With the cost of eggs soaring, finding an alternative for your Easter egg hunt this year is a must! Instead of using those boring plastic eggs, why not have some fun with potatoes this year? These colorful dyed potatoes are the perfect budget-friendly alternative to classic Easter eggs. And the best part is that your kids can still have some dying fun without the need to purchase pricey eggs at the grocery store.
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What Do I Need to Make Dyed Potatoes?
Turning your potatoes into colorful mock Easter eggs is super simple! In fact, it’s actually easier than preparing eggs for your Easter hunt because they don’t need to be cooked before you start dying! But the best part about this fun Easter activity is that you only need two ingredients and a few simple craft supplies to make it:
- Baby Delicious White or Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Water based food coloring
- Small paint brushes
- Small bowls (optional)
- Water (optional)
- Paper towels (optional)
- Rubber gloves (optional)
- Hairspray (optional)
How Do I Make Dyed Potatoes?
Once you have your ingredients and supplies gathered up, all that’s left to do is get creative with your potatoes! Follow these instructions to transform plain potatoes into colorful Easter eggs with your kids:
Step One: Prepare Your Work Space
Just like traditional Easter egg dying, coloring potatoes can get a little messy. That’s why it’s a good idea to prepare your work area before you get started. First, set out a few small bowls of water for your kids to use to clean their paint brushes. Then, provide them with some gloves to wear to protect their hands, as well as a few paper towels to clean up messes and spills. You should also cover the surface you’re working on with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth to protect it from the food dye.
Step Two: Paint on the Food Coloring
Lay out your potatoes on a flat surface and place one drop of food coloring on top of the potato. Use a paint brush to spread the dye around, coating the potato. You can use one single color on each potato or decorate the potatoes with multiple colors. Between each color, be sure to rinse the paint brush off completely.
Step Three: Allow the Potatoes to Dry
After the potato is fully covered in food coloring, transfer it to a paper towel to dry for at least 10 minutes.
Step Four: Seal with Hair Spray
To keep the food coloring from smearing or coming off on your hands after the potatoes have dried, try spraying them with hairspray. Give all sides of each potato a light coating of hair spray, then let the spray dry for a few minutes before handling.
Potato Dying Tips and Tricks
Your kids are going to have a blast painting potatoes for Easter this year! And with the help of these simple tips and tricks, you’ll be able to create some unique memories with your kids – even if you can’t find real eggs for them to dye this Easter.
- Stick with water-based food coloring. While gel based food coloring is a great option for adding vibrant color to your baked goods, it doesn’t work well with this craft. That’s because gel food coloring doesn’t dry well, which means your potatoes may still be wet and stick when it’s time to hid them for the Easter Egg hunt. So, before you start painting your potatoes, make sure that you’re using water based dye.
- Don’t peel the potatoes. The skin on the potatoes is what holds the food coloring, which means you should not peel the potatoes before you start dying. Instead, wash the skin and allow the potatoes to dry completely. Then, paint the food coloring directly onto the skin.
- Don’t eat the potatoes if you use hairspray. Although dyed potatoes are perfectly safe to eat after they’re cooked, it’s not a good idea to eat them if you seal the coloring with hairspray. Since hairspray often contains harmful chemicals, the potatoes are not safe for consumption after the spray is added to the skin.
Can You Dye Potatoes with Water and Vinegar?
Easter eggs are traditionally dyed by allowing them to soak in a mixture of water, vinegar, and food coloring. But this method doesn’t work as well with potatoes. Although you may be able to tint the skin of the potato slightly be soaking it in food coloring tinted water, you won’t get the same vibrant color that comes with painting the food coloring directly onto the potatoes.
What Type of Potatoes are Best for Dying?
Finding the right kind of potatoes for this Easter craft is essential. That’s because not all potatoes will work with this dying method. To get the best coloring, your potatoes need to have a thin, lightly colored skin. That’s why baby delicious white or Yukon gold potatoes are the best option. They’re the perfect size for small hands and the lightly colored skin on the outside of these varieties really makes the color of the dye pop.
Easter Egg Dyed Potatoes
Ingredients
- Baby Delicious White or Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Water Based Food Coloring
- Small Paint Brushes
- Small Bowls optional
- Water optional
- Paper Towels optional
- Rubber Gloves optional
- Hairspray optional
Instructions
Step One: Prepare Your Work Space
- Just like traditional Easter egg dying, coloring potatoes can get a little messy. That’s why it’s a good idea to prepare your work area before you get started. First, set out a few small bowls of water for your kids to use to clean their paint brushes. Then, provide them with some gloves to wear to protect their hands, as well as a few paper towels to clean up messes and spills. You should also cover the surface you’re working on with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth to protect it from the food dye.
Step Two: Paint on the Food Coloring
- Lay out your potatoes on a flat surface and place one drop of food coloring on top of the potato. Use a paint brush to spread the dye around, coating the potato. You can use one single color on each potato or decorate the potatoes with multiple colors. Between each color, be sure to rinse the paint brush off completely.
Step Three: Allow the Potatoes to Dry
- After the potato is fully covered in food coloring, transfer it to a paper towel to dry for at least 10 minutes.
Step Four: Seal with Hair Spray
- To keep the food coloring from smearing or coming off on your hands after the potatoes have dried, try spraying them with hairspray. Give all sides of each potato a light coating of hair spray, then let the spray dry for a few minutes before handling.
Notes
Potato Dying Tips and Tricks
Your kids are going to have a blast painting potatoes for Easter this year! And with the help of these simple tips and tricks, you’ll be able to create some unique memories with your kids – even if you can’t find real eggs for them to dye this Easter.- Stick with water-based food coloring. While gel based food coloring is a great option for adding vibrant color to your baked goods, it doesn’t work well with this craft. That’s because gel food coloring doesn’t dry well, which means your potatoes may still be wet and stick when it’s time to hid them for the Easter Egg hunt. So, before you start painting your potatoes, make sure that you’re using water based dye.
- Don’t peel the potatoes. The skin on the potatoes is what holds the food coloring, which means you should not peel the potatoes before you start dying. Instead, wash the skin and allow the potatoes to dry completely. Then, paint the food coloring directly onto the skin.
- Don’t eat the potatoes if you use hairspray. Although dyed potatoes are perfectly safe to eat after they’re cooked, it’s not a good idea to eat them if you seal the coloring with hairspray. Since hairspray often contains harmful chemicals, the potatoes are not safe for consumption after the spray is added to the skin.