Ginger Pickled Beets
Ginger pickled beets are incredibly easy to make and taste amazing. Boiled beets are marinated in a ginger-spiced pickling brine which infuses the beets with the most incredible flavor. Make a large batch and store the extras in your pantry!
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If you like pickled beets then you will LOVE these ginger pickled beets. The marinating brine is full of warm spices like cinnamon, anise, and peppercorns which gives the beets a wonderfully savory flavor. You'll love how these ginger beets manage to be both warm and winter-like from the ginger and cool and crisp like summer. If you can get your hands on tiny ‘baby' beets, you can use them whole. Otherwise, use quarter regular-sized beets.
Pickled beets vs. marinated beets
Pickling refers to preserving food in a salt brine or vinegar. The goal of pickling is to extend the shelf life of food. Marinating food is a way to infuse flavor into food by using spices and an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice.
In this ginger pickled beets recipe, we pickle the beets in vinegar and spices which both preserves the beets and infuses them with flavor.
How to ginger pickle beets
Time needed: 40 minutes.
It's surprisingly easy to make ginger pickled beets. Don't be intimidated by the canning process; it's actually very simple.
- Sterilize the jars
The first step is to sterilize the jars. The easiest way to do this is in the oven. Place the clean jars onto a baking sheet and put them into your cold oven. Turn your oven to 240 degrees Fahrenheit. When it comes to temperature, set a timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and open the door a crack so they can cool.
- Cook the beets
Once your jars are in the oven, cook the fresh beets. Cut off the tops and bottoms and quarter them. Then, put the beets into a steamer basket over a few inches of water in a pot. Steam the beets with the lid on the pot for 15-20 minutes, or until they are fork-tender. Once they're cool enough to handle, peel off the skin.
- Make the brine
To make the brine, add the ingredients to a pot and boil it for three minutes. Easy!
- Process the jars
It's time to can your ginger pickled beets! Pack the cooked beets into the sterilized jars, pour the pickling brine over the top, and seal the jars. Now fill a large pot halfway full with water and bring it to a boil. Carefully lower the jars into the pot, making sure there is a little space between each of them so they don't bump into each other. Add extra water if needed so that the jars are covered by 1 inch of water. Now cover the pot and boil for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the water and let them cool to room temperature on your counter before storing them in your pantry.
How to Use Pickled Beets
Ginger pickled beets are wonderful eaten straight out of the jar. We love using them in place of roasted beets in our crispy kale salad and our beet and goat cheese salad. Try slicing them and putting them on a sandwich. Or serve them alongside a rich meal to cleanse the palate. They also make a delicious addition to a charcuterie board!
How to Store Pickled Beets
Because these beets are canned in a boiling-water bath, they will last for a long time in your pantry. For the best results, store them somewhere cool and dark.
Recipe FAQs
We like to use apple cider vinegar as its flavor doesn't overwhelm the beets.
While you can technically eat them right away, the flavor is best after 2 weeks.
You'll want to make sure that the jars sealed properly in the water bath. To do this, first let them cool completely on your counter. Then make sure the raised button on top of the lid is concave. You can also test the lids by unsceewing the ring then gently pulling on the lid – just don't pull so hard that you take the lid off! Just use a little pressure to make sure that it's held in place.
Beets remain safe to eat for a very long time. However, for the best flavor, eat them within one year.
These ginger pickled beets are best if eaten within 1-2 month of opening a jar.
Handy canning equipment
You really don't need any fancy equipment to can ginger-pickled beets. We've made them many times with only a pot and some canning jars. But here are a few gadgets that make it a little easier for you.
- Jar lifters – these are like tongs but are designed specifically for lifting jars out of water.
- Canning Pot Rack – this can be used to keep the jars off the bottom of the pot as there's a small risk of the jars breaking if they are directly against the surface of the pot. Another low-cost option that we often use is to put a tea towel on the bottom of the pot and set the jars on top of that.
- Canning Lids – ideally these should not be reused as the silicone seal degrades over time.
- Wide Mouth Mason Jars – we find that wide-mouthed jars work best with beets as you can easily get them in and out of the jars.
