Pickled Beets Canning Recipe
Enjoy pickled beets throughout the year with this simple canning recipe. Beets are pickled using a vinegar and sugar brine and seasoned with spices before processing in a water bath canner.
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Ingredients
- 9 lbs beets 3 quarts or roughly 24 small beets
- 2 cups sugar
- 3½ cups vinegar
- 1½ cups water
- 1½ tsp salt
Spice Bag Option
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 2-3 whole cloves
- ¾ tsp all spice berries
Powdered Spice Option
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground allspice
Instructions
Prep
- Fill a water bath canner halfway with water. Wash the jars and add them to the canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready to use. Wash the lids with soapy water and set aside with the bands.
- Scrub beets to remove any dirt and cut off the beet tops. Don't discard the tops! They make excellent greens and are highly nutritious.
Boil Beets
- Place beets in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover the beets.
- Place on the stove over medium-high heat until the water comes to a rapid boil, and then cover and reduce the heat to medium to simmer.
- Cook the beets until they're fork-tender, usually 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the beets.
- Drain the beets and run them under cold water to help cool them and stop the cooking process.
- Once the beets are cool enough to handle, the skins will slip right off.
- Cut the large beets into slices or chunks using a pairing knife. If you have small beets, you can leave them whole.
Make the Brine
- When it comes to adding spices to the brine, you have two options.
- Spice Bag - First, you can make a spice bag. Add whole cloves, allspice berries, and cinnamon sticks to a few layers of cheesecloth and tie closed with a string. Add this bag of pickling spice to the pickling liquid of water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a large saucepan, and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat. Discard the spice bag before adding the brine to the jars. This option leaves the pickling liquid clear, but also requires you to have whole spices and cheesecloth.
- Powdered Spices - Add the powdered form of the spices right into the pickling brine. In a large saucepan, add sugar, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, ground clove, salt, vinegar, and water, and heat over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. This option leaves the brine speckled with the spices, but streamlines the process and uses common spices found in most pantries.
Pack the Jars
- Remove the jars from the canner. Then, pack the sliced beets and small whole beets into the hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Place a funnel into the jars and ladle the hot brine into the hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Use a chopstick or a small knife and remove the air bubbles.
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean cloth. Add the lid to the jars and screw the bands until they’re fingertip-tight.
Process
- Place jar into the canner's rack. Repeat until the remaining jars are filled, and slowly lower them into the boiling water canner with the water level 1 inch above the jars. Add extra water if necessary. Place the canner lid onto the canner and bring to a full rolling boil.
- Process (boil) pint jars and quart jars for 30 minutes, adjusting for altitude. (The processing time begins once the water comes to a boil.) Turn off the heat and let the jars sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove the jars with a jar lifter and place them on a heatproof surface to cool.
Storage
- Leave the jars undisturbed for 12-24 hours. As the jars cool to room temperature, you’ll hear the lid create a seal as it’s pulled down with a pinging sound.
- Once the jars are sealed, remove the band and wipe the jar with a clean cloth to remove any food debris caught under the band. Label the top of the jar with the name and date, and place it in a dark place. Wait at least two weeks before opening the beets to allow plenty of time for the flavors to develop.
- The beets will be shelf-stable for up to a year.
- Refrigerate any open jars.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Nutrition
Calories: 583.6kcalCarbohydrates: 133.7gProtein: 11.1gFat: 1.5gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gTrans Fat: 0.002gSodium: 1120.9mgPotassium: 2237.2mgFiber: 20.2gSugar: 112.6gVitamin A: 234.9IUVitamin C: 33.8mgCalcium: 145.1mgIron: 5.8mg
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