidden treasures scattered about the house.

Dyeing Easter Eggs Naturally with Red Cabbage

And while I can still appreciate the thrill of the hunt, the act of colouring eggs is something I still love to do. This year, for the first time ever, I decided to take a different approach… These beautiful blue eggs didn’t get their simple hue from food colouring or boxed dyes; I went au natural.

Dyeing Easter Eggs Naturally with Red Cabbage

How did I achieve this natural colour? Red cabbage. Believe it or not, when boiled down, red cabbage produces a lovely indigo water that can be used to “dye” eggs. Simply quarter one large red cabbage and add it to a large pot with approximately 5-6 cups of water. Bring to a boil for 3-4 minutes, and then return to low and allow to simmer for 30-40 minutes. Remove all pieces of cabbage and discard. Add one tablespoon of baking soda and five tablespoons of vinegar to the water and stir. Place eggs in water, or divide water between 5-6 mugs. The longer the eggs sit in the dye, the deeper their colour. An easy and natural way to colour your eggs this Easter!

Dyeing Easter Eggs Naturally with Red Cabbage

Of course, here in Ontario we wouldn’t have such high quality eggs if it weren’t for the hard work of our local egg farmers. For 50 years the Egg Farmers of Ontario have fueled Easter egg hunts and fed hungry families, and for that I thank them.

If you are looking for egg colouring tips & resources, Sunday brunch recipes or stunning Easter desserts, the Egg Farmers of Ontario website is an “egg-cellent” source of inspiration (yes, pun intended)!

Have you tried colouring eggs naturally?

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  1. Nice. I've tried this method last year but it did not work out this well as yours… I will try again using your instructions. What always works for me is colouring the eggs using the onion skin/peel – basically eggs come out in shades of red. Before cooking them with onions I give kids eggs to draw on them with crayons – once the colour is applied, their drawings are not coloured and are visible. They love this little tradition.