The simplest recipe for quick and easy pickled beets that you can store in the fridge or can for shelf storage, lightly sweetened with your choice of honey or cane sugar. Eat these healthy and delicious gems straight from the jar or top any type of salad.
Other than roasted beets that you can freeze to preserve, pickling beets is my second favorite way to keep beets all year long.
I have canned them in boiling water, much like my pickled green beans and pickled asparagus, but once I discovered how quick and easy refrigerator pickled beets were it's the main way I make them now.
Because here's the thing with beets - you need to cook them first which takes about an hour. Then cut and prep them all before the actual pickling.
With green beans and asparagus we can just add them raw to the jars an the process of canning them cooks them so it's much quicker.
But if you're cutting out the whole canning step? Easy peasy.
BUT, I get that not everyone has enough refrigerator space to store pickled products (we have a garage fridge to hold the pickled beets, pickled jalapeños, and garlic dill pickles I make every year).
Sometimes you just want to have shelf stable foods to pull from your pantry, so here's the good news:
You can make these pickled beets to be either refrigerator pickles OR water-bath can them to live in your pantry!
There are a couple other nice things about the refrigerator option, though, that I want to point out:
- You don't have to use special canning jars or lids - any glass jar you have with a lid will work.
- If you are using 2-piece canning lids, this is one place you can reuse old lids - they do not have to be new.
- You don't need to worry about keeping all the jars and beets warm or about headspace, so it's a more relaxed option.
- The beets aren't 'recooked' in the canner, so they are a little bit firmer which I like.
Okay, let's get to it! I'm going to start with how to prep and cook your beets the simplest way I've found in the oven, but I'm also providing a boiling water alternative as well.
Once your beets are cooked, you can peel, slice and add to your jars before heating a pickling brine and pouring it over your beets. From there you choose to store in the fridge or to do a quick 10-minute water bath boil.
That's how simple it is to have a cache of jarred beets all winter long in either your fridge or canned in the pantry.
How to Prepare & Cook Beets
If your beets haven't been trimmed, you'll want to cut the tops leaving about an inch of greenery and then cut the roots to about 1-2 inches long. Rub off or cut any other smaller roots you find.
Wash well with a vegetable brush to remove as much dirt and fine hair/roots as you can.
Cut any larger beets in half so that most of the beets are similar in size (to cook evenly) and place in a roasting pan with 1/4 cup of water. Cover with foil.
Place pan in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your beets.
These beets were medium to large with a few extra large cut in half and they needed an hour.
To check if they're done, insert a small knife into the thickest parts of the beets. (If there are smaller beets cooking with larger ones, remove the beets as they finish cooking).
Ingredients For Pickled Beets
Here's what you'll need:
- Cooked beets - use the oven method above or the alternate boiling method in the variations section below.
- Vinegar - white, white wine, or apple cider vinegar can be used.
- Water
- Honey or cane sugar - use just 1/3 to 1/2 cup according to your preference.
- Sea Salt - you can also use canning/pickling salt.
- Pickling spice - store bought or homemade (see variations for a simple pantry blend you can use instead).
Supplies
- Jars - four pint (or equal amount half pint) jars for canning; if refrigerating, you can reuse any glass jar with a lid.
- Lids - new lids for canning; simply reuse any lids for refrigeration.
- 3-quart sauce pan - or larger for boiling brine.
- Jar funnel
- Ladle, rag/towel, and plastic spatula
- Boiling water canner & jar lifter - optional if canning
TIP: See all the canning and preserving supplies I use and recommend here.
Instructions
Detailed quantities and instructions are included in the full recipe box below, but here are a few extra tips to help with each step:
- Peel and cut off the root and stem ends of your cooked beets.
- Slice or cut them any way you like. I usually cut them in half and then each half in half again (so, quartered) before slicing in about 1/8 to 1/4-inch pieces. I find I can get more in the jars this way versus bigger slices or spear-like sizes.
- If refrigerating: put the cut beets straight into clean jars as you cut them (as shown here). This is perfect for jar-by-jar pickling when you have just a few beets coming in from the garden.
- If canning: keep prepared jars warm while slicing all the warm beets, then add the beets all at once to the jars after brine has boiled and you're ready to add the liquid.
- Also if canning: fill a water-bath canner with water and set to start heating; wash new canning lids and new or used rings (only the lids need to be new).
Need a water-bath canning refresher? Here's my simple step-by-step process that walks you through it!
