Description

This Quick Pickled Beets recipe offers a simple and flavorful way to enjoy tender, roasted beets in a tangy, sweet, and mildly spiced vinegar brine. Perfect as a salad topping, side dish, or snack, these pickled beets combine the earthiness of roasted root vegetables with a bright acidic punch, achieved through a quick stovetop pickling process. The recipe includes options to add pickling spices like red pepper flakes, garlic, and dill for enhanced flavor complexity.

Ingredients

Scale

Beets

½ lb. medium-sized beets

Pickling Brine

⅔ cup distilled white vinegar
⅓ cup water
1 ¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar

Optional Pickling Spices

Red pepper flakes (optional)
Garlic (optional)
Dill (optional)

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Instructions

Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare for roasting the beets.
Roast Beets: Wrap whole beets in aluminum foil and roast in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife can easily pierce them. Once roasted, allow them to cool to room temperature, then peel off the skins and cut the beets into cubes about ½ to 1 inch in size.
Prepare Pickling Brine: In a saucepan placed over high heat, combine distilled white vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes while whisking occasionally until the salt and sugar have fully dissolved.
Pack Beets and Spices: Place the cubed beets into a 16-ounce mason jar. Add pickling spices such as red pepper flakes, garlic, and/or dill if you choose to use them to infuse additional flavor.
Add Brine and Adjust Liquid: Pour the warm vinegar brine over the beets in the jar. If there is any empty space left in the jar, fill with additional water until the liquid reaches the top just enough to cover the beets completely.
Cool and Refrigerate: Seal the jar with a lid and let it cool to room temperature. Then store the pickled beets in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight to allow the flavors to meld before serving.

Notes

Roasting beets enhances their natural sweetness and makes peeling easier.
Adjust pickling spices to your taste for mild or spicier flavor.
These pickled beets can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
You can substitute apple cider vinegar for distilled white vinegar for a different flavor profile.
Use a sharp knife to cut cooled beets carefully to avoid squashing.