Brighten Your Dishes with These Healthy Food Coloring Alternatives That Will Transform Your Meals!

Special occasions often call for brightly colored foods, from birthday cakes with swirls of colored icing to holiday cookies and Easter eggs adorned in different hues. Experimenting with different colors can be fun, and there are natural ways to achieve these vibrant shades without relying on artificial food coloring or dyes.

The Appeal of Natural Food Colorings

As public awareness of artificial additives grows, there's increasing pressure to find clean-label solutions without compromising performance or shelf life. Natural food colorings offer a way to enhance the visual appeal of food while potentially offering additional nutritional benefits. Consumers increasingly demand clean labels and natural ingredients. The flavors in these colorings can also be a nice complement to your baked goods. For instance, the strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries have a light fruity taste.

Sourcing Natural Colors

Sources for natural colorings can be found all over the place, and many may already be in your pantry or fridge. Consider the flavors, as natural food colors have a taste that commercial colors don’t. The more color you add to the frosting, the more it’s going to taste like that ingredient.

Pro Tips for Using Natural Food Coloring

Here are some essential tips to keep in mind when using natural food colorings:

Choose the Source of Color: Identify ingredients that can provide the desired color. Many fruits, vegetables, and spices can be used to create a wide range of hues.
Consider the Flavor: Be aware that natural food colorings will impart some flavor to the final product. This can be an advantage if the flavor complements the dish, but it may be a disadvantage if the flavor clashes.
Manage Expectations: Natural food colorings may not be as intense as commercial dyes. Accept that the colors may be more muted or have unique tints.
Understand Powder Bases Versus Liquid Bases: Powders are the easiest way to make DIY food colorings because they dissolve easily and are already somewhat concentrated, meaning they can lead to more intense color. The second way is to make a concentrated liquid. The liquid can be pure juice, a strained purée, or water-based.
Know That Heat Can Play A Role: While many of these food colorings could successfully tint baked goods, like cookie dough or cake batter, heat can be an impeding factor, as many of these colors can change when exposed to heat, becoming duller or browner. The food colorings themselves should be cooled completely before you add them to any recipe.
Add To Frosting, Then Decorate! Add the color in small amounts gradually until you achieve the color you want. Keep in mind that you can add more powdered coloring than liquid coloring without affecting the recipe.

Natural Food Coloring Options

Here are some natural, healthier, more colorful ideas:

Red and Pink Hues

Beets: Beets are efficient at dyeing anything and offer a natural way to color foods red or pink. They're also a good source of vitamin C, iron and magnesium. Simmer peeled and cut beets in a little water until it’s tinted deep pink, then remove the beets and continue to simmer the water until most of it has evaporated, leaving you with a small amount of liquid that holds that deeply concentrated color.
Freeze-Dried Strawberries: Freeze-dried strawberries are easily one of the most accessible natural food dyes. Simply grind them in the food processor-or crush to a fine powder in a plastic bag-to create a powder that you can easily stir into frostings or cake batters. It’s important to note that freeze-dried strawberries will never give you a super deep pink hue, rather, they give those “pretty-in-pink” vibes.
Raspberries: Combine 2 cups (240g) raspberries with 1/4 cup (57g) water and bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes; let cool. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, then return the liquid to the saucepan and simmer until reduced to about 1/4 cup. It will have the viscosity of orange juice.
Pomegranate juice: Pomegranate juice can create a pinkish-red hue. It can be tricky to get the color right, but much easier if you don’t mind pomegranate flavor in whatever you are making.

Yellow and Orange Hues

Turmeric: Turmeric is a great, easily accessible option to get a concentrated yellow color. While you can certainly boil the peeled turmeric root just like with the beets to get that vibrant color, the easiest way is to stir a little ground turmeric directly into whatever batter or liquid you’re trying to tint. Or, if you want to dye easter eggs, simply dissolve the turmeric into the vinegar and water mixture. Just keep in mind that turmeric can carry a specific earthy, savory flavor, depending on how much is used! Combine 1/4 cup (57g) water with 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, and boil until reduced by half into a thick paste. Let cool completely.
Saffron: Saffron can make foods yellow. As your rice is cooking try adding turmeric for a golden yellow color. Saffron works too but is a more expensive option. If you go with the fresh variety you may have to soak the stems in hot water/stock for 20 minutes before you add it to your dish. You can grind saffron with a mortar and a pestle to make the color soak in better. Bring 1 cup of water and about 1/8 teaspoon (1 small pinch) saffron threads to a simmer over medium heat. Remove the mixture from the heat, and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain, then return the mixture to the pot. Reduce to 3 to 4 tablespoons, then transfer to a small jar to cool completely. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon yellow color for every 1 cup of royal icing.
Paprika: Paprika can give an orange or deeper orange-red color. Depending on the peppers used in the paprika, there will be different color variations. Heating paprika releases both color and flavor. Experiment with sprinkling ground, unheated paprika on foods when you want to add color, but not flavor.
Boiled purple onion peels: Boiled purple onion peels can give a deep orange color. Add this to boiled eggs. Simply boil the outer peels of onion in water with the eggs. The longer the eggs stay in the water, the darker the color.
Carrots: Add 1 to 2 teaspoons carrot powder for every 1 cup of royal icing. Dissolve the powder in 1 to 2 tablespoons water before you add it if you want to minimize the risk of clumps.

