Natural Food Colors
When we decorate cakes, cookies and the like, we can use any number of ingredients to tint an other wise white frosting. Lots of people use artificial colors. The little bottles found in most any grocery store. Or any number of gels, powders or tubes found in cake and candy making stores. I want to start by saying that its not my business whether you use natural or artificial colors in your cooking. I have a few bottles hanging around myself. This is just about looking at some other options out there.
People starting asking me when I used beet powder to tint frosting for a chocolate beet cake. So I began looking into what other colors I could create using more natural ingredients. My own mother had issues with a red food coloring. I know a few people that have issues with artificial colors. So what follows is what I have been doing and what I have come up with. Not all the answers and I am not a scientist. I’m just a cook and baker who likes to play around with new ingredients in the kitchen sometimes.
The Picture
Let’s start with what powders are in the picture at the top of this post. Starting with the bright blue on the lower left, then going up and around clockwise: Blue spirulina, beet, red cabbage, peas, turmeric, carrot, raspberry and green spirulina. I purchased the blue and green spirulina and the turmeric. The rest I dehydrated and then powdered in a spice (coffee) grinder.
So what colors will you get and how do you make them yourself?
Blue Spirulina: Bright blue
Algae that people consume for various reasons, including the mineral content and other health reasons.
Green Spirulina: Forest green
Like blue version, an algae that people consume for various health benefits.
Turmeric :Yellow
The dried root of a tropical plant used in foods for both flavor and color. Sometimes used to make rice yellow to mimic the use of saffron.
Beet Powder: Pink to light red
Beets are cooked, sliced and placed in a dehydrator until rock hard. Then ground in a spice mill. I have seen beet powder sold so you don’t have to make it yourself.
Red Cabbage: Purple to light violet
Leaves are steamed until just soft, then dehydrated until crisp and powdered up.
Raspberry: Pinkish violet
Raspberries and rinsed, patted dry and dehydrated until crisp.
Peas: Light to bright green
Frozen peas are thawed, drained of excess water and dried until crisp. A note about the peas. They fell right through the holes in my dehydrator. Once I retrieved most of them, I lined the trays with parchment and started over.
Carrots: Orange
The carrots were peeled and sliced and steamed until pretty tender. When I left them in thick slices the first time I made them, they were harder to grind into a powder. The thin slices worked better in my spice mill.
Final notes on colors. For green, you can also dehydrate spinach or other leafy greens. I dehydrate and powder up orange peels. Use them in recipes all the time for flavor. They too, will add orange color, but their flavor is pretty pronounced. I found the carrots were more subtle, but you can add some orange peels, if you have them.
More information For any of the powders, its important that you keep them dry for long term storage. Nice airtight containers and cool conditions will help them to hold their color longer. This seems especially important with the carrot and pea powders. I store them in the fridge or freezer.
The question I got from a few people was taste. Will my frosting end up tasting of peas or cabbage? The answer is pretty much no, based on what I have used them for. Moderation is key though. If you want a super bright purple the cabbage might have a slight odor, rather than a flavor. it seems to dissipate over time.
Well, that’s what I have so far in my use of natural foods coloring. I’m starting cooking camps and will have the kids use them this year to see what they come up with. More pics to follow soon.
Before you ask, Here is the link to the chocolate beet cake recipe. Its very popular.
https://thecharmedkitchen.com/2025/10/02/chocolate-beet-cake-11/