Add vinegar, water, honey or sugar, salt and spices to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.
Add cut beets to jars if you haven't already and use a canning funnel and ladle to add pickling brine to the jars.
Use a thin, plastic spatula to remove air bubbles and distribute brine evenly. Leave a 1/4-inch headspace (area between brine and top of jar) if canning. Headspace doesn't matter if refrigerating.
Wipe the rims of the jars. This is required when canning to ensure a good seal, but I do it when refrigerating the jars, too, to keep the sticky brine from gumming up the lids while in storage.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CANNING: If canning these jars, you will need to fill one warm jar at a time with warm beets, ladle in the brine, remove bubbles, wipe rims, attach lid and place the jar in the canning rack before moving to the next one (unlike what I show in the photos above for refrigerated beets). This will keep the jars as warm as possible so there isn't a shock of cold jars hitting the hot water when you lower the rack to boil them.
Attach lids and do one of the following depending if you're canning or refrigerating:
- TO CAN: Place in your prepared canner one jar at a time. Lower rack and bring covered pot to a boil. After coming to a boil, set timer for 10 minutes and adjust the burner to keep the water at a low boil. When timer goes off, turn burner off, remove lid and let jars sit in water for another 5 minutes before transferring to a towel lined surface. Let sit undisturbed for 12 or more hours, then remove the rings and check lids for seal, placing any that didn't seal in the fridge. Label the jars with the date and store in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months.
- FOR FRIDGE PICKLES: label the lids with the date and place the jars in a refrigerator for up to a year.
PRO TIP: I label with the month, day, and year so that when I'm pulling them from the fridge, I can grab the oldest by date since I usually do a number of batches in a month (most other canned goods I just use month and year).
Variations & Alternatives
Here are some more additions, variations, and an alternate cooking method for beets that you can try with this pickled beets recipe:
- Boil The Beets - if you'd prefer you can boil the beets instead of roasting in an oven. Boil trimmed beets until the skins slip off easily, about 15 to 30 minutes depending on size. Cool just enough to handle without burning yourself, then remove skins, and trim off remaining stems and roots. Slice and continue with recipe.
- Spicy - add more chili pepper flakes to each jar when packing with beets.
- Add Onions - many pickled beet recipes include sliced onions - I sometimes do but most times just stick to simple beets. To add, thinly slice one half of a medium onion and add 1/4 of the slices to each jar as you add the sliced beets. Proceed with the recipe as written. They will be softer if canned and more crisp if refrigerated.
- Add Shallots - similar to onions with a slightly milder flavor. Peel and slice 4-5 shallots and divide among jars as you're adding the beets.
- Use a Homemade Pickling Spice - if you don't have pickling spice or would prefer to make your own to add or leave out spices, you can use this recipe as a guideline adjusting to your own tastes (the first four are important in my opinion, the last three are only if you like/have them):
Homemade Pickling Spice
- 2 teaspoons whole mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf, crumbled
- half cinnamon stick, broken
- optional: 2 whole cloves, 1 teaspoon allspice berries, 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
Mix the first four ingredients in a small jar, adding any or all of the optional spices.
This makes about 3-4 teaspoons, depending on the options you use, which you can use for two about batches of the beets.
FAQs
Canned- up to 18 months stored in a cool, dark place.
Refrigerated- 9 months to a year in a 40 degree environment (you can go online and find a 1-3 month recommendation, but I've had them for 9-12 months and they've been perfect).
Yes, you can easily split the tasks up to fit into your schedule by cooking one day and placing the cooked beets in the fridge for up to 2 days until you're ready to continue with the steps.
If you want to can them, though, gently heat them in a pot of water to warm them before adding them to the jars.
Beets are a good source of micronutrients like potassium, calcium and iron as well as fiber. Both pickled and fresh have the same nutrients, though you'd want to keep an eye on the salt and sugar amounts in jarred pickled beets.
You can eat them within a few days, though the longer they sit, the better the pickle flavor will be. I usually wait at least a week and usually two weeks to eat the first jar.
Yes - chop up raw onions, cooked cauliflower or more beets to add to the juice left from a pickled beets jar (or any other pickle juice). Wait 5 to 7 days and you've got a new batch of fridge pickles!
Yes for refrigerator pickles (they'd probably be too mushy if cooked again in a canner after freezing). I have added roasted and frozen beets to jars of leftover beet pickle juice in the fridge, left them to sit for a week and then added them to salads - they were great.
