Pickled Eggs: 4 Easy Recipes!

Name: Pickled Eggs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: Beet pickled eggs with cardamom and anise; 1 beet, peeled and roughly chopped into 1 to 2-inch sized pieces, cooked*; 1 cup beet juice*; 1 cup apple cider vinegar; 1/4 onion, sliced; 1/3 cup granulated sugar; 3 cardamom pods; 1 star anise; 6 hard cooked eggs**, peeled; Curried pickled eggs; 1 cup cider vinegar; 3/4 cup water; 1/4 onion, sliced; 3/4 cup white granulated sugar; 3 cardamom pods; 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (yellow or brown); 1 Tbsp yellow curry powder; 6 hard cooked eggs**, peeled; Jalapeno pickled eggs; 3/4 cup cider vinegar; 3/4 cup water; 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp white granulated sugar; 6 cloves; 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed and discarded; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 1 bay leaf; 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano; 1/4 onion, sliced; 1 garlic clove, peeled; 6 hard cooked eggs**, peeled

What Are Pickled Eggs?

Have you ever made pickled eggs? I had never even heard of them until a reader asked for a recipe, and when I mentioned them to my dad, he told me they were bar food.

("Since when do you go to bars, dad?" "Before I met your mother." "So 50 years ago you could get pickled eggs in bars, in Minnesota." "Yes.")

Bar culture aside, two of my favorite foods are pickles and hard boiled eggs, so why not pickle the eggs?

Beet Pickled Eggs

Apparently a popular way to pickle eggs is in beet juice, so that the egg whites turn a pretty fuchsia pink. A few weeks after I made my first batch I was served beet pickled eggs in a salad at a bar/restaurant in Gettysburg. They were pickled all the way through the yolk, turning the yolk slightly pink as well.

The longer you keep the eggs in the pickling liquid, the deeper it penetrates into the eggs. I'm guessing to pickle them all the way through you have to keep them in the liquid at least a couple of weeks.

Beautiful Pink Pickled Eggs on Plate — Elise Bauer

How to Make Pickled Eggs

What follows is the result of several weeks of experimentation (and several dozens of eggs!) with different pickling mixtures. We have a beet pickled egg with cardamom and star anise, as well as a curried pickled egg with Indian spices, a jalapeño pickled egg with cumin and oregano, and a tarragon pickled egg with mustard seeds. Take your pick!

I think the best pickled eggs are the beet pickled eggs. They are my favorite because they're so pretty and I love beets. The spice combinations are prime candidates for experimentation, play around with them and include your favorite spices or herbs for egg salad.

These are refrigerator pickled eggs. I don't really know how long they'll last in the refrigerator, but I'm guessing at least several weeks.

Quick Pickled Egg Tip

I did find that the pickling liquid needs to have vinegar diluted with water. Straight vinegar is just too acidic. I like adding sugar because it helps balance the acidity of the vinegar and I like a slightly sweet pickle.

If any of you are old hands at making pickled eggs, please feel free to share your expertise (or favorite recipe) in the comments.

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Watch This Pickled Eggs Recipe

Pickled Eggs

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 6 servings

Yield 6 pickled eggs

For steamed hard cooked eggs, place in a steamer rack over boiling water, cover, and steam for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse with cold water.

For beet and beet juice for the beet pickled eggs, simmer the chopped beets in enough water to cover and simmer with the lid on until tender, 30-40 minutes. Or use the liquid from canned beets.

Beet pickled eggs with cardamom and anise

1 beet, peeled and roughly chopped into 1 to 2-inch sized pieces, cooked (see recipe note)
1 cup beet juice (see recipe note)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 onion, sliced into rings
1/3 cup sugar
3 cardamom pods
1 star anise
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled

Curried pickled eggs

1 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 onion, sliced
3/4 cup sugar
3 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (yellow or brown)
1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled

Jalapeno pickled eggs

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
6 cloves
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed and discarded
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled

Tarragon pickled eggs

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 onion, sliced
2 sprigs fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
6 hard cooked eggs, peeled

Prepare the eggs:

Peel the eggs and place in the bottom of a clean, quart-sized glass jar.
Prepare the pickling liquid:

In a medium saucepan, add the vinegar, water (or beet juice if using), the onion (and jalapeno if using), sugar, and spices. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, until the sugar has dissolved and the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes.

Simple Tip!

Instead of cooking a raw beet to get the water for beet pickled eggs, you can use the liquid from a can of beets.
Pickle the eggs:

Pour the vinegar onion mixture over the eggs in the jar, covering the eggs completely. If you are making the beet pickled eggs, place some or all of the cooked beets in with the eggs in the jar (this will help to bring color to the eggs, and you will have pickled beets as well.) Seal the jar.

Refrigerate up to 1 month. The pickled eggs will be ready to eat after a few days. The longer the eggs sit in the pickling juice, the more the pickling juice will penetrate the eggs.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
154	Calories
5g	Fat
18g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories	154
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g	7%
Saturated Fat 2g	8%
Cholesterol 187mg	62%
Sodium 89mg	4%
Total Carbohydrate 18g	7%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 2mg	12%
Calcium 40mg	3%
Iron 1mg	7%
Potassium 234mg	5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.