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This Canned Pickled Beets Recipe makes pickling beets easier than you think! It’s a tried-and-true recipe that was one of my Grandma’s favorites and is now my go-to pickled beets recipe. There is nothing like a stash of delicious beets to eat in the depths of a cold winter!
How To Make Pickled Beets
Ah, pickled beets. These purple beauties are most certainly a taste of my childhood, as my Grandma canned beets in great numbers. Unlike most children, I have loved beets since I was young, running around my Grandma’s Manitoba farm in the hot summer sun.
I could have eaten them from the jar happily all day long. Still, these were a genuinely coveted treat, usually reserved for big family dinners along with a wild duck or a beautiful venison roast. Now that I’ve taken on the canning and preserving role that my Grandmother did for so many years, I understand why they weren’t simply a snack for hungry children’s bellies, and I was shooed out to the garden to find something else.
Canning is hot, sweaty, nasty at moments, and darn hard work.
Oh yes, Pinterest and many other websites make it look glamorous and easy to boot! Suzy Homesteader is in her little white chef’s kitchen, canning away merrily all day long, with children sitting nicely at the table and the house so perfectly clean around you.
They lie.
Every single, stinking one of them.
Canning is messy.
Canning takes an organized mind, which I sadly lack some days, and canning takes a lot of reading, research, and smarts. Is it worth it? Absolutely! I sincerely wouldn’t want anyone walking away from my site thinking they are a failure because they aren’t smiling and happy like many writers portray it.
- You’re gonna sweat.
- You’re gonna swear.
- You’re going to be proud of yourself.
Sure, your kitchen will be a disaster, but canning in-season, fresh food with no preservatives and no chemicals leaching out from tin cans- knowing precisely what is in your food is worth it!
Are Pickled Red Beets Good For You?
Pickled red beets are insanely good for you! They are chock full of fiber, folate, and iron, to name a few. They are also full of tryptophan, which helps you relax and sleep better. Pickled beets are also anti-inflammatory and loaded with antioxidants. That blood-red color means that they are loaded with goodness for you.
The recipe I used is from the Atco website and can be found in my printable recipe below. I want to stress that beets are a non-acidic food, meaning, in layman’s terms, they are more dangerous to can with. Non-acidic foods that are canned can be a breeding ground for botulism, as well as many other things if you don’t follow the directions carefully. The risk is very minimal, however let’s remember that we are feeding our families with this food.
There are a few strict rules that I always follow for the safe canning of pickled beets and non-acidic foods.
1) Never change the vinegar-to-water ratio in a recipe for canning non-acidic foods. These recipes have been developed in labs to ensure the correct amount of acidity required to eliminate the chance of botulism. Botulism grows in an air-free, low-acidic environment. See how canning gives it the perfect breeding ground? When we can consume vegetables, we seal low-acid food in an oxygen-free environment. I myself do not ever change a recipe. The only thing you may alter is spices. That’s it. Nothing else.
2) Always process the food for the exact times given. Do not boil your vinegar mixture more than the recipe states. Do not skip the processing time. Find out your altitude and process accordingly.
3) Read The National Center For Home Food Preservation website. It has all the facts. Start with the FAQ, then delve into the recipes.
4) To follow up on number three, always get your recipes from reputable sites. To be honest, I’ve seen some canning recipes that just scare me. The vinegar ratios are way off, and they promote unsafe and unrecommended methods of canning. Remember, anyone can write a recipe, but you have no idea if it’s safe!
So now that I’ve scared you off canning forever, here’s the recipe!
Indeed, it’s a tried and true tested recipe from the Blue Flame Kitchen, so don’t worry! Like I said, before you make canning recipes with vegetables, just to be safe, ask where the recipe is from. Or better yet, just head to the Atco website or check out all the fantastic recipes on the National Center For Home Food Preservation
So what has everyone else been canning? I have so many recipes to share with you these next few weeks; I’ve been a busy canning bee!
Thanks for stopping in!
Happy Canning!
