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Pickled Beets

Homemade pickled beets made with brown sugar, white vinegar and beet juice to bring out those old fashion beet flavours we all know and love.

By Bonita Hussey

4.611 ratings
Prep
10 min
Cook
1 hr
Makes
6
Serves
Family
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This recipe is in my cookbook What's for Supper?
Traditional Newfoundland Pickled Beets

About this recipe

Traditional Newfoundland Pickled Beets
These fresh beets are from my brother in laws organic garden, then cooked and pickled.

Hi and welcome to our website!

These beets were purchased from our local farmers market and I love when the season is finally here to go and stock up on these delicious beets.

I remember when my dad would grow his own vegetables and his beets was the best in the world,

You can buy beets anytime of the year but getting them in season and making pickled beets is the best time. When beets are aged they are a little tougher to cook you will have to boil them a little longer to soften.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy our recipe today and don’t forget to seal your jars before you store them, if the HOT LIQUID AND HOT BEETS don’t seal themselves follow this method for safety reasons. Sterilizing and Canning Procedures

Welcome to Bonita's Kitchen
Welcome to Bonita’s Kitchen, thank you for joining us. From our kitchen to your have a wonderful day. Bonita and RMH Productions and Team.

Continue on to more helpful cooking tips and our recipe is posted below!

Pickled Beets
Freshly grown beets from our local farmers market.

Traditional Newfoundland Pickled Beets have been made by many Newfoundlanders all over the world. This recipe for pickled beets is so good you will not make it any other way.

I know beets are in many many recipes, juices, salads and soups but the only way I remember beets is pickled and with your  Traditional Newfoundland Jiggs Dinner on Sunday.

Jiggs Dinner
Traditional Newfoundland Jiggs Dinner.

But now I love beets so much I have a juicer and just today I made this delicious fresh beet, carrots, cucumber, oranges, ginger and kale juice so good, I also tossed in a few ice cubes and lemon wedges just to dress it up.

Beets are also very good for you and got lots of nutrition.

So if you thought you didn’t like beets I hope I gave you a few ideas on what to do with beets also like this delicious beet salad.

Traditional Newfoundland Cold Plates
Traditional Newfoundland beet salad.

This delicious beet salad is made with pickled beets and is very popular on Sunday’s. Most Newfoundlanders would make old fashion Traditional Newfoundland Cold Plates with beet salad.

Traditional Newfoundland Cold Plates
Cold plate with mustard salad, beet salad, coleslaw, tomato, iceberg lettuce, and cheese.

One more way to enjoy beets with your everyday meals, also freshly cooked beets boiled until soft peeled and cut in small cubes, toss in chopped or crushed garlic, sea salt and pepper, a dash of  olive oil you will have the best beet salad ever. This can stay in your fridge covered for a week to enjoy. This recipe belongs to my good friend from years ago she would always make this recipe every time we visited her for supper.

Please continue on to our recipe and don’t forget to watch our video tutorial.

From our kitchen to yours have a wonderful day. Bonita, RMHussey Productions and Team. 🙂

Please check out this link to our cookbooks available here https://www.bonitaskitchen.com/cookbook

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The recipePickled Beets

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  1. Combine in a boiler water and salt, put beets in the sink and wash off all dirt and add to the boiler,  bring to a boil until tender.

  2. After putting beets in a bowl, wear rubber gloves then peel beets, by running your glove hand over beets and the peel will come off,  then slice beets or into smaller pieces.

  3. In another boiler add vinegar, beet water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

  4. After putting beets into your prepared mason jars, leave 1 inch from the rim. Then pour hot liquid over the beets to completely cover the beets.

  1. Clean around rims with a piece of paper towel and then place the lid on finger tight. Do this with all mason jars until finished.

  2. Follow the sealing method to properly seal all jars.

  3. Let them sit for a few days before opening them to eat, store in a cold pantry or fridge.

Helpful Hints

  1. Use the cooking juice from the beets when the recipe calls for water. It keeps the beets a darker colour.

  2. The Newfoundland secret ingredient is the brown sugar, but you can use white sugar.

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Pickled Beets

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    46 messages

    I answered 17 of them myself.

