A delightful pickled beet recipe with star anise, cinnamon, and thyme, using my one-jar pickling method for easy measuring and low-effort clean-up. These are refrigerator pickled beets, so no canning equipment is required. They're delicious in salads or as a side to get some pickled goodness in with any meal!
Growing up, my mom put something pickled on the table at every dinner. It was usually store-bought, and most often your average gherkins, bread and butter pickled cucumbers, or my favorite: pickled beets.
Now that I'm an adult and found a method of pickling that's easy enough for me to do weekly, I pickle a lot. Just simple quick pickle recipes that allow us to add some nice acidic tang and crunch to our meals (like these cucumber dill fridge pickles!). And pickled beets with cinnamon, star anise, and fresh thyme have quickly become my one of my favorites!
Most fridge pickles can be made without cooking the actual vegetable first, but after many batches of pickled beets, I like them cooked first. You could grate them or slice them with a mandolin, and pickle from raw that way, but I'm going for thicker slices or chunks here-like the kind I grew up with. I'll explain boiling them here, but you could also roast the beets if you want.
After that, it's simple-get your jar, vinegar, hot water, and seasonings, and add them in. Then await your delicious pickled beets! These are especially great in salads, and I honestly just take the jar out and serve them alongside meals just like my mom did.
Jump to:
Why Pickle?
Besides the fact that it tastes incredible, pickling has become one my most reliable ways to use up seasonal vegetables from my CSA box and garden. It tastes the pressure off of having to cook absolutely everything I get, not to mention it gives the vegetables (or fruit!) so much flavor. Plus, Andy loves that I pickle a jar of red onions every week.
Helpful Tools to Have
If you're a seasoned pickler, you probably have a lot of these (and even if you're not-lots of kitchen staples here).
Jars
I'll show you this recipe in my ¾ liter Weck jar, but by using my one-jar pickling method, you can use any size jar you have. You'll just fill the jar with less or more of what you plan to pickle.
Mason jars and Weck jars are my most used. What I love about Weck jars is that they come with glass lids and airtight seals that don't rust. For my mason jars, I do still use metal lids, but since they rust quickly, I've been gravitating more towards airtight bamboo lids.
Pickling INgredients
- Vinegar - I just buy the giant jug of white vinegar, since we use it for cleaning and other household needs as well. It's perfect for basic pickling!
- Salt - For pickling, we don't want the salt with additives (such as anti-caking agents). This can create a cloudy pickle brine, and we want that beautiful, clear brine. Pure sea salt, kosher salt, or pickling salt are all great.
- Hot water - You can microwave or boil water on the stove, but I love using our electric tea kettle. We use it for coffee and tea, but also useful for pickling! Certainly not required 🙂
Beyond the standard ingredients, for these refrigerator pickled beets you'll also want cinnamon sticks (or ground cinnamon), star anise, and fresh thyme sprigs. Sometimes I'll add black peppercorns too!
Step-by-Step Overview (One-Jar Method)
- Step 1: Scrub and rinse the beets, then place them in a pot of water (enough to just cover the beets). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover until beets are easily to pierce through with a fork (usually 30-45 minutes depending on beet size).
- Step 2: Drain the beets in a sink through a strainer, and let them cool. Under running water, peel the beets with your fingers (the peels pop right off after they've been cooked!).
- Step 3: Cut the beets in half lengthwise (from stem to root), then cut into slices (about a centimeter thick, no need to be perfect). You could also cut the beets into chunks (for small beets sometimes I'll just cut them in half).
- Step 4: Place the beets in a jar, layering with the seasonings (cinnamon sticks, anise stars, thyme sprigs), and leaving 1.5-2 inches of space at the top. Add salt and maple syrup.
- Step 5: Fill the jar half to two-thirds full with hot water. Then fill the rest of the way with vinegar (leaving an inch of space from top). Cover to gently shake to distribute ingredients, then uncover and let them cool slightly.
- Step 6: Cover and let them finish pickling in the fridge. Feel free to taste test them at any point; I usually wait at least an hour, but pickles are ready when you think they taste good. Serve as a side or add to salads!
What Beets to Use
Feel free to use any beets! Red, golden, Chioggia. Note that if you want to retain the colors of each, I'd pickle them separately. The red will take over all the other colors!
How to Serve These Pickled Beets
On the side with any meal is the simplest, and you can add them to any of these salads or sauces as well!
Did you make these pickled beets? I'd love to hear how they turned out! Leave a ⭐️ rating and comment below, and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and my newsletter for more everyday seasonal recipes.
Print📖 Recipe
Easy Pickled Beets with Cinnamon (One-Jar Method)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 1 big jar 1x
Description
An easy pickled beet recipe with cinnamon, star anise, and fresh thyme! Perfect for having beets ready to eat instead of getting soft at the bottom if your crisper. I love these on the side of any meal or tossed into salads.
Ingredients
- 4 small to medium-sized beets, scrubbed clean
- 2-3 star anise pods
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks (or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- 3-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon of salt - kosher, sea, or pickling (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1.5-2 cups hot water
- 1-1.5 cups vinegar
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Boil the beets. Place the beets in a medium-large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cover and cook until easily pierced with a fork, about 40-45 minutes for beets that are 2-3 inches in diameter. Cooking time will vary depending on size.
- Drain and peel. Drain the cooked beets, then peel them under cool running water. I just use my fingers-the skins should slip right off.
- Fill the jar. Cut the peeled beets in half, then into ¼-½-inch slices. Layer the beets in a large jar (I used a ¾ liter Weck jar) with the star anise, cinnamon sticks, and thyme, arranging the spices along the sides if you want them to look pretty. Leave about 2 inches of space at the top. Add the salt and maple syrup.
- Pickle. Fill the jar about halfway to two-thirds full with hot water, then top with white vinegar, leaving about one inch of space at the top. Cover and gently shake to combine. Loosen the lid and let cool before refrigerating. Let the beets pickle for at least 1 hour before enjoying.
Notes
- Salt amount. The amount here depends on your jar size! I start with 1 teaspoon for a ¾ liter jar (or about 25 ounces), and then I add more later after taste testing. If you're using a 16-ounce mason jar, use half the amount.
- When are they ready? I think they're ready when you think they are! The flavor continues to get even better within several hours, but if you want them in an hour... they will still be awesome.
- How long do they last? These keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a couple months (if they don't all get eaten first!).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Pickle
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 41
- Sugar: 5.9 g
- Sodium: 435 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.9 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 0.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Leave a Reply