Pickled Eggs Recipe – Love and Lemons
In this pickled eggs recipe, red and yellow beets give the eggs their bright hues. I love to eat them as a snack or serve them as part of a spring brunch.
How CUTE are these pickled eggs?! They’re my new spring obsession, a grown-up substitute for the Easter eggs I dyed with my family as a kid. Back then, I colored my eggs with little bottles of food coloring, but in this pickled eggs recipe, I use natural ingredients instead. Red beets turn the eggs pink and purple, and a mix of yellow beets and turmeric creates that sunny yellow.
I love keeping a jar of these pickled eggs on hand in the fridge for healthy, protein-packed snacking (though they’d be a fantastic addition to a spring brunch spread, too!). They’re tangy, salty, and a little bit sweet. I hope you love them as much as I do!
Pickled Eggs Recipe Ingredients
You only need a few basic ingredients to make this pickled eggs recipe:
- Eggs, of course! I hard boil them according to this method.
- Beets – They give the brine its purple or yellow hue. If you want to make yellow pickled eggs, I recommend adding a pinch of turmeric for a more vivid color.
- Apple cider vinegar – It gives the brine its bold, tangy flavor.
- Sugar – It balances the acidity of the vinegar.
- Salt – For savory, salty flavor.
This simple combination makes fantastic pickled eggs, but if you like, you can experiment with adding different pickling spices. Whole peppercorns or mustard seeds would both be excellent!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Pickled Eggs
My method for how to make pickled eggs includes 3 main steps: boiling the eggs, making the brine, and chilling. Here’s how it goes:
First, hard boil the eggs. Find my easy method here! After you cook the eggs, cool them in an ice bath for at least 14 minutes. Then, peel the eggs.
Meanwhile, make the brine. In a small saucepan, combine the diced beet and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the beet pieces are tender, about 20 minutes. Add an additional cup of water, the vinegar, sugar, and salt, and simmer for another minute, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and allow the brine cool to room temperature.
Finally, chill! Pour the pickling liquid into a large glass jar or bowl or 2 medium jars. Add the eggs and 1-2 tablespoons of water, if necessary, to make sure they are submerged. Transfer the jar to the fridge to chill overnight. The more time the brine has to penetrate the eggs, the stronger the flavor and the darker the color will be. I like them best after at least 2-3 days in the fridge. They’ll keep for up to a week!
Beet Pickled Eggs Serving Suggestions
Most often, I enjoy these beet pickled eggs as a snack or quick lunch, seasoned with a sprinkle of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. They’re also fantastic on avocado toast, topped off with Everything Bagel Seasoning or Za’atar. You could even use them to make egg salad!
Otherwise, I suggest serving this recipe as part of a spring brunch. Season the eggs simply with salt and pepper, or scoop out the yolks and transform them into deviled eggs. The brightly colored shells look adorable (and taste delicious) with the creamy, tangy deviled egg filling inside. They’re guaranteed to be a hit!
More Favorite Spring Recipes
If you love these beet pickled eggs, try one of these spring recipes next:
Pickled Eggs
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Chilling Time: 2 d
Serves 6
- 2 cups water, divided
- 1 medium red or yellow beet, peeled and diced
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- pinch of turmeric, optional, for yellow eggs
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Combine 1 cup of water and the beet in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the beet pieces are fork-tender. Add the vinegar, remaining 1 cup water, sugar, and salt and simmer for 1 minute, or until the sugar is dissolved. Let the brine cool to room temperature.
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Transfer the brine to a large jar, 2 medium jars, or a medium glass bowl. If you’re making yellow eggs, stir in a pinch of turmeric, if desired, for a brighter yellow color. Add the eggs, make sure they are submerged (you can top them off with an additional 1-2 tablespoons water if you need to). Cover and chill overnight. The beets will intensify in flavor and color the longer they are pickled. We suggest waiting at least 2-3 days before eating them. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Note: to get multiple tones of pink, we pickled the eggs for different amounts of time. The light pink eggs were pickled for about 12 hours, the dark pink eggs, 2-3 days.
