Pickled beets are sweet, tangy, colorful, and crispy. Prepare them easily with a fresh, simple vinegar-based brine.
These quick and simple beets make a tasty snack or Appetizer on their own. You can also toss them into your favorite Sandwich Recipes, or Beet Salad.
Sabrina’s Pickled Beets Recipe
Homemade Pickled Beets are the perfect way to enjoy this vegetable. Beets are packed with vital nutrients and antioxidants that make them an excellent addition to your diet. With the combination of sweet, tangy, and lightly spiced flavors, you won’t be able to get enough of this healthy snack. Beets have a natural but mild sweetness, and pickling them in a vinegar and sugar helps to bring that out. Each bite is bursting with flavor and has a delightfully crisp texture that we just love.
Ingredients
To Boil:
- 6 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 beets
To Pickle:
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice
- 2 cloves garlic , whole
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot, add the water, bay leaves and beets.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the pot cool completely then peel and slice into 1/4" thick slices.
- Add the beets to a large heat proof covered container.
- In your rinsed out pot add the vinegar, sugar, salt, cloves, allspice and garlic.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring well.
- Pour the liquid into the heat proof container.
- Cover tightly, refrigerate for overnight before serving.
Nutrition
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I haven’t tried the recipe yet. Is there an alternative to sugar? I’m a diabetic and have been eating pickled beets using only vinegar and water. I would love to try something different.
There are a few to choose from, but I haven’t tasted or tested these alternative sweeteners personally. When you do give this a try, will you please let me know?
Allulose isn’t as sweet as sugar, so you’ll use 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups to replace the sugar. This sweetener supposedly doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste like most others.
Monk fruit erythritol blend (Lakanto brand) is a 1:1 replacement for sugar, but might not soften the vinegar flavor as much as sugar does.
Xylitol is also a 1:1 replacement and will produce a flavor similar to sugar, but it is extremely toxic to dogs. Not that you’d be feeding these to dogs if you have them, but I wanted to give a firm warning.
Stevia is super sweet in small amounts, and can vary in brands with the ratios. You’d use about 1 teaspoon in replacement of 1 cup of sugar. If using liquid stevia, it’s 1-2 teaspoons depending on concentration. Stevia also won’t round out the acidity as well as allulose or xylitol. You’ll be getting a sharper, slightly bitter taste from the brine.
Can this recipe be processed (canned)?
This recipe is only for quick pickling, but will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 3 months if sealed properly.