Beets for Food Coloring

I’m not a fan of using food coloring.  I really don’t like all the artificial dyes, so I’ve started trying to find natural dyes.  A great dye for red is beets.

First you will need some fresh beets.  Cut off the tops(you can use those for other things) and the tails; then peel the beets.

Place the beets in a baking dish lined with aluminum foil. 

Cover the beets with the aluminum foil so that it is all sealed.

Bake for 60 minutes and uncover to see the lovely cooked beets.

Let cool, then puree.  You can use a food processor if you have one or a blender.  You can  even use a potato masher!

And voila you have instand food coloring.  I have used it in some Valentine’s treats.
Valentine Sugar Cookies
Red Velvet Cupcakes

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11 Comments

  1. LaVonne @ Long Wait

    I recently purchased this natural drink mix that you add to water bottles. It is made with Stevia and the coloring is beets! 🙂 Thanks for this tip. I love it. I pinned it to my DIY Pinterest board!

  2. Erica Barnes

    This is a great idea since I am allergic to artificial food dyes. I’m going to try and make those Red Velvet cupcakes.

  3. Wendi Scharrer

    Awesome. Great use for beets. I do not like the taste of food coloring

  4. angie lilly

    LOVE this!!! All natural and probably adds a tad of nutrients to stuff you make too! LOL Thanks!!!

  5. NenaS

    It’s funny, I was cooking beets last week and wondering if you could use them in place of store-bought food coloring. Now I know! Thanks for the info!!

  6. Lucy Black

    I have never used artificial dyes and I really don’t want to. Natural dyes are best – beets, red cabbage, spinach … Great post!

  7. Spots8105

    Great information. I prefer to use a natural dye for food coloring, but didn’t think of using beets. Thanks.

  8. Luda

    That is great idea, how does that work as a food coloring though, isn’t it too thick and chunky?

  9. Karmajnke

    A big portion of my family is allergic to red food dye. I am so very happy I stumbled upon this post tonight. Thank you thank you thank you.

  10. Don

    Thanks!! this will come in handy for V-Day 😉

  11. Susan Alban

    I had never thought of this! What a useful idea

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