Homemade Pickled Eggs

Homemade pickled eggs are a delicious and nourishing snack made with just a few simple ingredients. They’re great any time of year but you can get very creative with them at Easter and make them vibrant colours to brighten up your lunch table.

Brightly coloured pickled eggs are sitting on a white plate with some in egg cups. Behind them chocolate eggs are spread across the table, along with a bunny in a teacup decoration and a rabbit cake stand with hot cross buns on it.

In This Article

An Easy Way To Make Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

When looking for how to dye Easter eggs naturally recipes often show eggs with a dyed shell. These are equally gorgeous, however, the dye doesn’t penetrate and once peeled you still have a white egg. In this recipe, the eggs are first cooked, peeled, and then mixed with ingredients that both pickle and colour the eggs. As a result, you get some beautiful little treats that will brighten up your Easter table. The kids will love the vibrant colours too.

A pink pickled egg has been cut in half and is sitting in a small white dish along with some pink sauerkraut. A few chocolate Easter eggs are on the table behind the dish.

Ingredients For This Recipe

The base ingredients are the same for every batch of eggs. After that a variety of things are added to give different colours and flavours. These beautiful combinations will give you yellow, pink, and purple pickled eggs!

All the ingredients needed to make homemade pickled eggs have been laid out across a benchtop.

Eggs – We wouldn’t have pickled eggs without them!
Apple cider vinegar – The main ingredient in the pickling solution, this imparts lots of flavour into the eggs too.
Salt – Added for flavour but it also inhibits the growth of bacteria.
Sugar – Mostly helps to reduce the sourness of the vinegar but is also a natural preservative.
Various natural colours and flavours – These include turmeric and peppercorns, caraway seeds and red cabbage, as well as beetroot, shallots, baking soda, and bay leaf.

Once made these pickled eggs can be kept in the fridge for up to one week. They’re great as snacks, excellent as part of a grazing board, and equally delicious on toast for breakfast.

How To Make These Homemade Pickled Eggs

Each batch here needs to be made separately so that you have the opportunity to add your colours and flavours. You can either make each batch one at a time or if you have three small saucepans – you can have them all on the go at once.

12 eggs in their shell are sitting inside an instant pot.

Two white hands are peeling an egg over a bowl filled with iced water and more eggs.

A white pot filled with red cabbage, apple cider vinegar, and water is boiling on a single induction cook top. A white hand is stirring the mixture with a silver spoon.

Yellow pickling juice is being poured into a jar with hard boiled eggs.

Cook eggs to a hard boil consistency then peel. I did mine in the instant pot for 9 minutes. Stovetop is also fine.
Take 3 x 1-litre / 2-pint jars and put 4 eggs in each then set aside.
For the yellow eggs bring 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of water, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 teaspoons of sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Add in the turmeric and peppercorns. Mix well to combine. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then pour over the eggs in one of the jars.
For the pink eggs bring 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of water, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 teaspoons of sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Add in the chopped beetroot, shallots, and bay leaf. Bring back to the boil then remove from the heat, allow to cool, then pour over the eggs in the second jar.
For the purple eggs bring 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of water, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 teaspoons of sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Add in the chopped red cabbage and caraway seeds. Bring back to the boil then remove from the heat, allow to cool, then pour over the eggs in the second jar.
Put lids on all the jars and place in the fridge overnight.
Serve from the next day and beyond.

These are best served several days after making. It gives the eggs time to take on more of the flavours in the jar. That being said – I rarely wait that long and generally start eating them the next day!

One yellow, and one pink pickled egg form part of a grazing plate. The plate is sitting on a wooden board and other foods include prosciutto, crackers, fetta, kimchi, walnuts, tomatoes, and grapes.

FAQ

How long do homemade pickled eggs last?

The longer the eggs sit in the pickling solution the more flavour they take on. A batch as small as this is usually gone in a week or two however, if the eggs are kept under the liquid in a well-sealed jar they can keep for several months. I do find the longer you store them the more rubbery they become so I will tend to eat them up by the 2 week mark. See more information on safe storage of pickled eggs at the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Can you eat naturally dyed Easter eggs?

Yes! The dyes for these eggs come from vegetables and spices so they’re perfectly safe to eat.

What do pickled eggs taste like?

The combination of vinegar and a little sugar in the pickling solution makes these homemade pickled eggs deliciously sweet and sour. You still get the lovely creaminess from the egg yolk too. The perfect snack!

Watch How To Make This Recipe