Old Fashioned Pickled Beets – A Small Batch Pickled Beets Recipe

Try Grandma’s Old Fashioned Pickled Beets Recipe. You store this small batch pickled beets recipe in the refrigerator and enjoy them whenever you like. Make these once, and they are sure to be in your summer rotation of garden vegetable recipes.

I am completely ashamed. When I was in elementary school, Mom had me sit down with my Grandma for a “project”.  Mom was always coming up with “projects” for me.  Turns out this one was actually ingenious. I say actually because most of mom’s projects involved me cleaning something.

Grandma’s Special Recipes

I sat with Grandma, and asked her to share her recipes, the recipes that she felt everyone would want when she was gone. These recipes are Grandma’s favorites, the recipes she felt are special.

Many of these recipes are already on the blog including Grandma’s Homemade Ice Cream, Butterscotch Pecan Rolls, Rhubarb Pie, Fantasy Fudge, and Deviled Eggs.

Did I mention that she verbally told me these recipes. Every single one of them was from memory. She didn’t pull out one recipe card or cook book. At 80 something years old, her mind was sharp as a whip, and she had those recipes stored up in her brain because she had made them for years and years and years until they were perfect.

However, there’s a few recipes in the book that I’ve failed to even attempt in the 20 years since I made this book, including these Refrigerator Pickled Beets.

I am ashamed, because I finally made them, and now I am absolutely obsessed with them. What was I thinking? Why did I wait so long to make them.  Now, that I’ve started, I’ve already made them 4 times in the past 2 weeks. And when I’ve eaten most or all of the beets, I often make Pickled Eggs with the leftover beet juice.

Old Fashioned Pickled Beets Ingredients

Old Fashioned Pickled Beets are the perfect little snack.  If you’ve never had a classic pickled beet, now is the time!

• Fresh Beets
• Vinegar
• Water
• White Sugar

How Long Do You Let Pickled Beets Set Before Eating?

The good news is that you won’t have to wait long before enjoying old fashioned pickled beets.  For refrigerator pickled beets, let the beets marinate in the brine in the refrigerator for approximately 18 to 24 hours before eating.

How Long Do Pickled Beets Keep in the Refrigerator?

You may be wondering do pickled beets go bad?

The good news is that pickled beets will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 to 3 months.  The vinegar and sugar help preserve the beets.  If the beets develop any sort of off-flavor, discard before eating!

What to do with leftover pickled beet brine?

Do not toss the leftover red brine that remains after you’ve eaten all those pickled beets.

Instead, hard-boil some eggs, remove the shells, and add the whole egg to the leftover brine. Let the hard-boiled eggs sit in the pickled beet juice in the refrigerator for a minimum of one day before eating.

How to Make Small Batch Pickled Beets

The first step is to boil the fresh beets in preparation for brining.

How to Make Boiled Beets

1. Trim the beet stems 1-2 inches from the beet bulb.
2. Cover washed beets with cold water in a large saucepan.
3. Add 1-2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice to prevent bleeding.
4. Cover and boil for 25 minutes to 1 hour or until beet texture is easily pierced with knife.
5. Drain and cool with cold water.
6. Peel off skins using your gloved hands or a vegetable peeler and discard.
7. Cut or slice beets into bite-sized chunks.

The second step is to brine the beets in a quick pickling solution.

How to Make Refrigerator Pickled Beets

Step by Step Instructions

1. Place beet chunks into a clean jar or glass bowl.
2. In a saucepan, boil equal parts water, sugar and white vinegar.
3. Whisk to dissolve sugar.
4. Remove from heat, and pour over hot, cooked beets.
5. Let cool and refrigerate.
6. Let marinate in brine for a minimum 18 to 24 hours before eating.
7. Serve as a snack or a side with a sandwich and salad.

For the full instructions and ingredient amounts for Classic Pickled Beets, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. 

Equipment

Check to make sure you have these pantry ingredients and kitchen tools needed to make these easy pickled beets.

Recipe Variations

• Add spices to the brine as it’s simmering. Bay leaves, whole cloves, cinnamon stick, mustard seed, celery seed are all optional ingredients.
• No white vinegar on hand? Try apple cider vinegar instead.

Recipe FAQs

• I typically use red beets but have also used yellow for these quick pickled beets.
• Trim the leaves about 2 inches from the roots to prevent profuse bleeding during cooking.
• When boiling beets, add 1-2 tablespoons lemon vinegar (or lemon juice) to the water to help prevent the color from bleeding out of the beets.
• The great thing about this recipe is that you can make as little or as much pickled beets as you like.  Just boil equal parts water, white vinegar and sugar to make the pickling brine.
• This is a refrigerator pickled beet recipe. There is no pressure cooking or boiling of the jars involved.
• Use the leftover beet juice in the jar to make pickled eggs.  Place peeled hard boiled eggs in the leftover pickled beet brine for a minimum of 1 day before eating.

Can I can pickled beets?

Yes, pickled beets can be canned if you want to make them shelf-stable. To can pickled beets, follow the proper canning methods and guidelines to ensure safety and preservation. Be sure to follow the proper techniques for to sterilize and seal the jars and lids, process them in a water bath canner, and store them in a cool, dark place. Canned pickled beets can last for up to a year or more.

Old Fashioned Garden Vegetable Recipes

• Mom’s Cucumber and Onions
• Amish Freezer Slaw
• Sweet and Sour Coleslaw
• Stewed Tomatoes
• Strawberry Freezer Jam

Linking up to Weekend Potluck.