The Joy of an Empty Pot

Everyday vegetarian recipes from a Zen Buddhist monastery.

Quick and Easy Pickled Beets

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These pickled beets taste just as good as home canned beets from the garden. And they are a lot less work. Serve right away or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Makes 3 Servings
Pickled beets sour cream

Serving of sliced pickled beets.

Easy pickled beets without canning:

    To begin with, you only need three ingredients to make these pickled beets. That is why I consider them quick and easy. Home grown beets that have been pickled have a unique flavor that is difficult to duplicate. Since not everyone can grow their own beets in a garden, this recipe was developed as an easy substitute that is hard to distinguish from the more labor intensive garden variety.
While the prep time for these pickled beets is about 10 minutes, they are at their best after they have been chilled. The chilled beets are excellent on salads or served as a side dish on hot summer days when you don’t feel like eating a lot of hot food.
Canned sliced beets sugar

Ingredients for making sliced pickled beets.

Ingredients:

​​1 (15 oz.) can sliced beets
½ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup distilled white vinegar

Instructions:

1.  To begin with, place a colander over a large bowl or pot. Pour the 15 oz. can of sliced beets into the colander so that you drain the beets and collect the juice in the bowl below. Fill a measuring cup with ½ cup of the collected beet juice from the bowl and discard the rest.
2.  In a 1 to 2-quart saucepan combine the ½ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup distilled white vinegar, and ½​ cup beet juice. Cook and stir this pickling juice over medium heat until it begins to simmer.
3.  Add the drained beets from the colander and continue to cook until the mixture begins to boil.
4.  Finally, reduce to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
    You can serve these pickled beets right away or refrigerate them and serve cold. I put the beets in a wide mouth canning jar with a plastic lid and store them in the refrigerator. Refrigerate until chilled or overnight. This allows the beets to absorb more of the pickling juice which improves their flavor. ​As a rule, these pickled beets will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days. By the way, you can serve the chilled beets with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.
pickled beets sour cream jar plastic lid

Serving of pickled beets with sour cream.


​Notes:​

  • You can also use whole canned beets in place of the sliced beets.
  • Even though these beets have been pickled, they must be kept in the refrigerator.
  • When chilled, these beets go well with Macaroni Salad on hot summer days.
Pickled beets served with optional dollop of sour cream.
5 from 1 vote
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Quick and Easy Pickled Beets

These pickled beets taste just as good as home canned beets from the garden. And they are a lot less work. You can serve these pickled beets right away or refrigerate them and serve cold.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword beets, easy, garden, pickled, quick, salad, side dish
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 3
Calories 40 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz. can sliced beets
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
  • Sour cream (optional)

Instructions

  1. Place a colander over a large bowl or pot. Pour the 15 oz. can of sliced beets into the colander and collect the juice in the bowl below. Fill a measuring cup with ½ cup of the collected beet juice.

  2. In a 1 to 2-quart saucepan combine the 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup white vinegar, and 1/2​ cup beet juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until it begins to simmer.

  3. Add the drained beets from the colander and continue to cook until the mixture begins to boil.

  4. Reduce to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

  5.  You can serve these pickled beets right away or refrigerate them and serve cold.  Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  ​As a rule, these pickled beets will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days. 

    You can serve the chilled beets with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

    Please note that the Nutrition Facts below are for drained Pickled Beets

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Comments

    • admin says

      Thank you. I love this recipe, too. I actually get complaints that I make it too often. It’s one of those things you can make ahead of time and keep in the fridge until you need it the next day.

      Reply

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