Pickled Beets and Eggs

By David Tanis

Updated May 7, 2026

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
1 ½ hrs, plus overnight chilling
Rating
5(11)
Comments
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Well-seasoned pickled vegetables are extremely popular in Greece and Turkey. This version also takes hints from Pennsylvania Dutch traditions. It’s best to make the beets at least a couple of days before serving (they’ll keep a week or more in the fridge). They’ll pickle in the same liquid as the eggs, giving them a colorful pink exterior.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

  • 2 pounds medium red beets, peeled (3 to 4 beets)

  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

  • 1 (2-inch) piece cinnamon stick

  • 1 dried chile de árbol or other dried hot red pepper

  • 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

  • 2 bay leaves

  • ½ cup sugar

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

  • 2 cups water

  • 8 large eggs, boiled 10 minutes, chilled and peeled

  • Lettuce leaves, for serving

  • Fresh cucumber, cut in spears, for serving  (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cut beets into wedges and place in a heavy nonreactive soup pot or Dutch oven.

  2. Step 2

    Add fennel, coriander, cinnamon, dried chile, garlic, bay leaves, sugar and salt.

  3. Step 3

    Cover with vinegar and 2 cups water, and stir. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until beets are fork tender but still slightly firm.

  4. Step 4

    Let beets and brine cool to room temperature. Taste pickle brine and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add peeled eggs to pot and submerge in brine. (Alternatively, put eggs in a separate container and ladle brine over.) Refrigerate overnight or, preferably, for 2 or 3 days. 

  5. Step 5

    To serve, remove beet wedges and eggs from brine. Serve beets on lettuce leaves, topped with halved pickled eggs. Season cucumber wedges with salt and pepper and add to plate.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
11 user ratings
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Comments

Tom T

Great recipe. Added to salad Nicoise and on its own.

Emala

In south-central PA, it wasn't a picnic without pickled beets and hard cooked eggs. Except -- you just boiled the beets in vinegar, sugar and salt. None of those fancy additions!

Susan

Lovely recipe but who has the time (or all the ingredients) to pickle their own beets? Just as delicious to purchase a jar of PA Dutch pickled beets or a can of regular beets doctored with vinegar and sugar. Put the contents in a large bowl add some add'l vinegar and a bit of sugar to taste and then put in the eggs. The result is just as delicious as doing your own beets with a lot (a lot) less work. I'm a PA gal who has been having pickled eggs as part of my diet for nearly 80 years now.

Emala

In south-central PA, it wasn't a picnic without pickled beets and hard cooked eggs. Except -- you just boiled the beets in vinegar, sugar and salt. None of those fancy additions!

Tom T

Great recipe. Added to salad Nicoise and on its own.

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