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This pickled beets recipe is quick, easy, and makes outrageously delicious, tangy, and slightly sweet beets.
I love homemade pickled beets. This recipe has tangy, slightly sweet flavor with a subtle hint of spice. Plus, since we add onions, you also get pickled onions!
These are refrigerator pickles, which means you can enjoy them as early as tomorrow. For another easy refrigerator pickle, try our dill pickles.
Key Ingredients
- Beets: Look for firm beets with smooth, unblemished skin. Red or yellow beets work well. Before pickling the beets, you’ll first roast them with a bit of olive oil.
- Onion: I love pickled beets and onions, so we always add a few slices of onion to the top of the jar so they pickle with the beets. If you only want to pickle onions, see our pickled red onions recipe.
- Vinegar: Plain distilled vinegar works, but I prefer the flavor of apple cider vinegar.
- Sugar: This balances the acidity of the vinegar. You can reduce the sugar in our recipe below. When making the brine on the stovetop, add sugar to taste. We enjoy the balance of 4 tablespoons (see the full recipe below). That said, you can adjust the amount as needed. You can also substitute the sugar for honey or maple syrup.
- Pickling Spices: I use salt, a clove, and an allspice berry in this pickle brine. Since I don’t use allspice berries very often, I steal one from a jar of pickling spice, which I also use to make these bread and butter pickles.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Pickled Beets
Tip 1: Ready in no time. These are refrigerator pickled beets, which fall into the refrigerator pickle category, requiring no complicated canning process. They are fast and easy to make, and you can enjoy them in as little as a day. For another easy refrigerator pickle, try these dill pickles.
Tip 2: Roast the beets. For the best flavor and texture, roast your beets in the oven until they are tender enough to be pierced with a fork. Roasting them brings out more flavor. If you prefer to boil them, you can, but you’ll lose a little flavor.
Tip 3: Pickle with onions. Once the cooked beets have cooled down, you can peel and slice them. Then, combine them with sliced onions in a jar and prepare a simple vinegar brine using cider vinegar, sugar, cloves, and allspice berries. As the brine works its magic, you’ll end up with a jar full of delightful pickled beets and a bonus of pickled onions.
Tip 4: Enjoying them. Once you have a jar of these pickled beets in your fridge, you’ll discover endless possibilities for enjoying them. They’re a fantastic addition to sandwiches, wraps, and salads, and they stand alone as a hearty and delightful side dish. I especially love them with sharp cheddar cheese and this cucumber salad for a snack or light lunch.
More Homemade Pickles
Perfect Pickled Beets
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Pickling beets is simple, and our recipe results in amazingly delicious, tangy, and slightly sweet beets. These work wonders in sandwiches, salads, or as a stand-alone side dish. Use any variety or color of beet for this recipe.
Makes 1 quart
You Will Need
4 medium beets
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, for roasting
A quarter of an onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
4 tablespoons granulated sugar (50g)
1 ¼ cups apple cider vinegar (295ml)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 whole clove
1 allspice berry, see notes
Directions
- Roast Beets
1Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Set aside a large baking sheet.
2Prepare the beets by removing the tops and roots, and then place them on a large sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil over them, ensuring they are well coated, and fold up the foil or paper to create a sealed packet.
3Place the packet on the baking sheet and roast in the oven until they are easily pierced with a fork, 45 to 55 minutes. Allow the beets to cool in the packet at room temperature or, better yet, refrigerate until cold.
- Pickle the Beets
1Peel the beets and slice them into 1/4-inch thick pieces. If needed, use a vegetable peeler to help with the peeling. Pack the sliced beets tightly into a clean jar and add the sliced onions.
2Heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, clove, and allspice berry in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering and the sugar dissolves.
3Pour the hot liquid over the onions and beets, leaving a 1/8-inch gap between the pickle brine and the top of the jar. Place the lid on the jar and tighten it until finger-tight. Let cool to room temperature.
4Once cooled, fully tighten the lid and store the jar in the refrigerator. Initially, place the jar upside down in a bowl and flip it right-side up after a day or two. Enjoy pickled beets as early as the next day. As long as the brine covers the beets and onions, they will last in the fridge for up to a month.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Allspice berries taste like a combination of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. We found whole allspice berries less common in the grocery spice aisle, but Chef Richard recommends buying a “pickling spice blend” instead. McCormick “Mixed Pickling Spice” contains allspice berries, which we pick out of the jar and use in this recipe.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1/6 of the jar
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Calories
123
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Total Fat
3.7g
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Saturated Fat
0.5g
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Cholesterol
0mg
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Sodium
268.5mg
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Carbohydrate
20.1g
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Dietary Fiber
3g
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Total Sugars
15.8g
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Protein
1.8g
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