    1. Becky

      How long do you suggest to process the beets in a water bath?

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        HI Becky, Thank you for your message and for stopping by…I would say about 15 minutes or so is good enough. Just make sure the beet juice is off the rims before putting the cap on so it can seal proper. Our elders years ago would say if the bottles are hot and the beets are hot they would seal prefect. Haha but that would be for short term storage like putting them in your fridge. Enjoy to the fullest and enjoy… 🙂

        Reply
    2. William Purdy

      Sorry- what’s beet water?

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi William, Thank you for your message and for stopping by…beet water is the water your beets and boiling in. Just a small amount is needed to give the pickle and bright beet colour and taste.
        I hope this helps and have a wonderful day!!
        Bonita

        Reply
    3. Tina Cadigan

      Hey there, Im using your beet recipe today, hoping it will work out by tripling the recipe, had bought a 10 lb bag and they actually put in 11 lbs. Omgoodness will be eating beets, breakfast, lunch and dinner all year! Fingers crossed goes well. How long do they need in the bottles before you can eat them?

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Tina, Thank you for your message and for making our beet recipe, I’m sure they will be great if you triple our recipe. Making the beet and vinegar liquid in a separate boiler and taste it to see if it is the right amount of sugar to vinegar ratio. These beets can taste for years if you properly seal them using the canning method. This is our video giving you a few simple steps https://youtu.be/dIGUL97DGHM you can follow that. Enjoy to the fullest and please follow up. 🙂 Bonita

        Reply
    4. Ashley

      Thank you for the beautiful recipe following from fort mcmurray ALBERTA it’s September mth a good time to bottle beets your video was clear and great instructions

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Ashley, Thank you so much for stopping by and for making our pickled beets recipe.
        Welcome!
        This is a easy and pretty tasty recipe, we use brown sugar instead of white sugar in the pickling mixture. It surely makes these beets stand out and make you go back for more. Enjoy to the fullest and we post a NEW recipe every Sunday if you wish to join our news letter or youtube channel.
        Thank you
        Bonita

        Reply
        1. Natasha

          I’ve boiled 10lbs of beets but am shy of a cup or so of beet juice. Can I add boiled water to the mixture?

          Reply
          1. Bonita

            Hi Natasha, Yes if you don’t have enough beet juice use hot water. I hope my message gets to you in time and enjoy to the fullest; thank you for making our recipe. This is a old fashion recipe and so tasty…:) Bonita

            Reply
    5. Carol Drover

      I like to add some sliced onion to my beets when making them. A little extra treat to put on your plate.

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        H Carol: Thank you for your message and for stopping by, that would be lovely you for sure can add some onions to your beets while they are cooking and bottle them, they will be the colour of your beets. They will taste a little different then your traditional pickled beets but still be tasty. Enjoy and thank you. 🙂 Bonita

        Reply
    6. Gisele

      Hi Bonita,
      Do the pickled beets have to be processed in a boiling water bath after they are put in the mason jars? I am new at this and some of the recipes I have come across, say to process for up to 30 minutes.
      By the way, I have tried some of your other recipes and absolutely love them!

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Giseie: Thank you for your message and for stopping by, if your liquid and beets is hot they will seal themselves. But if the liquid and beets are warm or cold, follow the boiling method to be safe. I do have that process here https://youtu.be/dIGUL97DGHM I’m so glad you are enjoying our channel and all the best with your beets. 🙂 Bonita

        Reply
    7. Jason

      Hey Bonita I made your bet recipe and they were awesome now all my friends and family want me to make them some. I also made your mustard cabbage pickles and now I have to make more for my family and friends, one friend is picking up the ingredients for me to make her some lol! I love your website keep up the good work.

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Jason: Thank you so much for your lovely message and feedback, I’m so glad you are enjoying our website and your friends and family are enjoying our recipes. Please feel free to share any of our videos with your family and friends so we can get more people enjoying them as well. I’m always gifting our pickled beets and now its our green tomato chow chow, there is no better gift then homemade. Thank you once agin for leaving a message and enjoy to the fullest all of our recipes. 🙂 Bonita

        Reply
    8. Jason Nichols

      Hey Bonita I made your bet recipe and they were awesome now all my friends and family want me to make them some. I also made your mustard cabbage pickles and now I have to make more for my family and friends, one friend is picking up the ingredients for me to make her some lol! I love your website keep up the good work.

