Eggscellent Easter Deviled Eggs Appetizer Recipe

While the exact date of Easter varies from year to year, the holiday often occurs just as spring is really starting to get underway. The colors we associate with the festivities are the same ones we see on the flowers that are beginning to bloom — and the ones we duplicate when dyeing eggs to fill our Easter baskets. Recipe developer Kara Barrett took inspiration from that very tradition when creating this unique take on deviled eggs, which make the perfect appetizer for Easter lunch and have natural food dye to thank for their pretty pink color.

"The concept for this dish was to create a fun, festive, and very pink egg for Easter that incorporates flavor from my favorite pickled red onion recipe," Barrett explains. Homemade pickled red onions provide a decorative and tangy touch to these deviled eggs, dyed with beet juice for a Barbie-esque hue and garnished with fresh mint for a complementary cooling effect.

The first thing you're going to need for this recipe is eggs, of course, plus some beet juice and white vinegar for dyeing them. You'll also need mayonnaise and Dijon mustard for the filling, as well as fresh mint for a garnish and red onions, coriander seeds, salt, and sugar to make the pickles.

Thinly slice the red onion, discarding the skin.

To a medium mason jar, add sliced onion, coriander, sugar, 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Tightly seal and store in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours (or up to 1 week) before making the deviled eggs.

In a small bowl, combine beet juice and remaining 1 cup vinegar.

Place eggs in the beet juice mixture and let sit for about 1 ½ minutes, or until they reach the desired pink color.

Remove eggs from the bowl and let dry on paper towels.

Slice eggs in half lengthwise.

Remove yolks and place into a bowl along with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt.

Using a fork, mash yolks into a fine powder.

Stir in the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard.

Mince ¼ cup pickled red onion and add it to the yolk mixture. Stir until well combined, tasting and adjusting seasonings as desired.

Using a spoon or piping bag, fill the dyed egg white halves with the yolk mixture.

Stick 1 piece of pickled onion onto each deviled egg.

Garnish eggs with mint leaves and coriander seeds from the pickling liquid, and serve on a platter.

"I have a strong aversion to beets," Barrett admits — and yet, she shares, beet juice "is a very effective stain" for a range of foods, from all-natural pink frostings to deviled eggs. If you're sensitive to the flavor of beets, you'll appreciate Barrett's trick of adding white vinegar to the egg dye, as it helps counteract the earthiness a bit. If you don't mind beets, Barrett says you can leave the vinegar out, since it shouldn't impact the color of the eggs. Have leftover beet juice? Swap it for vermouth in a sweet pink negroni.

While dyeing food with beet juice is easy, Barrett does have some tips. First, gloves are advised — unless you want your fingers to come out as pink as your eggs. Next, know that the soaking time will impact the color of your hard-boiled eggs. For a lighter pink color, check on them after about 20 seconds in the beet juice. For the vibrant hue shown in the photo above, opt for the instructed 1 ½-minute soak time.

Store-bought pickled onions are a fine substitute for homemade ones in this recipe, and they'll shave off a significant part of the prep time. Try to find pickled red onions if you can, but if only white ones are available, you can take a tip from Bobby Flay and make your pickled onions pink with a splash of grenadine. If you have time to spare, however, Barrett strongly encourages making this ingredient from scratch — otherwise, "you'll be missing out on the flavor of the coriander, and you won't be able to customize your pickled onions," she explains.

Whether you make or buy your pickled onions, you're likely to have leftovers. "That's the fun part of this recipe," Barrett says, as this workhorse ingredient "adds bright pops of tart flavor to many dishes." Pickled onions go great on burgers, while Barrett says they also work well with tacos, sandwiches, eggs, beans, and roasted meat. "The flavors of pickled red onion, coriander, and mint complement each other very well," Barrett shares, so try the condiment with anything that has fresh mint, or add some sprigs to the pickling jar.