How to Make Natural Food Coloring

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, artificial food dyes have been linked to allergies, ADHD, and cancer. I'll pass! So I decided to experiment with different fruits, vegetables, and spices to make homemade natural food coloring. I used my juicer to extract the juice from fruits and vegetables. If you don't have a juicer, you can mash the fruit and strain it, boil the veggies in a little water and use the concentrated liquid, or use juice from the store.

If you are coloring frosting, I suggest using this heavenly cream cheese frosting recipe. I also tried a butter cream frosting made with 12 Tbsp. butter and 1 pound powdered sugar. But the cream cheese frosting tasted way better, especially when mixed with things like kale juice or turmeric. Start with small amounts of "natural dye" and taste the frosting as you go to make sure it doesn't overpower the original flavor. Check out my extremely scientific results below to find out what worked and what didn't.

Color	What it Looks Like	What I Used	Notes
Orange		12 tsp. juice from carrots per 1 cup cream cheese frosting	I could taste the carrots, but it tasted great with the cream cheese frosting.
Yellow		1/2 tsp. turmeric and 2 tsp. milk per 1 cup butter cream frosting (Omit milk in cream cheese frosting)	I could taste a hint of turmeric in the butter cream frosting, but it still tasted good. Next time I would use cream cheese frosting and less turmeric.
Pale Yellow-Green		8 tsp. mashed avocado per 1 cup cream cheese frosting	Disappointing. It all depends on the color of your avocado. My avocado wasn't very green. The taste of avocado was too strong.
Pastel Green		8 tsp. juice from kale or spinach per 1 cup cream cheese frosting	I could taste a hint of kale, but it still tasted great. Spinach and kale dyed the frosting the same color green, but spinach left a yucky aftertaste.
Light Pink		2 tsp. juice from raspberries per 1 cup cream cheese frosting	Yummy!
Pink		4 tsp. juice from strawberries per 1 cup cream cheese frosting	Delicious!
Hot Pink		2 tsp. juice from beets per 1 cup cream cheese frosting	I loved the bright color beet juice produced. I could taste a tiny hint of beets, but it still tasted great.
Purplish Pink		4 tsp. juice from blackberries per 1 cup cream cheese frosting	Yummm!
Brown		2 tsp. cocoa powder and 2 tsp milk per 1 cup butter cream frosting (Omit milk in cream cheese frosting)	Can't go wrong with cocoa!
Grey-Lilac		8 tsp. juice from blueberries per 1 cup cream cheese frosting	I was expecting a pretty lilac color, but it made an unappetizing gray color. A commenter said you can get lilac by boiling red cabbage.
Color of throw-up		2 tsp. paprika and 2 tsp. milk per 1 cup butter cream frosting (Omit milk in cream cheese frosting)	I read that paprika was supposed to make brick-red frosting. As you can see, it was not brick-red and it tasted nasty.
Red		one can of beets and marshmallow fondant	I didn't think red was possible until Nicole at Perfection Is My Enemy showed me this amazing Lego cake. Click here to see how she did it.

Do you know other ways to make natural food coloring? Please share!


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