Rice dyed Easter eggs have a beautiful textured appearance and they’re easy to make with little to no mess!
Speckled Rice Dyed Eggs
Our family dyes Easter eggs every year and we like to try different methods to create new designs and styles. Last year we made our own simple Easter egg dyes with vinegar and food coloring. These old-fashioned dyes made extra vibrant colors and they were very easy to make!
However, I’m loving this rice dyeing technique because it creates a fun speckled look. And the best part is that it is easy to set up and all of the dye is contained in plastic bags, so there’s no spilling or dripping! Read: low to NO mess!
This is an awesome technique to try with the kids if you’re looking for something unique, easy, and non-messy. All you need are hard boiled eggs, plastic bags, rice, and a few drops of food coloring…and voila! Beautiful, colorful, textured eggs that are almost too pretty to eat!
Related: Check out this big list of over 50 Easter Egg decorating ideas!
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Instructions: How To Dye Easter Eggs With Rice
To Prep: Set out one plastic bag for each color you’ll be using. You may also want to line your workspace and put on disposable gloves to protect hands from staining, just in case.
- Scoop about a cup of rice into each of the plastic baggies. It doesn’t need to be an exact measurement, you just want the bags to be about 1/3 – 1/2 of the way full.
- Add four drops of liquid or gel food coloring to each bag, only one color per bag (unless you’re making colors, such as purple with red and blue food coloring).
- Push out as much air from the bags as possible and seal them tightly. Shake and knead the bags to evenly distribute the food coloring, until the rice itself looks like it has been dyed.
- Take one egg and place it into one of the bags. Push out as much air as possible and seal the bag securely. Gently move the egg around in the bag of rice until you have as much color distribution on the egg as you’d like. Take the egg out of the bag and place in an empty egg carton or on a drying rack for the dye to dry.
Prep Tips
- After dyeing a few eggs, you may need to add a few more drops of dye to each bag to replenish what’s been used.
- Both gel dye and water-based liquid food coloring will work for this technique. Oil-based dyes won’t stick to the shells as well.
- You can make tie-dyed eggs by first coloring an egg in one bag, allowing it to dry completely, and then dyeing it in a second color. You do want to make sure that the eggs are completely dry between each round of dyeing so you don’t muddle the colors.
- Room temperature eggs will color best because condensation from cold eggs will prevent the egg dye from adhering as well. However, if you plan to eat the eggs afterwards, make sure not to keep them out of the fridge for longer than 2 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Dye Brown Eggs?
Even though their shell is darker, you can still color brown Easter eggs! The brown will actually make the colors appear darker in some cases and you might even create new colors.
Can You Use Any Kind Of Rice?
Yes, you can pretty much use any kind of regular rice for this egg dying technique, it just has to be dry rice. I’ve tried this with both regular white rice and minute rice with good luck. You could even try brown rice!
Is It OK To Eat Dyed Easter Eggs?
As long as you’ve used food-safe dyes, you can consume the eggs that you colored. Be sure to keep the eggs refrigerated after dyeing them, if you intend to eat them. Eggs cannot stay out for more than 2 hours at room temperature to prevent the risk of food-borne illness. Even farm fresh eggs which can usually be kept out of the fridge should be refrigerated because the dyeing process can strip away the protective “bloom” on the eggs. (Read more about farm fresh eggs here!)
Rice Dyed Easter Eggs Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Print Recipe
Rice Dyed Easter Eggs
Rice dyed Easter eggs have a beautiful textured appearance and they’re easy to make with little to no mess!
Cost: $10
Ingredients
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Dry Rice
- Food Dye Gel Dye or Water-Based Liquid Food Coloring
- Quart Size Plastic Bags one per color
- Disposable Gloves optional
Instructions
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Place about a cup of rice in each bag, so the bags are about 1/3 – 1/2 way full.
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Place four drops of food coloring in each bag, one color per bag.
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Push as much air out of the bags as possible, seal the bags, and squish them around to distribute the dye.
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Place a dry hard boiled egg into one of the bags, push out as much extra air as possible, seal the bag, and gently move the egg around in the rice until you have as much color on the egg as you’d like.
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Allow eggs to dry completely.
Notes
If planning to consume the eggs, do not keep them out of the fridge for more than 2 hours.
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