Community Praise
Marj ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The ginger is a great addition. Will make them again!
Ginger Pickled Beets
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 20 baby beets
- 1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ cup sliced fresh ginger
- 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
- 6 star anise
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
Instructions
- To sterilize the jars, begin by washing them well. Once you have washed the jars place them on a baking sheet and put them in your oven. Turn your oven on to 240 degrees Fahrenheit and leave the jars in your oven for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes is up turn off the heat and open the oven door a crack so they can begin to cool slightly.
- While the jars are sterilizing, begin preparing the beets. Remove the stems from the beets and scrub them thoroughly. Place beets in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring the pot to a boil. Cook the beets until they are fork tender.20 baby beets
- While beets are cooking, mix remaining ingredients together in a medium-sized pot and bring the pot to a boil. Boil hard for 3 minutes then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar, 1 ½ cups water, ½ cup sliced fresh ginger, 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 star anise, 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
- Drain the beets and set them aside until they are cool enough to handle. Once they are cool remove the skin from the beets. It will easily peel off with your fingers. Cut the beets in half or leave whole if they are very small.
- Pack the beets into the sterilized jars with a piece of star anise and a few pieces of ginger. Pour the pickling liquid over beets. Leave a ¼″ space at the top of the jar. Seal lid and allow it to sit for at least 2 weeks.
If you love beets, check out all of our beet recipes!
The ginger is a great addition. Will make them again!
I’m trying both of your recipe’s this weekend. I can’t wait to taste them!
Fantastic! I hope you love them both as much as I do!
Hi! I am currently living in Chile and cam across your blog while looking up things to can and pickle (the produce is amazing here!)
One question, it has been impossible for me to find Mason or Ball jars since I’ve been down here, most things are imitation and I wonder about the quality. What kinds of jars do you recommend for the oven sterilization method? I do not have a pot big enough to facilitate a water bath.
Love the blog, it’s been bookmarked!
Take it easy, Ari
Hi Ari,
You’ll want to make sure whatever kind of glass jar you use is made from heat-proof glass. If you’re worried about the quality I would probably do a test with at least one of the jars. Make sure to put the jar in the oven when the oven is cold so the glass can warm up gently.
Have you asked any of your friends/neighbours/locals what kinds of jars they use?
Thank you so much for bookmarking The Endless Meal!! 🙂
This recipe looks delicious AND it fits the paleo autoimmune protocol. So, thank you!
First time at your site. I was lead to it by Sriracha Butter in a slide show, “27 Ways To Cook With Sriracha” at Huffington Post, and it, lead me to your pickled beets, which I plan on making. I am curious as to why the pickling liquid added to jars is allowed to cool before adding to jars and why there is no mention of water path processing of your Ginger Pickled Baby Beets nor Maple and Ginger Pickled Beets with Pearl Onions? This defies all I have ever known and practiced and is inconsistent with USDA standards for home canning. Can you explain this to me, please?
Thanks,
Dan G.
Hi Dan,
Thank you for your question. The original recipe indicated it should be done this way and I’ve never had any problems with it. The jars are sterilized in the oven and the liquid is brought to a boil but if you feel more comfortable then you could definitely do a water bath too or return the beets and liquid to a boil right before you add them to the hot jars. I don’t bring the beets to a boil in their liquid again because I always find with other veggies and fruit that when I do it that way they get a little too soft so if you want to do an extra step I would recommend the water bath. Hope that answers your question!
Wow…what a great blog Kristen! I dont usually cook at home and more often than not can be seen at Urban Fare during the week grabbing whats on offer for my evening meal…until that right fella comes alone that is(hope he likes to cook lol). I love the your recipes you have blogged about so far…well written and you made it sound so unintimimating… The photograhphy is delicious in itself…I will of course attempt to try and cook something myself and and will surelyyget back to you on it. All the best to you and good luck with the blog. xo
Wow Mark thank you for all your support!
Hi Kristen,
They look and sound amazinng – How long do these keep in the pantry?
🙂
Hi Rosie,
Once you can them they will last in your pantry for a very long time … years. Once you open them you will need to store them in your fridge and eat them within a few months. Hope that helps!