This is what occurs for some people after eating beets and then using the toilet and they notice red-tinged urine or stool. Not to worry - this is caused by a compound in the beet that some people don't break down completely during digestion and is harmless.
Serving & Using Pickled Beets
If you're wondering what or how to eat with pickled beets, here are some of my favorites:
- Eat straight from the jar!
- Top a green salad (pickled beets are just as good in this goat cheese salad as the roasted beets are).
- Add them to wraps.
- Add to a charcuterie board.
- As a side dish for grilled or baked meat or poultry.
- Along side curry dishes.
More Easy Pickling Recipes Like This
- Easy Garlic Dill Pickles (No Canning Needed)
- Quick & Easy Sliced Pickled Jalapenos
- Easiest Fermented Pickled Vegetables Ever
Easy Pickled Beets to Refrigerate or Can
Equipment
- 4 pint jars -mason jars for canning, any glass jars for refrigerator
- 4 lids -new for canning, reused for refrigerator
- 3 quart saucepan
- 1 jar funnel
- Ladle, rag/towel, and plastic spatula
- Boiling water canner & jar lifter optional
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds beets trimmed
- 1 ½ cups vinegar, white, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar
- 3 cups water
- ⅓ to ½ cup honey or cane sugar
- 2 ½ teaspooons sea salt or pickling salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons pickling spice*
Instructions
To Cook & Prepare Beets:
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Add washed, trimmed beets to a large roasting pan, cutting any large beets in half to make them all roughly equal sizes.
- Pour 1/4 cup of water into pan, cover with foil and roast in oven for 45 to 1 hour, depending on the sizes of your beets. Remove from oven at 45 minutes and check doneness with a paring knife to the center of a few of the largest beets. You can remove any that are done and continue cooking for the remaining 15 minutes any that need it. (Alternately, you can use the boiling method in the notes section below.)
- Remove all beets from oven and let cool enough that you can handle them.
- Trim the root and stem ends and then remove the skin of the beets. (TIP: they very rarely all "slip off" for me, so use a paring knife to get all the skin off.)
- Slice the beets as you would like (you can also leave baby beets whole). I like to cut them in quarters and slice to fit the most in the jars.
For Refrigerator Pickled Beets:
- Wash four pint size jars and lids - any jars will work for fridge pickles so you can reuse glass condiment jars or use mason jars. (TIP: if you don't have enough beets, you can halve the recipe and make just a couple jars or one jar and leave the extra brine in the fridge to add any more beets you may have to it later.)
- Add the vinegar, water, honey, sea salt, and pickling spice to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 5 minutes.
- While the brine is cooking, add the sliced beets to your prepared jars, leaving about 1/2 inch open between the beets and top of jar (the headspace).
- When the brine is ready, use a canning funnel on the jars and ladle the vinegar mix into the jars, one at a time, to cover the beets (exact headspace isn't required for fridge pickles). Use a plastic thin spatula to remove air bubbles, adding more brine as needed, and then wipe the rims of the jars with a damp rag or paper towel to remove any sticky residue.
- Attach lids and label with the month, day and year before moving into the refrigerator for storage (9-12 months).
For Canned Pickled Beets:
- Wash four pint size canning/mason jars (TIP: You can easily double the recipe if you have enough beets). Keep the jars warm until you fill them with beets and brine.
- Fill a water-bath canner with water and set to start heating; wash new canning lids and new or used rings (only the lids need to be new)
- Add the vinegar, water, honey, sea salt, and pickling spice to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Fill one warm jar at a time with warm beets, place canning funnel on jar and ladle in the brine. Use a thin, plastic spatula to remove air bubbles and distribute brine evenly. Leave a 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims with a damp cloth, attach lid and place the jar in the canning rack before moving to the next jar. Finish all the jars in this way.
- Lower the rack and bring the covered canner to a boil. After coming to a boil, set timer for 10 minutes and adjust the burner to keep the water at a low boil.
- When timer goes off, turn burner off, remove lid and let jars sit in water for another 5 minutes before transferring to a towel lined surface.
- Let sit undisturbed for 12 or more hours, then remove the rings and check lids for seal, placing any that didn't seal in the fridge. Label the jars with the date and store in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months.
Notes
- 2 teaspoons whole mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf, crumbled
- half cinnamon stick, broken
- optional: 2 whole cloves, 1 teaspoon allspice berries, 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
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