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How to Make Natural Egg Dye in the Pressure Cooker

Basket of naturally dyed hardboiled eggs made in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

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5 from 1 review

Quick and easy, all natural Easter Egg Dye made in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker!

Ingredients

Scale

For each Homemade Dye

  • 2 cups water
  • dyeing agent (listed below)
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar

Dyeing Agents

Blue Eggs

  • 2 cups chopped purple cabbage

Pink Eggs

  • 2 cups chopped, peeled beets (canned beets may work as well)

Orange Eggs

  • 2 cups yellow onion peel

Yellow Eggs

  • 2 tablespoons ground turmeric

Red Eggs

  • 2 cups red onion peel

Instructions

Directions are for each individual dye.  If making more than one color, rinse the pot thoroughly between each batch to prevent mixing colors

  1. Pour 2 cups of water into the pressure cooker pot and add desired dyeing agent.
  2. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes.
  3. When cooking is complete, use a quick release.
  4. Carefully pour through a strainer into a larger bowl, discard dyeing agent.
  5. Pour colored water into a quart size wide mouth mason jar and add 2 tablespoons of vinegar.  Top with a lid and place in fridge.
  6. Let it chill 4 hours or overnight before placing hard boiled eggs in the jar to dye.
  7. Repeat with the other dyeing agents to create more colors.
  8. Dye will keep in the fridge for at least 1 week.
  • Note: Each jar will hold 4-5 eggs at a time.  The eggs will have white spots where they touch each other or the jar so lightly rotate the jar a few times while they are in the jar for more even coloring.

To dye hard boiled eggs:

  1. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower eggs into the mason jar.
  2. Allow the eggs to sit in the dye for at least an hour or overnight, depending on how dark you want them.
  3.  When they have achieved the color you want, use a slotted spoon to gently lift them from the jar.
  4. While they are wet, the color will come off if you rub on it too hard.  Place on a cooling rack in the fridge to dry completely.  This will set the dye so it won’t rub off.
  5. Once dry, store in an egg carton or other sealed container.
  6. Repeat with more eggs if desired.

Notes

  • Naturally dyed eggs have more of a matte finish.  Rub a little coconut oil on them to give them a shine if desired
  • I tasted an egg from each dye and didn’t notice any change in taste to the egg.  The eggs colored with beets did turn a little pink around the white.
  • Naturally colored eggs will fade after a few days.