Sweet and tangy raw pickled beets – a quick and easy snack or side dish that’s super simple to throw together with basic pantry ingredients everyone should have!
When you think of pickling, beets probably aren’t the first thing to come to mind. Pickled beets are a little different than other canning recipes in which you have to sterilize the jars, process in a water bath and store in your pantry at room temp.
For this recipe, it’s everything but difficult.
Simply slice your beets, make the pickling brine, and pour it over the veggies. Allow the jars to cool and then store in the refrigerator.
Unlike regular canning recipes, this recipe doesn’t have the option for long term storage. However, it does several weeks in the fridge – not to mention, it’s super easy to make, so you can whip up another batch relatively quickly.
Pickled Beets
- Feel free to use any kind of beets for this recipe. I love using red beets, but you could also use golden beets as well.
- I prefer to use regular white vinegar for the brine, but you can use cider vinegar or even rice wine vinegar, too.
- Adjust the spices in the brine to your preference. You can use anything from red pepper flakes, to dill, onion and garlic,
Whipping up pickled beets takes mere minutes – you’ll want to keep the following in mind:
- This recipe is not shelf stable! These beets will need to be stored in the refrigerator.
- It’s best to use wide mouth canning jars for this recipe, which make it easier to remove beets when you’re ready to enjoy. I love using these plastic lids on my wide mouth jars, they wash up better and last longer than regular lids and bands.
- Make sure the beets are completely covered with brine, this keeps the beets safe (and edible!)
- Once you are done with the beets, keep the brine. Boil the brine and use for another batch. Or marinate hard boiled eggs in it for beet pickled eggs.
When to Eat Pickled Beets
The best thing about making pickled beets is being able to enjoy them immediately. Though you can enjoy them right away, waiting a day or two will give them an even deeper flavor.
I usually let mine sit on the counter for 24 hours before moving to the refrigerator.
How to Store Pickled Beets
These pickled beets cannot be stored in a pantry, but they can be refrigerated. Thankfully they keep for quite a long time. This recipe will keep for up to 5-6 weeks when refrigerated properly.
More Pickle Recipes
- Pickled Celery Sticks
- Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Spicy Pickled Pineapple
- Zucchini Pickles
- Spicy Pepper Pickled Broccoli
I hope you love this recipe for pickled beets – it’s so easy and delicious! Please take a minute to leave a comment and rate the recipe as well. Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest.
Pickled Beets
Ingredients
- 4 medium beets peeled, sliced thin
- 1 C vinegar
- 1 C water
- 1 Tbsp pickling spice
- 1/3 C sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Divide the sliced beets between two wide mouth pint canning jars.
- Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pickling spice to a boil in a medium saucepan until sugar is dissolved.
- SImmer for a few minutes. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool.
- Pour the brine over the beets in the wide mouth canning jar. Ensure that the beets are completely covered.
- Cover with lids and bands and set aside for a few hours or up to one day, then transfer to the refrigerator.
Made two jars of these pickled beets. They are so hard, why?
They are hard because they are raw beets. You’re not cooking them before pickling them.
I have to say these are the best beets! I tried them the next day and they were amazing, even better after a week! Thank you for this wonderful recipe! Next time I’m going to chop them into small cubes to eat on my salads.