Easy Pickled Beets Recipe

Want to make beets like grandma used to make and have no idea how? Then this Easy Pickled Beets Recipe is for you. Make this recipe and enjoy them any time you like, all year long.

Pickled beets are one of my favorites besides Roast Beets or Harvard Beets. I love beets as a side dish with a quick lunch of cheese and crackers and maybe a pickle or two, also.

We love canning very, very much here at Noshing With The Nolands and have many successful recipes that I will share with you, along with today’s Easy Pickled Beets Recipe.

Is canning beets easy? It really is easy. Canning is easy once you know what to do. It is something that we have been doing for years and years now. 

Let me walk you through the whole process and give you as many tips as I can. It honestly used to intimidate me, but not anymore. 

Before we dive completely into the Pickled Beets, let me share with you a few other recipes that are sure-fire winners for canning. Our site has become kind of noted for our canning recipes and quick pickling. I know a lot of people are enjoying them. 

Other Canning Recipes

Simple Easy Homemade Canned Tomatoes

Homemade Canned Tomato Salsa

Tomato Jam Recipe

Garden Fresh Zucchini Salsa

Blueberry Rhubarb Jam

Red and Green Pepper Jelly

Jalapeno Jam

Homemade Sweet Hot Mustard

What Ingredients do you need for Pickled Beets?

What Equipment do you need for Canning?

6-500 ml. jars sterilized, including lids and rims – This is the size I like, but you may want a larger jar, too.

Canner – You need one large enough to submerse jars completely, and it also needs to have the rack in the bottom so the jars aren’t directly on the bottom of the pot.

Jar Lifter – Essential for taking hot jars out of the canner.

Funnel – To pour liquid into jars.

Magnetic lid lifter (optional) – Handy to pick up hot lids.

Bubble popper (optional) – A sharp pointy knife can be used also.

Ladle – Needed to get the liquid into each jar.

Pot – Needed to make the brine for the beets.

How to Pickle Beets

Pickling beets require some basic ingredients, vinegar, salt, spices, and sugar. Most recipes ask for sugar. I don’t like them too sweet, but just enough to balance the vinegar. 

As for spices, it is more of a mixture than with other “pickled” recipes. For this one, we used mustard seeds, star anise, cloves, black peppercorns, and coriander seeds. This is a good combination for sweet beets. 

I have been looking for a recipe for a while and really liked my girlfriend Jill’s pickled beets. She had used the Canadian Living recipe, so I followed along with only minor changes; it really didn’t need too many revisions. 

Cooking The Beets 

To start off with, you need to cook the beets. You want them tender but not falling apart. They should easily slice when cooked.

Don’t buy beets that are huge, as you won’t get a nice round medallion when slicing or be able to put them in the jar without cutting them up!! Well, that is how I like them, you can cut them into chunks too. 

You want to cover the beets with water while cooking and let them boil for about 35-40 minutes. Then let them cool, trim off the root and top ends, and peel them. Don’t try to do this beforehand; it is much easier after they have been boiled. Then slice your cooled beets and have them ready for pickling.

How to Can Pickled Beets

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine a pickling liquid of cider vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. This is boiled for about 5 minutes. In each jar goes the spices: mustard seeds, 1-star anise, 1 whole clove, black peppercorns, and coriander seeds. 

Your sliced beets are then tightly packed into sterile jars (I run ours through the dishwasher and then into boiling water for 5 min. along with the lids and rings). Hot brine is then added to about 1/2″ from the top.

Make sure all bubbles have been removed, and wipe the rims clean. Now place the lids on and screw the rims to just fingertip tightness. 

Sign up for the Altitude Adjustment Chart 

Now time for the water bath! Use the helpful guide above to adjust to the altitude. We have to do that here in Calgary. 

Therefore the recommended time for us is 35 instead of 30 minutes for the altitude adjustment. You need water to cover so submerge the jars 1″ below the water level.

And that is it; you now have wonderful beets to start eating after about 1-2 weeks. Give them some time to pickle before you start diving in, too. The wait is worth it!

Recipe Pro Tips!

Shelf Life

To can is a method of preservation. It is when food is processed and sealed in an airtight container. There are different methods to accomplish this. For me, it is almost always using a water bath. 

Canning provides a shelf life of one to five years. I have definitely cracked open jars after 3 years of storage and had nothing wrong with them. My rule of thumb is two years though, but they usually don’t last that long! 

Are Pickled Beets Good For You?

Beets are low in calories and a great source of many nutrients. They contain fiber, folate (vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C. They are associated with lowering blood pressure and increasing athletic performance. 

Because beets require salt and sugar for pickling, you will want to monitor your intake, but a couple of slices here and there are so satisfying and way better than cracking open that bag of candy or chips. 

Pin it HERE!!

Pin it HERE!!

Easy Pickled Beets Recipe

Tara Noland

Easy Pickled Beets can be enjoyed in so many ways. I love them as part of a charcuterie board or with my lunch with cheese and crackers. The spices and pickling are earthy, sweet, and savory, making these beets divine.

4.52 from 43 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Additional Time 14 days d

Total Time 14 days d 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Canning and Pickling

Cuisine American

Servings 6 – 500 ml jars

Calories 55 kcal

Ingredients

 

• 5 lbs. small red beets or a mixture of red and orange or yellow
• 4 1/2 cups cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 4 tsp. Kosher or Pickling salt
• 6 tsp. mustard seeds
• 6 star anise
• 3 tsp. black peppercorns
• 6 whole cloves
• 3 tsp. coriander seeds
• 6-500 ml. jars sterilized including lids and rims

Instructions

 

• Cook beets in a large pot of boiling water. Cook until tender for about 30-35 minutes. Let cool, trim the ends and peel. Slice and set aside.
• In a large pot, add vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
• Sterilize jars in boiling water for 5 min, including the lids and rims.
• Into each of your hot 6 – 500 ml. jars, add 1 tsp. mustard seed, 1 star anise, 1 clove, 1/2 tsp. each peppercorns and coriander seeds.
• Tightly pack in beets to within 3/4" of the rim. Add the hot brine to cover the beets and up to 1/2" of the rim. Wipe the rims with a clean cloth or paper towel. Cover with the lids and screw on the rims to fingertip tight.
• Now process in a water bath on a rack for 30 minutes or according to the chart for altitude adjustments, submerging the jar to 1" above the lids.
• Remove jars and let cool on a counter lined with a tea towel. Refrigerate and eat any jars that don't seal. You will hear them popping while cooling and sealing. If they don't seal, you will be able to move the lid up and down when touching it.

Equipment

Ball Wide Mouth Mason Jars (16 oz/Pint capacity) 12 Pack. With Airtight lids and Bands – For Canning, Fermenting, Pickling, Freezing – Jar Decor. Microwave & Dishwasher Safe. + SEWANTA Jar Opener

Ball Secure-Grip Jar Lifter (by Jarden Home Brands)

Granite Ware 0707-2 21.5 Quart Canner With Lid

Notes

You may have more brine than needed, but it's better to have a bit too much than too little. It will depend on how tightly you pack the beets. We didn't pack them overly tight, and it made 6 jars.

See the post for more important information and tips.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 55kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 1gSodium: 67mgFiber: 2gSugar: 10g

Nutrition calculation is an estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!