These homemade pickled beets are easy to make, keep for months, and taste absolutely fabulous! You can make these to keep in your refrigerator where they’ll keep for several weeks or you can water-bath can them for long-term storage, directions provided below!
I’ve always  been a fan of pickled beets.   I’m not sure how or when this love affair started, but even as a little girl I remember eagerly diving into these, whether at the dinner table or as a quick snack.
I also enjoy them in salads and boiled or steamed as a side vegetable for meat and fish. Â Oh, and grilled with a simple dab of butter, yum! Â Or how about in a Red Flannel Hash? Â Beets are also a great addition to baked goods like chocolate cake and brownies.
How do you like to prepare beets?
As delicious as beets are they are also healthy superbly high in a variety of vitamins, so it’s a win-win!
Use the freshest beets you can find. I’m using beets freshly harvested from my garden. I usually add the beet greens to soups, stews and salads and if I have an overabundance I’ll often blanch and freeze the greens for future use or feed them to our chickens (they love them too!).
But beets lend themselves particularly well to pickling. Â Stock up on fresh beets while in season, pickle them, and then enjoy them all the year long! Â Pickled beets are great on their own, as a side, and go great in things like pasta salads, spreads and relishes.
How do you use pickled beets? Â Share your ideas with us!
Pickled Beets Recipe
Let’s get started!
Thoroughly scrub and wash the beets. Â Leave the skins on or they will bleed while boiling and lose their color.
Place the beets in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 20-35 minutes, depending on the size of the beets, until the beets are soft when pierced with a fork. Â Drain the beets and remove them from the pot to let cool until you can comfortably handle them.
Meanwhile, add the vinegar, sugar and spices to the pot and bring to a boil.
Peel the skins and slice the beets in 1/4 inch thick slices.
Place the sliced beets back in the pot and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Ladle the sliced beets into the jars, spooning enough liquid over them to completely cover while leaving 1/2 inch head space from the top of the jar rim.
If you’re not canning the beets for long-term storage, let the beets cool and then transfer the jars to the refrigerator where they will keep for about 2 months.
If canning for long-term storage: Place the canning lids on the jars and process for 30 minutes (35 minutes if in 1000-3000 ft elevation) in a water bath. Carefully remove the jars and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours and then store them in a cool, dark place where they will keep for up to a year.
Whether canning or not, at least 3 days before eating the beets, preferably longer. The flavor improves with time.
I like and recommend Granite Ware’s Enamel-on-Steel Canner.
The pickled beets are ready to eat in 2 weeks (and get even better with age) and will keep up to a year.
Enjoy!
Did you know? Â Pickled beets are the traditional side dish for Swedish Kalops, a classic Swedish beef stew.
For more pickled goodness be sure to also try our:
- Pickled Banana Peppers
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- Pickled Carrots
- Dilly Beans
- Pickled Turnips
- Pickled Asparagus
- Pickled Onions (British Pub Style)
Pickled Beets
Ingredients
- 6 pounds red beets , washed and scrubbed clean
- 4 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the beets in a large pot of water and bring to a boil (do not peel the skins or the beets will bleed and lose their color). Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of the beets, until the beets are soft when pierced with a fork. Drain the beets and remove them from the pot to let cool until you can comfortably handle them (discard the beet water).
- Meanwhile, add the vinegar, sugar and spices to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Peel the skins and slice the beets in 1/4 inch thick slices. Place the sliced beets back in the pot with the vinegar solution and simmer for another 5 minutes.Ladle the sliced beets into the jars, spooning enough liquid over them to completely cover while leaving 1/2 inch head space from the top of the jar rim.
- If you're not canning the beets for long-term storage, let the beets cool and then transfer the jars to the refrigerator where they will keep for about 2 months.If canning for long-term storage: Place the canning lids on the jars and process for 30 minutes (35 minutes if in 1000-3000 ft elevation) in a water bath. Carefully remove the jars and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours and then store them in a cool, dark place where they will keep for up to a year.Whether canning or not, wait at least 3 days before eating the beets, preferably longer. The flavor improves with time.Makes about 6 pints.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet August 19, 2015
Charlotte says
Thank you Kimberley! First time with beets in the garden and first time making pickled beets, so will see how I make out next weekend. Thanks for your help! (And sorry typo in question…’I See it possible’ was supposed to read ‘Is it possible). Lol
Charlotte says
Hi! Wondering about the allspice berries… I see it possible to replace with ground allspice? I could not find the berries version at the local stores. Will it affect the taste.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Charlotte, whole spices are used to prevent the liquid from being murky and to avoid speckled residue on the beets, but aesthetics aside yes, you can use ground or you can simply omit the allspice altogether.
