Easy Beet Pickled Eggs Recipe (with Fresh Beets)

Last Updated on March 26, 2024

If you’ve never tried beet pickled eggs before, you’re in for a special treat. And if you’re skeptical, don’t knock ‘em until you try them! I have high hopes you’ll love this easy homemade beet pickled eggs recipe. Bursting with flavor and easy to customize, they’re tangy, savory, just a tad sweet, and as spicy as you want to make them! This is one of my favorite ways to showcase, enjoy, and preserve fresh eggs from our backyard chickens.

In addition to being delicious, pickled beet eggs are downright gorgeous. Naturally dyed with fresh beets, these bright pink and yellow eggs bring a spectacular pop of color to your plate. They make beautiful zesty deviled eggs, and the kids will be super excited to enjoy these as a unique and healthy snack! These pink pickled eggs are especially fun to make around Easter time.

Want to make it homegrown? Come learn how to grow beets from seed or seedling in our easy step-by-step guide.

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Ingredients

This recipe makes one quart jar. Scale up or down as needed.

• 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 color. 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 pickled beet 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). Learn how to make apple cider vinegar here.
• 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

1) Prep the Eggs and Beets

• 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.
  

2) Vinegar Brine & Seasonings

• 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!

3) 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) in the fridge. The longer they steep, the deeper the beet color will get – and the more tangy the eggs will become! After a few days, 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 pickled beet 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.

Ways to Use Beet Pickled Eggs

After infusing for a few days in the refrigerator, it is time to enjoy your beautiful pickled eggs! We love to slice them 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! Pickled beet 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 and shelf-life information, safety, and other frequently asked questions.

Frequently Asked Questions about Homemade Pickled Eggs

And that is how to make beet pickled eggs.

What do you say? Are you feeling adventurous enough to try making your own pickled beet 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:

• Crunchy Refrigerator Pickles: Quick & Easy Homemade Dill Pickles
• Quick & Easy Refrigerator Pickled Peppers
• Simple Fermented “Pickled” Beets Recipe
• Quick Pickled Dilly Green Beans (Refrigerator or Canning)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

4.78 from 9 votes

Easy Beet Pickled Eggs Recipe (with Fresh Beets)

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Steeping Time5 days d

Course: Appetizer, Party Food, Preserved Food, Side Dish, Snack

Keyword: Beet pickled eggs, Pickled eggs, Preserved eggs

Servings: 11 eggs (1 quart)

Ingredients

• 9-11 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
• 1 small to medium fresh red beet, raw and grated
• 2/3 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar (raw, unpasteurized suggested)
• 1/4 cup filtered water
• 1 tsp sea salt, kosher salt, or pickling salt (not iodized table salt)
• 1/2 Tbsp white cane sugar
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
• 1 dash black pepper
• Optional: fresh hot chili peppers, a sprinkle of red chili flakes or celery seed, 1-2 teaspoons of dijon mustard, and/or a handful of thinly-sliced fresh red, white or yellow onion slices

Instructions

Prep

• Wash, hard boil, and peel about a dozen eggs. 
• Pack the peeled eggs into a clean quart-size mason jar or similar glass container. (We add a fresh chili pepper in the jar with the eggs at this time)
• Wash and grate the fresh raw beet (or finely slice/julienne)

Create Brine

• 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 as desired.
• 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).

Assemble and 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 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. 
• 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! Very large eggs can take up to two weeks to become fully seasoned. We usually let them sit in for 5-10 days before digging in.
• 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.

Enjoy & Store

• Enjoy your beet pickled eggs any way you'd like – turned into deviled eggs, on a sandwich or toast, or simply snacked on plain!
• Maintain refrigerated at all times. Do not store at room temperature.
• Use refrigerated pickled eggs within 3 to 4 months for best quality.