      Reply
    9. Jennifer Durling

      Hello Bonita!
      I have been looking for a recipe similar to my Grandmother’s pickled beets for ages…..she was from Nfld as well and I knew exactly why mine didn’t taste like hers after seeing your recipe……she used BROWN sugar like you do…..that’s why mine were never quite right!! So glad I came across your website and video…happy pickling!!

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Jennifer: Thank you for your message and for visiting our website, I’m so glad you found us and we have many delicious traditional and non-traditional Newfoundland recipes here for you to enjoy. I can’t explain why brown sugar is better only that I’ve been making it all my life this way and it have never disappointed me yet. Brown sugar got a lovely taste to it and mixed with vinegar it enhances the favour and make it taste so good. I don’t use spices because in my opinion spices got no place in pickled beets. Your grandmother and my grandmother painted a lovely path for us and if it worked for them it got to work for us. 🙂 Enjoy and happy pickling….:) Bonita

        Reply
    10. Donna Mitchell

      Why do my sealed beets turn brown after less than a year bottled? I had to throw out 9 bottles last night of the ones I did last summer, They are sealed good because when I remove the lids its a loud suction noise ! Thanks.

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Donna: Thank you for your message and for visiting my channel, I have never had the beets turn brown in the bottle after there sealed. I can give you a couple of reasons way that may have happened but I can’t be sure. Was the mason jars stored in a dark and cool cabinet or pantry, did you have more vinegar then beet juice, was the mason jars boiled or washed in hot water before you filled them with the beets and vinegar mixture. Lastly when you filled them was the beets and liquid hot when you put them in the bottles, did you hear the lids pop after they sealed or boiled them in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. If you did all of that maybe it was a bad batch of beets and no matter what you did the end result would have still been the same. Sorry to hear about all of your beets what a waste, I hope this help. Thanks Bonita

        Reply
    11. Maxine Higdon

      Hi Bonito! How long do you think I have to boil 10 lbs of beets?

      Thanks

      Maxine

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Maxine: Thank you so much for your message and I’m sorry I didn’t see your message until now, I always say when boiling my beets until fork tender, that should take about 1 hour or so. But if they are not fork tender by then move the beets around in the boiler and let them boil more then keep checking until you can nicely put the fork or knife in the beet easy. Bonita

        Reply
    12. Mike L

      Hi bonita!
      I used your homemade beet recipe once already! We absolutely loved them! So currently my second batch is on the stove! I’m not new to NFLD cooking as my mother and my wife are both from NFLD! But i have to thank you because now we dont have to wait for the occasional bottle of beets to be sent to us around the holidays! ?

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Mike: Thank you so much for your lovely message and for visiting my channel, I’m glad we have this recipe and video there for you to enjoy. I remember when we lived away and I would call my mom and ask her for different recipes over the phone, no computers back them :). My husband and I are from NFLD but our kids are not and they love to have this access to our traditional meals and desserts but I do miss them calling for the recipe. 🙂 Enjoy to the fullest and have a lovely day. 🙂 Bonita

        Reply
    13. Brenda foley

      Hi Bonita
      This is my very first year with a vegatable garden and I’m so excite.Im a bit early but I’ve been on the internet nonstop learning as much as I can about it all.Im so enjoying everyone of your videos and can’t wait to get started when harvest time comes .I am hoping for this Newfoundland weather to warm up to get things growing.
      Tx
      Brenda

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Brenda: Thank you so much for your message and for visiting my website, I’ve started a garden two years in a role and I’m hoping this year it will be a better success then last year. I have herbs and rhubarb, potatoes, tomatoes growing in the past. All the best on your garden and I agree the weather got to get a little better before you plant anything. I’m glad you are enjoying my channel and if there is anything you would like to see made let me know. 🙂 Bonita

        Reply
        1. Marsha Jesso

          Hi Bonita, if I cook 10 lbs of beets at a time, do I triple the recipe, how much brown sugar should I use and how much vinegar

          Reply
    14. Rita

      Hi Bonita, I have used this recipe for my beets and they are fabulous! Just wondering if you have a recipe for pumpkin PICKLES?

