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Colorful hard-boiled eggs are easy to make and great for Easter. They are made similar to tea eggs but with food coloring instead of tea. Enjoy them as a snack or use them to make colored deviled eggs.

It’s almost Easter, and I’ve been seeing a lot of decorated dyed eggs. I never was much into decorating eggs, even as a kid. But last year I thought of this idea for decorating and luckily was reminded of it again when I saw a post on Chinese tea eggs.

I’ve always loved Chinese tea eggs, not just for the taste, but also because of the beautiful patterns on the eggs. The pattern is created by gently cracking the eggshell, and then simmering the eggs in a soy sauce tea spice mixture that causes the dark sauce to seep inside the egg and create a pattern around the cracks of the eggshells.

Taking this idea, I decided to do the same thing, but with multiple colors. So these aren’t actually tea eggs because I didn’t use the tea mixture since I didn’t want to muddle the colors. Instead, they are hard-boiled eggs with some food coloring. You can also use some natural fruits/vegetables to create the colors, but I just ended up using some food coloring rather than having to make another shopping trip.

You can make them with any color, but some colors work better than others. I tried making pink, yellow, and blue. The yellow ones ended up being too pale and it didn’t really come out. The pink and blue ones came out nicely though.

Ingredients

Hard-boiled eggs – the eggshell color doesn’t matter since it’s the actual egg white that will be dyed. So you can use brown or white eggs.
Food coloring in various colors

How to make hard-boiled eggs: You can boil the eggs on the stove in a pan, but I like to make Instant Pot hard-boiled eggs. They cook perfectly and the eggs are really easy to peel.

Food color tip: As I mentioned, some colors work better than others. I would avoid yellow because it’s hardly noticeable once you dye the eggs. Vibrant colors work best.

How to Make Colorful Eggs

Gently tap the hard-boiled eggs on a hard surface to make cracks in the shell. You don’t want pieces of shell to fall off, it should just have cracks.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add a few drops of food coloring to the water. Add the cracked eggs and simmer them for about five to ten minutes.

Remove the eggs from the water and cool them. If you are doing multiple colors, discard the water in the pot, add clean water and bring it to a boil and add your next color.

Once the eggs are cooled, you can peel the shell and serve the eggs.

Serving Ideas

You can serve the colored eggs as a snack or use them to make deviled eggs or salads.

Storage Tips

The eggs will last for up to a week in the refrigerator. Keep them in an airtight container.

I just love the marbled look of the colorful hard-boiled eggs – so pretty for an Easter celebration. It’s a fun twist on dyed Easter eggs. I hope you give them a try!

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