Green Hues

Matcha: For a beautiful pastel green, look no further than matcha tea. Now available at many mainstream supermarkets as well as specialty stores, powdered matcha stirs easily into liquids, batters, and frostings. Its color isn’t as potent as turmeric or beets, so you may have to add a little more to get a stronger color-and you might also start to taste some of those inherent grassy flavors. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons matcha for every 1 cup royal icing. You can dissolve the powder in 1 to 2 tablespoons water before you add it if you like.
Spinach: For a more vibrant shade of green, spinach is the best way to go. It takes a little more effort to extract the color here-unless you’re buying powdered spinach, which is apparently a thing! If you’re working with fresh greens, you’ll need to puree them with a little water in a food processor, strain that puree through a fine mesh sieve into a pot, and then reduce the liquid down to concentrate the color… which seems like a lot of work. If you can source the powder, it might be worth it!
Juice your veggies: Include things like kale, spinach, parsley, or bell peppers for a nutritious green punch. Add apples, grapes or peaches to sweeten things. Or simply mix the green juice into light-colored dressings - even cake batters - to add a hint of green color. About two teaspoons is all you need.
Japanese green tea: Try Matcha tea, which is a finely milled or powder green tea from Japan. Besides drinking it as a tea, you can use it directly as an ingredient in many recipes. It not only turns foods green and has a rich flavor that goes with many things but it’s also rich in nutrients, antioxidants and fiber.
Green mac ‘n’ cheese with greens! Some kids love the idea of green macaroni and cheese, and it’s a sneaky way to include some extra greens in your child’s diet. Make your macaroni and cheese green by taking a spinach puree or even avocado and mixing it with the cheese sauce to get that green color.

Blue and Purple Hues

Butterfly Pea Tea: Derived from a Southeast Asian flower, butterfly pea tea has been used for centuries as a medicinal tea and a (somewhat) magical food dye ranging in color from deep blue to purple. Infused into a liquid with a neutral or basic PH, such as water, it will produce a beautiful deep blue dye. If the liquid is acidic, the dye will be purple! As with beets, the best way to extract the color in butterfly pea tea is to simmer the flowers in water until the color is highly concentrated. Just be aware that if you’re trying to color a cake batter that’s, say, flavored with lemon, the cake may end up purple instead of blue!
Purple Cabbage: Purple cabbage must also be infused into liquid to extract its color. Just like the butterfly pea tea, it can provide multiple colors, depending on the PH of that liquid. In this case, the purple cabbage naturally produces a purple dye, but the addition of a basic ingredient (such as baking soda) will turn it blue. Due to the potential metallic flavor that baking soda can give off, I recommend opting for butterfly pea tea if you’re looking to achieve blue coloring, rather than doctoring purple cabbage juice! Combine 2 cups shredded red cabbage and 1 1/2 cups water in a small pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Remove the mixture from the heat, and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain, then return the mixture to the pot. Reduce to 3 to 4 tablespoons, then stir in a small pinch of baking soda-this will turn the color from purple to blue! Transfer to a jar to cool completely. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon blue color for every 1 cup of royal icing. Combine 2 cups (190g) shredded purple cabbage with 1 1/2 cups (341g) water and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid, and let steep for about 15 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (discard the solids), then return the liquid to the saucepan. Add 1/4 cup (50g) sugar, bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and continue to simmer until the liquid is a deep purple color and has reduced by half. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, which will turn the liquid into a gorgeous shade of blue. It will be syrupy and bold.
Blueberries: Combine 2 cups blueberries and 1/4 cup water in a small pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the berries burst and begin to break down. Use a potato masher to mash the berries, then strain the liquid, discarding the solids. Return the juice to the pot and bring back to a simmer. Reduce to 1/4 cup, then transfer to a jar to cool completely. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon purple color to 1 cup of royal icing. In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups (290g) fresh blueberries with 1/4 cup (57g) water and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until the berries burst and break down. Mash the berries and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the berries to release as much liquid as possible; discard the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup. It will have the viscosity of orange juice.

Storing Natural Food Colorings

The food colorings can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen in ice cube trays for up to one month.

Application of Anthocyanins

Monica Giusti, a distinguished professor and associate department chair in the CFAES Department of Food Science and Technology, has pioneered research on anthocyanins - natural pigments responsible for the vibrant hues in fruits like blackberries, red cabbage and grapes. These compounds present an opportunity to replace synthetic dyes while potentially offering health benefits.

Key applications include the following:

Creating vibrant hues for fruit juices and sports drinks while adding antioxidants
Replacing synthetic dyes in gummies and hard candies
Developing heat-stable pigments that retain their color through baking

Key Considerations

When using natural food coloring, keep both flavor and color in mind. Natural coloring made from foods tends to be less vivid than artificial color additives, Jeffers notes. So it can be harder to control the color and consistency. Also, using food-based color can introduce other flavors. But this can work well if the flavor enhances the food. Remember, the more vivid the color, the more likely it is that the taste is also affected. It’s a good idea to experiment - and a lot of fun, too.

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