Easter Eggs ~ Pickled Rainbow Deviled Eggs

Happy Easter!

My mom makes pickled eggs with beets for Easter, just the way my grandma used to make. I think it’s an old Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that made its way into our family. I decided to expand on our tradition this year by dying my eggs pink…and yellow, orange, blue, and purple, and I was delighted with all of the bright colors, which were, amazingly, totally natural! 🙂

After I dyed the eggs, I made them into deviled eggs. Use your favorite deviled egg recipe. I like to use Greek yogurt in mine, so between the pickling and the filling, they have a bit of a tang. These deviled eggs are perfect for an Easter afternoon snack—if they make it that long. 😉

Pickled Rainbow Deviled Eggs

(Inspired by Food52)

For the pickled eggs:

3/4 cup white-wine vinegar

3/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled (for all 5 colors, use 15 whole eggs)

(Each coloring recipe below is for 1 batch of the basic pickling blend above. To make all 5 colors, make the basic pickling blend in 5 separate batches.)

For pink:

1 small red beet, roasted, peeled, and cut into large pieces

For yellow:

1/2 tablespoon ground dried turmeric

For orange:

1/2 tablespoon ground dried turmeric

1 small piece (the equivalent of approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons) roasted and peeled red beet

For blue:

1/4 small red cabbage, thinly sliced

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For purple:

1/4 small red cabbage, thinly sliced

1 1/8 teaspoons baking soda

Divide the eggs into five glass containers that are big enough for three eggs and one batch of the pickling liquid.

In a small saucepan, bring one batch of vinegar, water, and salt to a simmer. Whisk the mixture to ensure the salt fully dissolves. Then, turn off the heat and add the coloring of your choice.

Pour the colored pickling blend over the top of three eggs, making sure they are fully submerged. Repeat with the remaining four colors.

Refrigerate the submerged eggs until they are the color you desire. I left mine in the pickling blend for a few hours, stirring every hour or so, to ensure they colored evenly. (I found that the pink, orange, and yellow took less time to reach the color I wanted than the blue and purple, so I left the latter colored eggs in the pickling blend longer.) The eggs will also become more pickled with time.

If you make all 5 colors, you’ll end up with 15 whole eggs or 30 deviled egg halves.

Deviled eggs:

Prepared pickled eggs

5 ounces nonfat plain Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Salt to taste

Cut each egg in half and remove the yolks.

In a medium bowl, mash the yolks with a fork. Add the yogurt, mustard, mayonnaise, and salt, and mix until the filling is well incorporated and smooth.

Scoop the filling into a piping bag fitted with a star tip, and then, pipe the filling into each egg white half.