Halloween is coming up and you’re probably in the kitchen putting your oven to work baking an array of funky coloured treats. But, this season you may want to put the artificial colours away. Made with the same stuff that your car fuel is made from–petroleum–artificial colours aren’t the best choice when it comes to adding flair to whatever you may be making. Instead, we suggest you try your hand at making and using homemade, natural food dye.

These dyes aren’t very hard to make and actually work pretty darn well if you ask us! They’re either tasteless or very, very light in flavour. All you need are a few ingredients, water, and some common kitchen appliances. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks!

Making a natural food dye is easy and keeps food fun!

Green

It’s not easy being green, but it sure is easy to make it. All you need is one cup of fresh spinach (washed and drained) and some water! To start, fill a small saucepan about ⅔ of the way with water, which should last about 5 minutes at a boil. Once boiling, add spinach and let it boil for 5 minutes. Drain the remaining water and add spinach to a food processor or high-speed blender as well as 2-4 tablespoons of water. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth and add water one tablespoon at a time if there are clumps that aren’t going away! Strain it and allow it to cool before putting it in an airtight container.

Yellow

The yellow food dye is the easiest of them all to make. Bring half a cup of water and one teaspoon of turmeric to a boil for about three minutes (up to five minutes if necessary). Stir as it boils and allow it to cool off completely before storing it. Be careful though! Turmeric is known to stain pretty much anything it comes into contact with from countertops to fingers. It’s one heck of a dye!

Pink

Got a can of beets laying around? Well, that’s really all ya need for this natural food dye! For every quarter cup of drained, canned beets you’ll need about 1 teaspoon of beet juice from the can. Add ‘em to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Strain it while pouring it into an airtight container and refrigerate.

Purple

Funny enough, to get a nice purple hue you have to use blueberries. Thaw and drain half a cup of fresh blueberries and add them to a high-speed blender along with four teaspoons of water. Blend until smooth (mind you, there will be a lot of blueberry skins left). Strain the mixture through a really fine mesh to separate the skins from the liquids and refrigerate!

What are you going to make with these dyes this season? Share your photos with us!