Tangy Beet Pickled Eggs Recipe (with Fresh Beets)

If you’ve never tried beet pickled eggs before, you are in for something special. And if you’re skeptical, don’t knock ‘em until you try them! I will admit: I had pretty mediocre expectations when we made our very first batch of beet pickled eggs many years ago. If anything, I saw it as a fun experiment to use the growing abundance of fresh eggs from our backyard chickens. Now, making homemade beet pickled eggs has become one of our favorite ways to showcase, enjoy, and preserve fresh eggs!

Please enjoy our easy homemade beet pickled eggs recipe. They are tangy, savory, just a tad sweet, and as spicy as you want to make them! In addition to being delicious, beet pickled eggs are downright gorgeous. Naturally dyed with fresh beets, these bright pink and yellow eggs bring a spectacular pop of color to your plate. Beet pickled eggs make outstanding zesty deviled eggs, and the kids will be super excited to enjoy these as a unique and healthy snack!

INGREDIENTS

Per Quart Jar

• 9 to 11 large eggs. Though you may be able to squeeze up to a dozen in a quart jar, we typically use about 10 eggs to make our beet pickled eggs. That leaves enough room for the beets, brine, and other goodies too.
  
• 1 small to medium fresh beet. Using red beets will result in beautiful deep pink pickled eggs. I have also seen people use golden beets, creating bright yellow pickled eggs! A chioggia beet (white and pink) will result in a more muted light pink color. Some homemade beet pickled egg recipes call for canned beets, but we prefer using fresh.
  
• 2/3 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar (organic and raw/unpasteurized preferred)
• 1/4 cup filtered water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, kosher salt, or pickling salt (not iodized table salt)
• 1/2 tablespoon white cane sugar
• 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
• A dash of black pepper
• Optional: fresh hot chili peppers, red chili flakes, celery seed, dijon mustard, and fresh red, white or yellow onion slices (described more below!) 

As you can see, our recipe doesn’t call for an excessive amount of sugar like many other beet pickled egg recipes do. The natural sweetness from beets and apple cider vinegar is plenty, in my humble opinion!

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep

• Wash, hard boil, and peel about a dozen eggs. 
  
  
• Pack the peeled eggs into a clean quart-size mason jar or similar container. I highly recommend using a glass container, as plastic may become stained and stinky, and most metal is not compatible with vinegar.
  
  
• Wash and grate the fresh raw beet. We use a box cheese grater, though you can also finely slice (julienne) the beets instead. Whether you choose to peel the beet first is up to you. Since we use homegrown beets with fairly tender skin, we often include the skin. If it is gnarly tough or difficult to get fully clean, you may want to remove it.
  

Brine & Season

• In a pot on the stovetop, combine all the other called-for ingredients: both types of vinegar, water, grated beet, salt, sugar, garlic, and black pepper. 
  
  
• Add other optional ingredients. We usually add a fresh hot chili pepper from the garden, cut in half and tucked into the jar with the eggs. The other optional ingredients are best mixed into the stovetop brine, such as 1 to 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard (highly recommended!), a dash or celery seed and/or red chili flakes, or a small handful of thinly-sliced fresh onion.
  
  
• Heat and lightly simmer the brine ingredients over medium heat for a few minutes (until the salt and sugar fully dissolve and everything seems well-combined). It should turn bright pink from the beets right away!

Assemble & Steep

• Allow the brine to cool slightly, and then pour it into the jar over the eggs. A warm brine is okay, though I avoid adding it when it is still piping hot. Make sure to get most of the beets in there! If the jar is getting full but there are still goodies in the pot, I give priority to adding as much grated beet as possible before topping off with liquid brine. Also, I like to keep a little pile of beets on top of the uppermost eggs, helping to keep the eggs submerged below the brine. If you happen to run out of brine, simply add another splash of your vinegar of choice to top the jar off. 
  
  
• Next, add a tight-fitting lid, and move the jar to the refrigerator right away. We like these stainless steel lids that have a silicone gasket to prevent leaks. Cooked eggs should not be left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours as a food safety best practice.
  
  
• Finally, let the beet pickled eggs sit and infuse for a few days (at minimum). The longer they steep, the deeper the beet color will get – and the more tangy pickled-flavor the eggs will become! After a few days in the fridge, the outermost layer of egg white will become pink. Given a week or more, the pink can penetrate all the way down to the yolk! We like to let our homemade beet pickled eggs to infuse for at least 5 to 10 days before digging in! Very large eggs can take up to two weeks to become fully seasoned.
  
  
• If some eggs are pressed up against the sides of the jar (leaving un-dyed white spots), or if any are floating up above the brine level, gently tip and shake the jar every couple of days to move things around. That is one added benefit of not over-packing the jar.

Enjoy!

After infusing for a few days in the refrigerator, it is time to enjoy your beet pickled eggs! We love to slice them to put on top of crusty homemade sourdough bread with hummus, avocado, cucumber, and/or cheese as a colorful open-face egg sandwich! Hint: they turn even brighter pink when broiled on toast! Beet pickled eggs also make some awesomely wicked deviled eggs. Finally, we enjoy them simply cut in half, sprinkled with a dash of salt and pepper, and snacked on plain! They bring a spunky pop of color to an hors d’oeuvres plate or cheese board.

Read below for storage information, “shelf-life”, safety, and other frequently asked questions.

Frequently Asked Questions about Homemade Pickled Eggs

How long do pickled eggs stay good for?

When made with a high-vinegar recipe (mostly or all vinegar brine) and stored in the refrigerator, homemade pickled eggs should stay good and safe to consume for several months. According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, use refrigerated pickled eggs “within 3 to 4 months for best quality”.

We always use ours well within that time frame, usually within one or two months maximum – simply because we enjoy them so much! I suggest making your homemade pickled eggs in batches that you can reasonably consume within that time frame. You can always stagger batches and make more next month! If so, be sure to label your jars to keep them straight.

Can I store homemade beet pickled eggs at room temperature?

No. Homemade pickled eggs must be kept refrigerated at all times. This recipe isn’t for shelf-stable “canned” pickled eggs. While they are somewhat preserved in vinegar, it is not safe to keep cooked eggs out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (such as while serving and enjoying).

Should I use super fresh or older eggs to make pickled eggs?

That is up to you! There are minor pros and cons to both. Using fresh eggs ( straight from your backyard chickens) may result in a superior quality pickled egg. However, super fresh eggs can be more difficult to peel after hard-boiling or steaming than those that are a few days old. Therefore, we usually use eggs that are about 5 to 10 days old to make beet pickled eggs – or any hard boiled egg recipe, for that matter!

And that is how you make homemade beet pickled eggs.

What do you say? Are you feeling adventurous enough to try making your own homemade beet pickled eggs for the first time? Or, do you already make your own – and were simply stopping by for some new ideas? I’d love to hear any fun variations you can offer! In all, I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. Please let us know by coming back for a review, and spread the love by sharing this article. Enjoy!

Are you a pickle fan? Then don’t miss these awesome related recipes:

• Lacto-Fermented Radishes Recipe with Dill and Garlic
• Quick & Easy Refrigerator Pickled Peppers (vinegar brine)
• Probiotic-Packed Fermented Dilly Green Bean “Pickles”
• Simple Fermented “Pickled” Beets Recipe