Quick Pickled Beets Recipe
This quick pickled beets recipe is a fun and refreshing extra to make to have handy for Passover or any time of year! When you’re done, try this cucumber salad recipe with vinegar and dill too! This post contains affiliate links.
Whether you were looking for a new vegetable side recipe or even if you didn’t know you needed one, listen up because here’s one you really don’t want to miss: pickled beets are refreshing, different, and packed with vitamin goodness.
The quick pickled beets recipe is super quick and easy to make, and here’s the real bonus – the brine can be reused so you can make this recipe over and over without having to start from scratch each time!
Beets are not only beautiful and easy to enjoy, they are also a very rich source of antioxidants, potassium, manganese, and a number of B vitamins which are essential to brain health.
If you’ve never heard of pickled beets before, you’re not alone – they are not quite as common as their other pickled counterparts. But once you get a taste, you will find all kinds of ways and occasions to serve them.
They can be eaten on their own as a side dish for any meal, dolloped on breads or sandwiches as a relish, added to salads or wraps – whatever you choose, they will add a pop of color and flavor to your dish or meal.
With some very minor tweaks that I’m about to share, this recipe is perfect to liven up your Passover menu (move over, potatoes!)
I like making recipes like this quick pickled beets recipe before along holiday, because they last a long time in the fridge and are a fun extra that can be pulled out for every meal. So, especially if you host a lot of different guests for each meal, and like to offer a good selection in case they don’t like something, this quick pickled beets recipe is that fabulous bonus.
The quick pickled beets recipe
Ingredients
- 2 beets, cooked and sliced
- 1 Red onion, sliced
- ½ cup cider vinegar (available in Kosher for Passover versions)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp peppercorns, whole white/black
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp fennel seed*
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
*Passover note: Fennel seed is kitniyot, which Ashkenazic Jews avoid on Passover. If you do not eat kitniyot on Passover, you can omit this ingredient or try substituting anise or licorice root for extra flavor.
You will also need a saucepan and glass jars.
What if you don’t have glass jars?
This recipe will be stored in the refrigerator, so you don’t need real canning and preserving jars. The jar your pickles or jam came in is fine once rinsed out well.
But if you still don’t have any glass jars, for this recipe you can also use glass food storage containers, ceramic, or food-quality stainless steel containers. Plastic is the last option because it can absorb acids, flavors, and colors. If you have high-quality food-grade plastic containers and you’re ok with the possibility of turning them pink, go ahead and pickle some beets!
Instructions
1. Combine beets, onions, and garlic in glass jars, leaving a little room in each jar to pour the liquid over them later.
2. In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, water, and salt. Cook on medium-high heat until all sugar has dissolved (this should take only a couple of minutes)
3. Add fennel seed, chili flakes and peppercorns. Simmer 3-5 minutes.
4. Pour the hot liquid over the beet mixture in the jars.
5. Store pickled beets in the refrigerator. They can stay fresh for several weeks, if you can manage not to eat them all first!
If you do finish them too soon, not to worry – you can reuse the same brine on a fresh batch of this quick pickled beets recipe! Just boil it up again and pour over the vegetables like you did the first time.
Quick Pickled Beets
Make quick pickled beets as a fun extra side for Passover or any occasion. It's a fabulous, nutritious friedge staple to have handy any time of year!
Ingredients
- 2 beets, cooked and sliced - you can use vacuum sealed beets to save time
- 1 Red onion, sliced
- ½ cup cider vinegar (available in Kosher for Passover versions)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp peppercorns, whole white/black
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp fennel seed (see notes for Passover use)
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
Instructions
- Combine beets, onions, and garlic in glass jars, leaving a little room in each jar to pour the liquid over them later.
- In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, water, and salt. Cook on medium-high heat until all sugar has dissolved (this should take only a couple of minutes)
- Add fennel seed, chili flakes and peppercorns. Simmer 3-5 minutes.
- Pour the hot liquid over the beet mixture in the jars.
- Store pickled beets in the refrigerator. I recommend letting them sit for 2 or more hours before consuming.
Notes
- Passover note: Fennel seed is kitniyot, which Ashkenazic Jews avoid on Passover. If you do not eat kitniyot on Passover, you can omit this ingredient or try substituting anise or licorice root for extra flavor.
- You can reuse the same brine on a fresh batch! Just boil it up again and pour over the vegetables like you did the first time.
- They keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
- This recipe will be stored in the refrigerator, so you don’t need real canning and preserving jars. The jar your pickles or jam came in is fine once rinsed out well. But if you still don’t have any glass jars, for this recipe you can also use glass storage containers, ceramic, or food-quality stainless steel containers. Plastic is the last option because it can absorb acids, flavors, and colors. If you have high-quality food-grade plastic containers and you’re ok with the possibility of turning them pink, go ahead and pickle some beets!