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Thank you Rita for your message and for visiting my website, I sorry I don’t have any recipes for pumpkin pickles. Thank you for asking. Bonita

        Reply
    15. Brenda

      I made the beets today with your recipe and they are perfect. Thank you.

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Brenda: Thank you for your message and for visiting my website, I’m so glad you made my beet recipe. I just finished having beets with my leftover turkey dinner, this is a lovely recipe. Enjoy Bonita

        Reply
    16. Marjorie

      Where do I get beet juice. Been to all my local stores and can’t find it

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Marjorie: Thank you for your message and for visiting my website, when you boil your beets in the pot your water will turn to beet juice and thats the water/beet juice you will use to make your beet.I hope that helps and enjoy making your beets, they are very delicious. Bonita

        Reply
      2. Marsha Jesso

        Hi Bonita, if I cook 10 lbs of beets at a time, do I triple the recipe, how much brown sugar should I use and how much vinegar

        Reply
        1. Bonita

          Hi Marsha, Thank you for your message and for stopping by, I’m so glad you are going to make our recipe. This is a lovely pickled beet recipe and using the brown sugar makes a big difference to the taste….so good.
          So diffently use 3 cups vinegar and six cups of the beet water or half beet water and half warm tap water. The sugar use your taste to see how much you would like, so what I would do is put two cups in first and let it boil with the liquid. Then taste it to see if you need or like more brown sugar added. Do that sound good to you, sterilize your jars and caps have them ready to put the hot beets and liquid in. Let me know what you think and enjoy!!!
          Bonita

          Reply
      3. Myra baggs

        If the beets are hard after being boiled for an hr do you still continue to boil them

        Reply
        1. Bonita

          Sorry I just seen your message, boiled them longer until fork tender. Some times the beets as they get older they take longer to boil…Hope i’m not to late and enjoy to the fullest!!! Email me if I don’t answer next time [email protected]
          Thank you
          Bonita

          Reply
    17. Joe Downey

      My father would save beet juice after the beets disappeared and pickle eggs in said juice. Takes about 4 weeks to penatrate the egg fully … there’s nuttin better !

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Joe: Thank you for your message and your dad way of making his beets and pickled eggs. I have heard people doing this and the same goes for salt beef, but I highly recommend that you make new pickle for each recipe and you know that it will work and be safe. For something so delicious like this you want to eat it lots. Thanks again for your message Bonita

        Reply
        1. Marsha Jesso

          Hi Bonita, if I cook 10 lbs of beets at a time, do I triple the recipe, how much brown sugar should I use and how much vinegar

          Reply
    18. Maryann Slade

      Well hello Bonita ! It’s Maryann Slade from Yk & I was looking for a pickled beet recipe for my harvest of beets today.. I tried to contact one of my sisters in NL who makes pickled beets every year but couldn’t reach her so I decided to goggle Nl pickled beets & low & behold you popped up!! So nice to see my dear! Your video was great & you look fabulous! . I tried your recipe & I can’t wait to taste the beets. One question, how long before they are ready to eat?

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi MaryAnn: Thank you so much for your message and I’m glad you found me on google that means I’m doing something right. ? After you pickle the beets it will be ready in a couple of days but the longer it’s in the pickle the better they are of course. They keep forever I still got some from last year in my pantry. It is so nice to hear from you and I’m thank you for your lovely message. Keep well and check out the other recipes when you get time. We have over 90 Traditional Newfoundland Recipes on this site and youtube. ?All the best Bonita

        Reply
        1. carolyn myra

          Hi Bonita!…Using your recipe at the moment…..was wondering if you ever use cloves in your pickled beets…..some people like them with cloves!

          Reply
          1. Bonita

            Hi Carolyn: Thank you for your message and for visiting my channel, there are so many ways to make pickled beets and using cloves is one of them. Personally I don’t like the taste and some people use cinnamon and I don’t like the taste of that. I believe using those favours in the pickled beets changes the taste and I guess it would be one’s choice if they use them. I hope that answers your question and have a wonderful day. Bonita

            Reply

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