How to Color Frosting Naturally
Before we dish about how to master natural food coloring for frosting, we have a disclaimer: Pretty much every natural substitute for food coloring will be less vibrant or intense as the commercially-bought bottles of food dye. For the deepest hues, use as concentrated a natural color base as possible, but note that the more you use, the more you might catch a hint of the flavor. (This might actually be an asset with something like strawberry; probably not so much with spinach in a dessert recipe.) You have two options for natural dyes for frosting:
Concentrated Liquids
These offer more color and can be made using a juicer or you can create a purée by blending an ingredient and pressing it through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve. Use as much produce as it takes to get 1 cup of strained liquid. Then, reduce the liquid in a skillet over medium heat to concentrate the color and remove extra water that might dilute the frosting. Aim for about ¼ cup concentrated liquid as the finished product.
Powders
Just as you would with food dyes, start with a small amount of these natural frosting coloring options and add more as needed to adjust the color to your desired tint. For royal icing, start with 1½ teaspoons of powder or ¾ teaspoon liquid concentrate per cup of icing. For natural food coloring for buttercream frosting, you’ll need more; try 1 tablespoon of powder or 1½ teaspoons concentrate per cup to start and scale up as needed. Test Kitchen Tip: To avoid clumps, dissolve the natural powder dye in about 1 tablespoon of water before mixing in the frosting itself.
Natural Frosting Coloring Ideas for Every Shade
The only limits for substitutes for food coloring are your time and imagination. Feel free to use the guidance above to experiment and find your own personal favorite natural food colorings for frosting, try our Fresh Strawberry Buttercream recipe as a guide, or try our suggestions below for how to color frosting naturally. Play around with these natural frosting coloring alternatives, then report back in the comments about what worked best for you.