Elly says
Do you need to have all of the canning equiptment in order to can? I don’t have a canning pot but do have a large tall pot. Would that work? I have read that most people prefer to boil beets. I have always roasted them. I keep a bit of the stems on and the little tails. Then, I roast them in the oven at 350 until they are soft. I found I don’t run into problems of the beets losing their colour and they maintain a lot of their juices.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Elly, no you don’t need all the equipment. You can use a large pot but make sure the jars do not make direct contact with the bottom of the pot or they can crack – place a towel on the bottom or some crumpled up aluminum foil.
Elly says
Thank you so much for that tip! This will be my weekend project
Carol A Atherton says
I was given a couple of jars of pickled beets from my sister & they are generally very good. The last two jars she gave me has the pickles with a pink tinge and pink settled on the bottom. I dont know whether this is just sugar settling or perhaps they are too old and shouldnt be consumeed – what do you think? Carol
Mj says
I am very interested in pickled and preserved beets without water bath or refrigeration … any guidelines?
Thanx Kimberly
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Mj, those are the only methods I’m familiar with for preserving beets.
Scott says
Beets can be preserved by malolactic fermentation. Here is the method:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/259109/raw-fermented-beets/
If you are interested in fermentation as a technique, I recommend getting a copy of The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz.
Susan says
I pickle my homegrown beets without sugar just a little sea salt. They store well in the fridge for a couple of months . I use seasoned rice vinegar. My hubby loves them.
Margaret M Hand says
Can you sweeten the beets with a sugar substitute? My husband is a diabetic.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Margaret, yes you can but you will need to do an online search to verify which sugar substitutes are safe for canning because some are not. Also be aware that some sugar substitutes can make the vegetables a bit mushy.
Jill says
The pickled beets are absolutely delicious! Exactly the flavor I was looking for. Organic pickled beets are so expensive and I won’t buy the non organic ones, making these is the perfect solution and taste better! Thank you!!!!😋
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Jill, I’m so glad you enjoy them as much as we do, thank you!
Sharon Leger says
Is it possible to pickle beets and sterize the bottles and lids and seal that way without putting them in a boiling water bath. Years ago I boiled my beets and sterized my bottles and lids then poured the boiling mixture water sugar and vinegar over them and then put the hot lids on. All lids popped and we did not do a water bath.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sharon, that’s the ongoing debate between the U.S. and the rest of the world :) Everyone else has done it the way you describe for centuries, considering it safe to do so because of the high acidity level. The USDA however takes it a step beyond and recommends the water bath method as an added precaution.
Mary Colee- Long says
Thank you Kimberly for sharing the pickled beetroot recipe, which I’m making for the first time now (beets are boiling) I only have 3.12 lbs of beet roots before peeling,so I was going to slice 3 lbs of organic onions about 1/4″ thick. I’m new to your sight and I have enjoyed the visit. I’m using apple cider vinegar, I know it will effect the color but the acidity is the same so it should be safe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Mary, that sounds great. Happy canning and enjoy!
Carolle says
Another thing…cooked and put in cool ice water cutting both ends off and skin doesn’t pop 😩😩…needs to use potato peeler…ehatbin the world did I do wrong???? Could it be I didn’t cook long enough
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Carolle, yes, it sounds like they needed to stay in a bit longer.
Carolle says
Trying to find out if I can cook my beets (1 bushel) ahead of time….too tired to do whole process today but thought IF I could start cooking some today then balance of process tomorrow….
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Carolle, yes, I can totally understand that! :) That’s a good question and I’m not really sure how/if it will impact anything. Generally though, for the sake of preventing any bacterial growth, it’s recommended to can immediately.
J Deary says
I didn’t grow up eating beets. But in my young adulthood, I would go to a restaurant (the Sign of the Beef Carver) for roast beef and they had a station with free pickled beets, among other things. So whenever I was there, I always took a beet slice to eat with my beef. Now I can’t have roast beef without pickled beets. I suspect acquired tastes are as good or even better than the stuff I grew up with. And now I have a bunch of beets — picked yesterday from my father-in-law’s garden. Guess what I will be making today.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Perfect! I have a bunch of beets ready for picking in my garden and this is exactly what I’ll be doing with them also! :)
jim cowdrey says
hi kimberly, when we boiled the beets they lost their color, does this hurt the flavor? should we go ahead and pickle them?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jim, not a problem – it won’t impact their flavor, only their appearance.
Shari says
What is canning? I’m growing beets & would like to pickle them but I’m not sure what some of the processes are- ultimate novice lol!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Shari, in a nutshell canning refers to a method of food preservation – placing foods in jars and processing them either via what’s known as the water bath method or pressure canning (using a special pot known as a pressure canner) to safeguard the contents of the jars from any pathogens. Which method you use depends on the acidity level of the foods being preserved. These pickled beets can be preserved using the water bath method as discussed. On a side note, most areas of the world, including western Europe, would not bother processing the jars in the water bath for pickling vegetables. American canners tend to take extra precautions and water bathe the jars before storing them long-term.