Greek Easter tradition is filled with wonderful Spring foods such as lamb, artichokes, fava beans, soups, and red eggs! The egg denotes wealth, fertility of summer, and above all JOY. Symbolizing the resurrection of Christ, the eggs are brightly colored red. Traditionally, the eggs are colored on Holy Thursday. On Easter Sunday, the families hold their red-colored eggs with the pointed end outward, and greet each other with a hit, while saying ” Christ Has Risen”.
A simple recipe that is commonly used. But, look for directions on the back of package because they are different with each company.
Eggstraordinary Greek Easter Eggs!
Ingredients
- 50 eggs or according to package instructions
- Greek Red Dye
- 1 cup of vinegar
- 1/2 cup oil
Instructions
For 50 eggs or Package Instructions (see note)
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Wash eggs thoroughly.
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Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
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Once the eggs are boiled, leave them to room temperature.
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Dilute dye in a cup of water.
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Add dye and 1 cup of vinegar to the eggs.
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Let them soak until a become deep red.
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Remove and let them dry.
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Using a paper towel add a little of the oil and rub the eggs gently until shiny. Being careful not to remove dye.
Recipe Notes
The Greek egg dye packages have various amounts of eggs to be used in the recipe.
You can use less amount of eggs to dye. Make the dye according to the instructions -you will just have extra dye left over.
Here are examples of the packages of red dye I have purchased.
Look for these at your Greek markets or online.
You may also enjoy these other Easter recipes:
Enjoy Greek koulouria with your red-dyed eggs for the holidays.
Recipe for the Greek Easter Cookies can be found on my site.
Happy Easter and Kalo Pascha!
Mary
© 2011 – 2023, Mary Papoulias-Platis. All rights reserved.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
WOW! stunning and fantatic!
-Leila
whoops, i’m meant Fantastic!! 😉
Hi,
I just want to confirm, it reads like you put all 50 eggs in the pot, is that so? I have always cooked them in batches, that would be quite a timesaver putting them all in one pot, how big of a pot do you use?
Use as many eggs as you want but do follow the package instructions for all the dye.
Many packages will print on the front how many maximum eggs you can use. Good Luck!
By the way: I did update the recipe.
We have used several Greek dyes for our Church Easter eggs, but after we refrigerate them the color comes off on our hands. Is there a dye that will not do that?
The ladies want to use Rit, but that is toxic.
Any suggestions will be helpful
Thank you
Georgia E.
Hi Georgia,
Try and keep them dry without any moisture on them. Unfortunately, the same thing happens to me. I’m working on a natural dye, using beets.
I always use Fantis Easter Egg red dye from the local Greek market. It works fantastic every time if you follow the instructions written on the back.
Also, if you toss onion skins (the outside layers of the onion) into the already dyed hot water, the eggs will get an even deeper red color!
Happy Easter !!!
Kalo Pacha !!!
Thank you Dimitria! There are so many things that can go wrong, I tried to cover all of them. I do leave the eggs in the dye much longer to get that dark rich color! Kalo Pascha!