Water-Bath Canned Pickled Beets

This is a simple sweet-and-tangy pickled beet recipe without onions. When water-bath canning, it's important to use 5% acidity vinegar and follow tested processing times for your elevation.

Keyword: beets, canned beets, canned pickled beets, canned pickled beets recipe, canning beets, pickled beets, pickled beets recipe, pickling beets

Yield: 8 Pints

Materials

7 pounds beets about 2–2½ inches in diameter
4 cups 5% acidity vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1½ teaspoons canning or pickling salt
2 cinnamon sticks
12 whole cloves

Instructions

Prepare your canner and jars

Wash your canning jars and keep them hot while you prepare the beets. Prepare your boiling-water canner according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Cook the beets

Trim the beet tops, leaving about 1 inch of stem and the roots attached. Wash the beets thoroughly.
Place them in a large pot, cover with boiling water and cook until tender, usually about 25–30 minutes depending on their size.
Drain the beets and allow them to cool just enough to handle. Trim off the roots and remaining stems, then slip off the skins.

Slice the beets

Small beets can be left whole. Cut larger beets into approximately ¼-inch slices or cubes, depending on how you like them.

Make the pickling brine

In a large pot, combine the vinegar, sugar, water and pickling salt.
Place the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves in a spice bag or tied piece of cheesecloth and add them to the brine.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the prepared beets and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the spice bag.

Fill your jars

Pack the hot beets into hot canning jars, leaving **½-inch headspace**.
Ladle the hot pickling liquid over the beets, maintaining ½-inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary. Wipe the jar rims clean and apply the lids and bands.

Water-bath can the beets

Place the jars in your boiling-water canner and process according to your elevation:
**0–1,000 feet:** 30 minutes
**1,001–3,000 feet:** 30 minutes
**3,001–6,000 feet:** 35 minutes
**Above 6,000 feet:** 40 minutes
These processing times apply to both **pints and quarts**.
Once processing is complete, turn off the heat, remove the canner lid and wait about 5 minutes before removing the jars. Place them on a towel or cooling rack and leave them undisturbed for 12–24 hours.
Check the seals, label your jars and store them in a cool, dark place.

Notes

Canning Safety Note:** This recipe is adapted from the tested USDA/National Center for Home Food Preservation pickled beet recipe, with the onions omitted. Don't reduce the vinegar, increase the water or otherwise change the vinegar-to-water ratio when making shelf-stable pickled beets.