Canned Pickled Beets Recipe
If you have more beets from the garden than you know what to do with, this canned pickled beets recipe is one of my favorite ways to preserve them. These old-fashioned pickled beets are sweet, tangy, tender, and make an easy side dish to keep stocked in your pantry. Canning garden produce is also a great way to get started stocking your pantry with food you've grown and preserved yourself. If I send my kids to the pantry to get something to round out our meal, they usually come back with either these pickled beets, canned glazed carrots, or our sweet dill pickle recipe. We grow a lot of beets in our market garden each year, and I like to pickle a large batch at once so we have plenty to enjoy throughout the year.
Quick Look: Canned Pickled Beets Recipe
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 30 minutes + 30 minutes additional time
- 🕒 Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 3 quarts
- 📊 Calories: ~1217 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: Camp chef stove in a waterbath canner
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Sweet, tangy, slightly spiced, and earthy.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Delicious year-round. Canned pickled beets are just as handy for a quick family dinner as they are for packed lunches or holiday meals.
- A great way to preserve garden beets. If you grow a large crop of beets, pickling is an easy way to preserve them for later.
- Simple, old-fashioned flavor. The combination of sweet sugar, tangy vinegar, and tender beets makes a delicious side dish.
- Perfect for a homestead pantry. Keep a few jars on the shelf so you always have an easy vegetable side ready to serve.
- Great for large batches. If you have a lot of beets to process, you can pickle them all at once instead of dealing with them in several smaller batches.
- Excellent recipe for beginning canners. If you're new to canning, starting with a simple recipe like this is a great way to build confidence. Once you've learned the basics, you can move on to other projects like my whole tomato canning recipe.
Ingredients
For a full list of ingredients needed to make this recipe, see the recipe card below.
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How To Make This Canned Pickled Beets Recipe
Step 1: Wash and cook the beets. Scrub the beets well in cold water to remove any dirt. Cut large beets into smaller pieces so they cook evenly. Place the beets in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook until the beets are tender.
Step 2: Cool, peel, and chop the beets.
Remove the beets from the pot and allow them to cool until they are easy to handle. Slip off the skins, trim the ends, and cut the beets into bite-sized pieces.
Step 3: Measure the beets.Place the chopped beets back into the large pot and measure as you go. This will help you determine how much pickling liquid you need.
Step 4: Make the pickling liquid. Mix together the required amounts of sugar, vinegar, and beet cooking liquid. Pour the pickling liquid over the beets and bring everything to a full rolling boil. Reduce the heat and simmer.
Step 5: Prepare the jars. While the beets are simmering, wash and prepare your canning jars, lids, and rings according to the manufacturer's directions.
Step 6: Fill the jars. Ladle the hot beets into hot jars, then cover with the hot pickling liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims clean, and place the lids and rings on the jars.
Step 7: Process in a water-bath canner. Place the jars in a boiling-water canner and process according to the appropriate time for your elevation. For the tested National Center for Home Food Preservation pickled-beet recipe, the processing time is 30 minutes at 0–1,000 feet, with longer times required at higher elevations.
Step 8: Cool, check the seals, and store. Remove the jars from the canner and allow them to cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours. Check that each jar has sealed properly, remove the rings, label the jars, and store them in a cool, dark pantry. Refrigerate any jars that do not seal properly.
Tips for Canned Pickled Beets Recipe
- Save the leftover pickling brine. Once refrigerated, it can be used to make beautiful pink pickled eggs.
- Choose small to medium beets. They tend to be more tender and cook more evenly than very large beets.
- Wear gloves when peeling beets. Beet juice can stain your hands and countertops.
- Cut large beets into smaller pieces. This helps them cook evenly and makes them easier to pack into jars.
- Use fresh vinegar. For safe canning, use vinegar with the acidity specified in the tested recipe.
- Leave the correct headspace. Follow the recipe's recommended ½-inch headspace for proper sealing.
- Adjust processing time for your elevation. Higher elevations require additional processing time.
- Let the jars cool undisturbed. Don't tighten the rings or press on the lids while the jars are cooling.
