Red Pickled Eggs With Beet Juice

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Updated on 05/9/22
Red Pickled Eggs With Beet Juice

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Brine: 168 hrs
Total: 168 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Yield: 6 eggs

Red pickled eggs are a classic bar snack that goes great with beer. This recipe is believed to come from the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition as a way of preserving eggs when your flock was laying more than you could eat at one time. Pickling eggs remains a popular way to preserve the eggs for the leaner (typically colder) months, and it's a method that's still used by Amish communities for that purpose. Red pickled eggs get their color from beet juice and can also be the base for deviled eggs or sliced to serve with a salad.

These beet juice pickled eggs have a bit of a sweet and sour taste. This recipe calls for apple cider vinegar, which is a better choice than white vinegar because the latter can be too harsh in this brine; you can also substitute rice vinegar or white wine vinegar. Any large jar with a lid will work as long as the brine covers the eggs. And you can use any kind of eggs you want, but if you find peeling hard-boiled eggs to be a challenge, keep in mind that eggs that are less fresh (i.e., those from supermarkets rather than from nearby farms) will be easier to peel after you hard-cook them.

Ingredients

  • 6 medium eggs, hard-cooked

  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar

  • 1 cup beet liquid (from canned beets)

  • 1/3 cup sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/4 cup chopped onion

  • 3 whole cloves

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Red pickled eggs with beet juice ingredients

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Peel eggs and discard or compost shells. Do not puncture eggs with a toothpick (formerly a common practice), as this can introduce clostridium spores and lead to potentially fatal botulism.

    Peeled hard-boiled eggs and egg shells

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Place peeled eggs in a large jar capable of airtight storage.

    Peeled hard-boiled eggs in a jar

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  4. In a saucepan, combine vinegar, beet liquid, sugar, salt, onion, and whole cloves. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.

  5. Pour pickling brine over eggs. Be sure to clean up any splashes promptly, as brine can stain some surfaces. Let eggs sit, uncovered, until cool.

    Vinegar, beet liquid, sugar, salt, onion, and whole cloves and hard boiled eggs in a jar

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  6. Cover the jar and refrigerate for at least 24 hours (but 48 is ideal) to give beet juice time to penetrate egg white. Small eggs will be fully seasoned to the yolk after one week, while medium and large eggs will take two to four weeks.

    Pickled hard-boiled eggs and brine in a sealed jar

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  7. Slice eggs and serve.

    Sliced red pickled eggs with beet juice on a plate

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Tips

  • For extra safety, sterilize the jar before adding the eggs.
  • You might think of pickling leftover colored Easter eggs if you won't eat them immediately. The red from the beets will cover over any color that might have seeped in from the Easter egg dye.

Recipe Variations

Pickling mixes can be made with a variety of ingredients. Here are a few other directions you can take these red pickled beets:

  • Add a cinnamon stick to the brine mixture for a little sweetness and spice.
  • Include slices of canned or cooked beets for another layer of texture.
  • Add whole garlic cloves (or garlic slices) for extra flavor.

How to Store Red Pickled Eggs With Beet Juice

Pickled eggs in beet juice will last for three to four months when stored in the refrigerator. Be sure to label the jar with the pickling date. When serving, they should be left out at room temperature for no more than two hours.

Why are my pickled eggs rubbery?

Hard-boiled eggs can become chewy and rubbery if they stay in a strong brine for too long. If you want to prevent this from happening, remove the eggs and enjoy within three to four months, or water down the solution if it seems too strong, to enable longer storage.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
135 Calories
4g Fat
17g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 135
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 1g 7%
Cholesterol 164mg 55%
Sodium 182mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 17g 6%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 2mg 11%
Calcium 38mg 3%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 189mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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Article Sources
The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Botulism. August 19, 2019.