On a whim, I bought the Costco bag of organic beets. For awhile, I avoided beets, thinking they were the precursor to refined sugar, my bad. Recently, I learned how beneficial beets can be for our livers. Beets are rich in folate, manganese, copper, and betaine. There are many health claims for beets: aiding digestion, decreasing inflammation, managing blood pressure, improving athletic performance. With so many broad claims, and my general interest in eating whole foods for health, I wanted to buy a few beets and ended up with a LOT. Beet-pickled eggs is one of the most fun recipes I made with my pile of beets.

We love hard-boiled eggs (and pickles) in this house. I’ve enjoyed the beautiful colors from all the beet recipes I’ve made recently, but this one is especially pretty and the eggs look like a fun 70s pattern when cut in half.

Just for anyone who thought as I did, here is a sugar beet and a regular beet side by side:

I couldn’t find a recipe that I liked for my beet-pickled eggs. I wanted to make 18 eggs all in one jar, with minimal sugar, and with ingredients I had on hand (no big peppers). What I came up with was this lightly pickled recipe.

In the future, I’m going to add peppercorns, bay leaves, and garlic to the egg jar before pouring in my vinegary beet liquid. This purist recipe is wonderful, and we have been eating three magenta eggs for breakfast lately.

Beet-Pickled Eggs

Beet-pickled eggs are a convenient grab-and-go protein source. They are rich in antioxidants from pickling in beets and have a pleasant, tangy flavor.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Pickling Time 5 days d

Servings: 18 eggs

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb red beets, peeled and diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 cups distilled water
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• ¼ cup cane sugar
• 18 eggs, hard boiled and peeled

Equipment

• half-gallon canning jar
• strainer
• medium pan

Method

 

1. Combine your diced beets and red onion with the water in a medium pan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.
   
2. Pour your apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt into the beet pan and stir in.
3. Rinse and place your peeled eggs into the half-gallon jar.
   
4. Place a jar-sized strainer over your jar, and pour the beet pan contents into the jar. (Or strain your beet liquid into another vessel that you can fit your strainer over and then pour the liquid into your jar with the eggs.)
   
5. I had enough brine to cover both the eggs and beets & onions in another jar, so this recipe made a bonus jar of pickles for me.
6. Lid your jar(s), protecting the metal with parchment paper. Whenever I jar something with vinegar or alcohol I put a square of parchment between the liquid and metal jar lids, or I use reusable plastic lids.
   
7. Allow the beets to marinate for 5 days in your refrigerator. Shake them daily to make sure that all parts of the egg is getting plenty of beet brine and there aren't any white spots left.

   Enjoy within a month or so!