Discover 8 Edible Ingredients To Use As Food Colouring

By Bhavana Verma

December 8th, 2023

Image Credit: Freepik

We often add food colouring to our dishes to make them look more appealing, but most of them are made of chemicals that are not suitable for healthy living. Therefore, here are eight natural food colouring alternatives that can be used to make meals look more appetising.

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Beets (Red)

Beets contain a natural red pigment that is left behind with every drop of their juice. You can use beets, their juice, or beet root powder to make your rice, sweets, and other dishes turn red.

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Carrot (Orange)

The orange pigment in carrots is a good way to paint your dishes orange. You can extract its puree or fine powder through a natural dyeing process.

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Saffron (Yellow)

Saffron has been the most natural food colouring used in Indian cuisine for thousands of years and it imparts a bright yellow colour to dishes, especially desserts. 

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Spinach (Green)

The natural dye of spinach extracted from the vegetable can be used to turn your dishes green.

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Brown (Coffee, Tea)

The brown tint of coffee and tea gives the dishes a beautiful brown colour and can be used to dye cakes and biscuits.

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Turmeric (Yellow)

It is a natural herb with lots of medical properties. It can go well with both salty meals, snacks, and sweet desserts.

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Blueberries (Blue)

Using blueberry dye to colour the dishes blue is a great way to avoid using artificial food colourings.

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Blue Butterfly Pea Flower

An edible, widely grown flower in India has several applications in the culinary arts. This flower can be used to make tea and colour the dishes blue. 

Image Credit: Freepik

Image Credit: Freepik