Love,
Karlynn
Canned Pickled Beets Recipe
- Prep Time
- 30 minutes
- Cook Time
- 35 minutes
- Course
- Appetizer
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 527
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds small beets 40 – 48
- 2 teaspoons pickling salt
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 3 cups white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mixed pickling spice tied in cheesecloth bag
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Wash the beets and remove most of the tops, leaving about 1/2 inch of beet top remaining.In a large boiling pot of water, cook the beets until barely tender.Remove from the stove.
- Submerge the beets in a large bowl of ice water, I find this helps the skins come off with more ease.
- Cut off the tops and the roots completely, then remove the skin.Peel and slice beets into preferred size, I like larger chunks and not slices.
- Combine the vinegar, sugar, water, salt and pickling spice in a nonreactive pot and bring mixture to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the beets to the pickling liquid and return to a boil.Remove the spice bag.Carefully ladle the beets and pickling liquid into hot sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Remove any air bubbles with a non-metal utensil.Add additional pickling liquid, if needed, to keep the proper headspace.
- Wipe the jar rims thoroughly with a clean damp cloth, failure to do this can result in the jars not sealing properly!
- Seal the jars and process for 35 minutes in a boiling water bath.
- For altitudes higher than 3000 ft (914 m), add 5 minutes to processing time.
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Bridget says
I don’t care for the pickling spice so I leave it out altogether. I noticed there are no onions in this recipe. Since the proportions of the vinegar, water and sugar in this recipe look closest to a pickled beets recipe I lost, I’m going to use this recipe and just add onions. I won’t be able to rate the flavor till I actually eat some, which won’t be till later this year – but I think they will be great!
DIANE says
DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO USE THE PICKLING SPICE I USED CARAWAY SEEDS A PINCH ONLY SPRINKLED ON TOP OF MY BEETS THEN ADD MY BRINE
Natalie Gibbs says
I have no clue as to the pickling spices & there is no mention of it here except to use it. But what spices? What amounts? I will have ot keep looing for someone who will automatically include these items.
Debbie says
You can buy pickling spices at almost any grocery store. It already mixed for you. It’s a little pricey but is very worth it.
Kathy Lavallee says
You can buy Pickling Spice* all in one package.
Kathy Lavallee says
Oh yah there is a mention above of using 2 Tblsp in acheese cloth..I usually add a bit to each jar a s well.. your choice
vicki paiaro says
Pickling spice comes in an package in the spice section in your grocery store, you can look up measurements for the the amount of beets you are going to have. eg 5lbs beets -3tbls pickling spice, put your spice in a cheese cloth tied up in your brine. good luck have fun Vicki
JANE PAYNTER says
I thought these were fine; not too salty and even right out of the boiling syrup they were mild but tasty. One tip though, if you cut down the amount of beets, as I did, make the whole amount of syrup. I ran out at the last jar and had to put the remaining beets in the fridge. No biggie though, I’ll make up a small amount of syrup and keep the leftover beets and syrup in the fridge. Try making the pickles with Chioggia beets. They look like bullseyes when sliced crossways – very striking on a relish tray.
Karen says
Have you ever made pickled beets without sugar?
We are wanting to store a bunch of our beets to use in salads. My husband loves spicy beet salad , which are just beets and spicy chilli garlic sauce and green onions, we get enough sweetness from the beats…
Any idea if we omit the sugar that will still be safe because they have lots of acidity?
Lynn Fitzgerald says
What can you suggest if you run out of pickling liquid for all 4 jars?
GEORGE says
I roast my larger Detroit Red beets in the oven, on a cookie sheet, wrapped in Aluminum foil and add a tablespoon of water. I roast at 400 degrees roughly 1 hour cook time. I use a bamboo skewer and insert it into the beets to judge how easily it penetrates. Smaller beets finish sooner. I allow them to cool off and rub the skins off under cool water, and the skins slip right off. I should mention that I trim the stems to an inch and leave 1/2 of root stem.
Next, step is to simmer pickling brine, almost like bread and butter recipe, vinegar,sugar, and add little all spice, clover, and cinnamon , slice up the beets that have been in the fridge, top with brine, leaving 1/2 head space,
Place it all in the pressure cooker for 20 min, cool and your done.
