How to Dye Easter Eggs with Rice

Dyeing Easter Eggs for Easter is so much fun especially when you use this easy method. Learn how to Dye Easter Eggs with Rice! Pretty, speckled eggs that are so easy to make when you shake rice, eggs and food dye together. The kids will have a blast making these!

It’s not Easter until you’ve dyed Easter Eggs! I showed you how to make dyed Easter Eggs without a kit using pantry staples and now I will teach you how to Dye Easter Eggs with Rice! If you’ve been trying to think of how to decorate eggs for Easter in a not-so-traditional way, this is it! There are so many different ways to dye eggs out there and this is such a fun and unique way to dye your eggs this year.

Using the rice and food coloring method gives you speckled colored eggs that are so pretty and have a little bit of texture! It’s a great way to change up your egg dying this year for Easter. You can even reuse your colored rice by adding it to a sensory bin when you are all done (and the food coloring is dry).

Get creative and layer your colors to make your own unique look on these rice dyed Easter eggs! The possibilities are endless here and your whole family is guaranteed to have so much fun with this new way of decorating eggs. Rice dyed Easter eggs will quickly become a family favorite activity.

Why You’ll Love This Activity

• Without mixing water, vinegar and food dye, Easter eggs dyed with rice creates a little less mess than the traditional way of dyeing Easter eggs.
• This is such a unique way of dyeing eggs, plus they’re made with pantry staples so the kids have less time to forget and lose interest when you don’t have to go to the store to buy a kit!
• Younger kids can work on color identification and fine motor skills while participating in a fun craft.

Supplies Needed to Dye Easter Eggs with Rice

• Hard Boiled Eggs – Make sure you get white eggs so the color turns out vibrant and pretty. Brown or other colored eggs will alter your colors. Did you know you can use Ceramic Eggs with this method and get a pretty speckled egg that you can leave out for decoration at Easter time or give as gifts!
• Rice – This can be brown rice or white rice or any other kind of rice. Whichever type of rice you have in your pantry will be perfect.
• Food coloring – We recommend using a gel dye as it will give you the most vibrant color for your dyed Easter Eggs than a liquid food coloring.
• Small bowls – Small bowls make it easy to portion colored rice, but you can also use zip top bags.

How to Dye Easter Eggs with Rice

The first thing you need to do is divide rice into five different bowls about, 2 Tablespoons per bowl.

Add in about 10 drops of food coloring to each bowl of rice.

Mix the rice and food coloring by placing a cover on top of bowls and shake or roll until rice is fully covered. Set aside and repeat for each color.

To dye an egg, place the egg in the cup of colored rice. Cover it and gently shake in a rolling motion. Check periodically until the desired color has been achieved. Remove dyed egg from the bowl and lay on a piece of paper towel to dry. Repeat until all eggs are dyed.

Pro Tips

• Did you know you can use the float test to tell if an egg is good still? Drop them in a pot of water and if it sinks you can eat it. If it floats toss it!
• Always add the food coloring to the rice and mix before adding the egg.
• You can also wear a pair of disposable gloves and gently move the egg around in the dyed rice.
• If you are having trouble getting the color to adhere to the egg shell add a few drops of vinegar to the bowl or zip top plastic bag with the rice and food coloring.
• Save the egg carton and place the decorated eggs back in it for safe storage.
• The hardboiled eggs should be cool or room temperature when you go to dye them. Make them a day ahead to make sure they are ready to go. You will also shock them in cold water when they are done cooking and this will cool them a little more quickly if you plan to do all of the steps in one sitting.

Gather the family and show them this new and exciting way to dye Easter eggs this year. There are so many colorful options, everyone can mix up their favorite to share. Unique rice dyed Easter eggs are sure to be a hit!

If you take a picture and share them on Instagram make sure to #kidsactivityzone or tag us @kidsactivityzoneblog so we can see them!

How to Store Dyed Easter Eggs

Store your dyed eggs in your fridge, unpeeled, in a bowl. There is no need to put them in an airtight container when they are still in the shell. A hardboiled egg will keep in the refrigerator for about a week when left unpeeled.

If the eggs are out of the fridge for 2 hours or more at any point, discard them.

More Fun Easter Activities!

• Did you know you can dye Easter Eggs without a kit? Learn how to dye them with pantry staples.
• The kids are sure to hop to the craft table to make adorable Paper Bag Bunnies. This is an affordable and mess-free craft that kids of all ages can make.
• Really get into the spirit by decorating the windows in your home with these colorful Easter Suncatchers. There are four templates to choose from and decorate your home with some color.
• The detectives in the family are going to love sitting down to work on an Easter Secret Messages activity. Great to set out while everyone waits for their meal, or afterward when they might be waiting for dessert!