How to Dye Easter Eggs with Onion Skins

Learn 3-failproof ways to dye Easter Eggs with onion skins for a natural (and cheap) way to bring color and beauty to your Easter celebration. My mother taught me how to make these naturally dyed hard-boiled eggs, and it’s easy enough to do with kids since that’s exactly how I learned it!

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Natural Easter Egg Dye

Dyeing Easter Eggs is one of my family’s favorite traditions around the Easter holiday. I use onion skins to get that woodsy color and various herbs to create floral designs on the eggshells. This whole process of dyeing Easter eggs takes me 30-40 minutes, cooking them in 2 batches. That’s not bad considering I don’t have to boil the eggs before dyeing, like with store-bought kits, and you can avoid all of the artificial colors and dyes.

This tradition comes from Europe – they are also known as Greek Red Easter Eggs or Estonian Easter Eggs, and it was my mom’s go-to method for dying Easter Eggs in Ukraine, and she continued the tradition when we came to America. I remember she kept a small bucket under the sink to collect onion peels just for this. Nowadays, I do the onion skin collecting. It’s so special to pass this method down to my own kids.

Easter is a very special time in our family, especially in the kitchen. Many of my favorite recipes originate from our Easter menu over the years, from a traditional Paska, Hot Cross Buns, Lamb Chops, and Baked Ham. This tutorial on how to dye Easter Eggs with onion skins is so easy and fun. I hope it becomes one of your family traditions, too.

Tools for Dying Easter Eggs with Onion Skins

You’ll never guess the secret tool used to make these naturally dyed Easter Eggs: Pantyhose! You can buy a cheap pair for a couple of bucks (foil can work in a pinch). Last week I made a gigantic run in my pantyhose. I’ve never been happier to destroy a pair of good tights (I knew the Easter eggs were coming up!).

Pantyhose holds the herbs and onion peels on the shell, making beautiful floral imprints, or natural marbling. You can skip the nylon pantyhose for an even faster dye, and I’ve included those directions below as well.

Ingredients for Natural Easter Egg Dye

Naturally dying Easter Eggs is such a fun and creative way to celebrate the holiday. The ingredient list is short, but the result is simply lovely.

• Eggs – Any type of egg, any color or size works just fine. I use white eggs since that’s the kind of chickens my mother raises, but I’ve seen beautiful auburn-dyed brown eggs! We use them raw (they cook while being dyed) and preferably at room temperature to keep the eggs from cracking.
• Onion skins – I like the color of yellow onions; Some prefer red onions, but the color gets pretty dark. Simply collect those papery skins you usually throw away in a bag for a few weeks. The more peels you use, the more concentrated the color.
• Salt – egg whites cook faster in salt water, so add it to help keep the shell from cracking
• Herbs – here’s where the creativity comes in! Use a few sprigs of fresh herbs, like parsley, chives, or cilantro, to create designs on the eggshells. Let me know in the comments what has given you the best result!
• Tools – pantyhose and string, or foil to hold the herbs and peels on the eggs while boiling

How to Dye Easter Eggs with Onion Peels

I’ve included three methods for dying eggs depending on the look you want: floral, marbled, or woody. The first step is the same for all 3 methods, so start there and then skip down to the egg prep method you’re going for. I like doing a mixture of the methods to have a varied look.

• Dye the water with onion peels – Fill a large saucepan 1/3 full with water and add 2/3 of the onion peels. Boil for 10 minutes, and then add the salt.

Method 1: Easter Egg Herb Prints

1. Place the Herbs – wrap the herbs around the eggshells into your desired design
2. Wrap in nylon – Put the stocking over one hand and lay the herb-designed egg into the hand, making sure the herbs aren’t folded or twisted. Invert the stocking over the egg carefully and then twist it to keep it snug against the shell.
3. Tie with string -cinch the base of the egg with a piece of string to keep the herbs in place.
4. Boil –  Submerge in the boiling onion skins and boil for 10 minutes. Then, remove the eggs and let them cool. Cut the pantyhose away with scissors and wipe away the herbs with a paper towel.

Method 2: Marbled Eggs

The inspiration for these marbled hues from natural dyes is from: Pille’s Estonian eggs

1. Wrap in onion peel – with the remaining 1/3 onion peels, wrap each eggshell completely.

2. Wrap in nylon or foil – You can wrap with nylons as instructed above or secure with foil.

3. Tie with string -Secure the twist in the pantyhose (if using) with a string.

4. Boil the egg-  Boil the pantyhose or foil-wrapped egg in the onion peel water for 10 minutes, and then remove and allow the egg to cool. Once you can handle it, cut away the pantyhose or unwrap the foil.

Method 3: Solid Woody Hues

1. Boil –  This is the easiest way to dye Easter eggs with onion skins. Gently place the eggs directly into the onion peel water. Cook for 10 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon.

How to Use Up Leftover Easter Eggs

This is my favorite thing about dying Easter eggs – there are so many things you can do with them. Here are some of our favorite recipes with hard-boiled eggs:

• Egg Salad
• Hard-boiled Egg Chocolate Pudding
• Deviled Eggs
• Deviled Egg Chicks
• Classic Wedge Salad
• Easy Garden Salad
• Cobb Salad
• Classic Potato Salad
• Avocado Chicken Salad
• Smoked Salmon Salad (Shuba)

With this easy tutorial on how to dye Easter Eggs with onion peels, I hope this can become a beloved tradition in your family as well. Oh and one more thing, these make for eggcellent egg wars (you know, knocking the eggs against each other). I think the trick is to wrap your fingers close to the end you are going to knock. Happy and blessed Easter, everyone!

More Easter Recipes You’ll Love

• Angel Wing Cookies
• Easter Bread
• Pierogi Recipe
• Scalloped Potatoes
• Lemon Cheesecake
• Chocolate Babka
• Lamb Stew