- Don't throw away extra beets. If you have more cooked beets than will fit in your jars, refrigerate them and enjoy them within a few days.
Canned Pickled Beets Recipe FAQs
Yes. Regular canned beets can be drained and combined with a pickling brine to make a quick refrigerator version. Since they have already been canned, this is different from making shelf-stable pickled beets from fresh beets.
Pickled beets make an easy side dish and can also be added to salads, sandwiches, or grain bowls. You can also use the leftover brine to make refrigerator pickled eggs.
If you are making pickled beets for long-term shelf storage, yes, follow a tested water-bath canning recipe and process the jars for the recommended time. Refrigerator pickled beets that are not intended for shelf storage do not need to be canned.
Both can be nutritious ways to enjoy beets. Regular canned beets generally don't contain the added sugar and vinegar found in many pickled-beet recipes, while pickled beets offer a sweet and tangy flavor that makes them an easy side dish.
Properly processed and sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark pantry according to current home-canning storage recommendations. Once opened, refrigerate the beets and use them within a reasonable refrigerated storage period.
Other Favorite Canning Recipes
If you try this recipe and love it, please come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @wagonwheelhomestead21. I can’t wait to see what all you make!
Canned Pickled Beets Recipe
Equipment
- Scrub brushes
- Sharp Knives
- cutting board
- Large pot
- Large Bowls
- Water Bath Canner (Optional)
- jar lifter
- Canning Funnel
- Large Measuring Cup
- Pint Jars Or Quart Jars
- For Jars Canning Lids
- Camp Chef Outdoor Stove
Ingredients
- 12 cups cooked peeled and chopped beets
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups vinegar
- 2 cups liquid from cooking beets
Instructions
- Scrub beets in cold water to remove any dirt.
- Depending on the size of your beets, you may have to cut the larger beets into smaller pieces, so they will cook evenly.
- Place in a large pot, preferable on an outdoor stove. (This saves a lot of messes in my kitchen).
- Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil beets until they are soft.
- Remove from pot, being sure to save the beet juice leftover from cooking beets, as it will be part of the pickling liquid.
- After the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and chop into bite sized pieces.
- Place beets back into large pot, measuring as you go so you know how much pickling liquid to make.
- For every 4 quarts of beets, you will need approximately 2 cups of pickling liquid.
- Mix up equal parts of sugar, vinegar and the liquid from cooking the beets to equal the amount of pickling liquid needed.
- Pour over beets and bring to a full rolling boil, reduce heat to a simmer.
- Wash jars and get lids and rings ready.
Open Kettle Canning Method:
- While the beets remain at a simmer, quickly ladle them into the jars and fill each jar with hot brine leaving ½" headspace at the top of the jar. Quickly wipe the rim of the jar and place a lid and ring on each jar immediately after filling it. This is easiest to do with two people. One person filling jars, and one person putting lids on and tightening them.
- Allow to sit at least 12 hours at room temperature to seal.
- This method is perfectly safe even for a low-acid food like beets, because we are pickling them and placing them in a high acid environment.
Water Bath Canning Method:
- If you prefer, you can put beets and pickling liquid into jars, even if they’re not still simmering.
- Place lids and rings on jars and hand tighten.
- Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
- Allow to sit at least 12 hours at room temperature to seal.
- If you have any jars that don’t seal from either canning method, you can either put them in the refrigerator to eat within a few weeks, or process them again using the water bath canning method.
- Remove rings, label and store on your pantry shelves. These beets will keep for a long time on the shelf.
- If you have any leftover brine, you can make some hard-boiled eggs and place them in a mason jar and cover with the beet brine. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for a few days, and you'll have the best and prettiest pickled eggs you've ever seen.
Notes
- Use small to medium beets for the best texture and easiest preparation.
- Wear gloves when peeling the beets to prevent staining your hands.
- Cut larger beets into smaller pieces so they cook evenly.
- Leave ½-inch headspace when filling the jars.
- Adjust the water-bath processing time for your elevation.
- Let jars cool completely before checking the seals and storing.
- Refrigerate any jars that do not seal properly.
Love this recipe
This is a great idea, definitely will be making!
Very tasty and easy