Roasting the beets keeps them nice and dark and earthy tasting,, boiling seems to blanch the beets.
Crystal B says
I do my beets in my insta pot to cook them. Takes about 20 minutes. I use the steamer basket and 1 cup of water, pressure cook for 20 minutes, and allow to pressure release naturally. Then dump them into a container and put the lid on, allowing them to cool and the skins slip right off it’s so nice.
Brooke says
God I hate the pop ups and videos on your recipes. Makes me pass you by….
Karlynn says
Or you could simply close the pop-up video and realize that all websites have ads. I refuse to apologize for any of them, we feed two families a month through the food bank AND employ four people who support their families, All thanks to ads on the website. Take a minute and check your privilege, these are free recipes.
KB says
I don’t mind closing ads but there seems to be one video that I can’t close and it stays over most of the site when I am on my iphone. I know sometimes the web designers have hard problems dealing with all the different types of devices and if Apple has done an update they may make it hard to close things for us to read the site that we love … maybe check with your web provider if there’s a missing X for us to stop the video when we’re reading the recipes ?
Patricia Tauzin says
Amen to that!!
Cindy Turner says
Good for you for not backing down to a rude comment. I hate ad’s too but I would never complain to the author about it. It is what it is. We should all be used to ads when viewing web pages. So congrats for standing up for your page. I am going to try this recipe today, not looking forward to it, like you said, canning is tiring but rewarding work and I’ve been canning for weeks. But I have a bucket of beets just waiting to get a bath and soak in brine so here we go. Thank you for your recipe and happy canning.
Mandy Simone says
i Made the recipe, as I’m eating my dinner after making it hoping my jars seal I decided to read the comments, honestly, you lost me at *check your privilege*, I personally don’t care about the ads, I understand that’s where people make money., it’s expected so there is that.. but the *check your privilege* just reeks of holier than thou virtue signalling.
Debra Marie says
well said. your site is great. I love that you are strict about safe canning recipes and procedures. I will be trying this recipe today. thanks for all the good info.
Brent says
Outstanding reply!!!
Melody says
What pickeling spices are used?
Thank you.
Anthony says
Can this recipe be doubled
Deane says
I agree too much salt so I do not understand why this got such a high rating. The recipe seems perfectly fine other than that and I would appreciate somebody telling me what the salt ratio should be…I’m assuming they meant to put in 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons
Amanda says
We followed this recipe exactly and it turned out perfect. Nothing wrong with the salt ratio.
Jeanette Wells-Kidd says
It does say TEASPOON and not tablespoon. Happy canning.
Lori says
I couldn’t remember my mom’s recipe, so I went looking online and found you! Seeing your recipe, I recollected she used the same amounts of water and vinegar as you do. I’ve never used salt or pickling spice in beets, as I like a very simple sweet pickled beet. I substituted with coconut sugar and raw apple cider vinegar, and put ⅓ of a vanilla bean and ⅓ of a Ceylon cinnamon stick into each quart. We pickle 50 lbs. of beets every year that we grow, and they came out smashingly! Thank you for your great article, and for reminding me of my vinegar-to-water ratio. 😋
Barbara Jean says
I think this recipe could have been great…but the salt was SO overpowering, I made a half bushel worth and I fear it’s inedible. I compared this recipe to a bunch of other pickled beet (sweet) recipes to make sure and they all have half or 1/3 this ammt. of salt for the same qty. of beets. I’m an experienced canner and the rest of this recipe worked out well…but for sure….start with 1/3 this Qty. of salt and go from there. 🙂
Elizabeth says
I totally agree- WAAYYY too much salt, otherwise it was nice. This was my first time following a recipe… so if you don’t like too much salt, cut it back huge! My daughter who is a salt addict even said it was too much. This is coming from a girl who puts soya sauce on everything because it’s salty! Lol
Isabel says
Is there a recipe for Plain Beets? I love my sweet pickled beets recipe but I woul like to can plain beets for those that don’t like spices and sugar.
Lori says
Very good recipe, I’ve used it for quite a few years now. I’m not a fan of pickling spice so I cut that down a bit. I always make some extra brine too. Thanks Karlynn!