Angie Marie It’s almost Easter time, and a favorite tradition of ours is to make pickled eggs. I love the deep purple color of these eggs, and their taste is amazing. My mom made these for us growing up, and they’ve always been a staple during the spring, and we often make them throughout the summertime as well. They are amazing for a quick snack from the fridge, and they have many health benefits as well.
Hard boiled pickled eggs were originally a way to preserve the eggs so that they could be consumed months later. They are usually submerged in vinegar with the addition of salt and other seasonings. They can range in flavor from sweet to spicy. What makes the Pennsylvania Dutch pickled eggs different is that they are bright purple in color, and they have both a sweet and sour flavor.
Prepare to Hard Boil the Eggs
This was my first time ever using the Instant Pot to hard boil eggs. You can of course use the stove top as well. When hard boiling eggs on the stove top, I typically put them in a pot of cool water with 2 inches of water covering the eggs, and bring them to a hard boil. Then I put a lid on the pot and leave them to sit for 13 minutes. The reason why I chose the Instant Pot this time around is that we are living out of our RV full time and the IP typically doesn’t heat the camper up as much as the propane stove top inside our rig.
If you’re using an Instant Pot, the first step is to add 1 to 2 cups of water to the bottom of your pot. Then you will set the wire rack that came with your instant pot inside of it, and place a dozen eggs on top of it. Try not to crowd the eggs too much so that they won’t easily crack. Then you’ll secure the lid, and set the IP at high pressure for 4 minutes. The instant pot will preheat and then cook the eggs. Allow the pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes, and then release the pressure manually. Remove the eggs and place them in a bowl of cold water. Once they are cool, you can then peel them and set them to the side. Side note: I did have two eggs that cracked, but they were fine! They just looked a little funky looking. It appears they cracked at the end of the process.
Prepare the Pickled Egg Mixture
You’ll then pour 2 cans of sliced beets into a pot. Be sure you use the juice in the cans too. You can also use whole beets if you prefer. Add 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, it really depends on your taste peference. Then add 1 cup of sugar. Slowly heat the beet mixture until the sugar dissolved. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add cloves, bay leaves and even a chopped onion if you desire. I prefer to leave all these out of my picked egg recipe. Another alternative is to skip the vinegar and sugar part, and use pickled beets from the store instead.
Combine Everything Together
Put the dozen hard boiled eggs into the bottom of a 2 quart container. Then pour the beet mixture on top of the eggs. Allow the pickled eggs to sit for at least 48 hours before consuming. I always put our eggs in the refrigerator. Some people prefer to leave theirs sit out on the counter, but I prefer to be as safe as possible with refrigerating them. If there is any space at the top of the jar, I will top it off with extra vinegar as I like my eggs to be a little bit more on the sour side.
If you’d love the lid I use on the top of our 2 quart mason jars, be sure to check them out over on Amazon. (Please note this is an affiliate link that does help support the blog to keep it up and running). I only share with you products we use and love! I use them on all our wide mouth mason jars.
Pickled Egg Recipe
- A Dozen Hard Boiled Eggs
- 2 cans of Sliced Beets with the Liquid
- 3/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Cup Sugar
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
Hard boil the eggs using your preferred method. Heat the beets, sugar and vinegar until the sugar dissolves. Add Salt and Pepper to taste, and pour everything into a sterile glass jar. Leave in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours. The longer the eggs sit, the better they will taste. I generally make our pickled eggs about 5 days before Easter.
Check out our Recipe section for more of my favorite homestead recipes! Also, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram where we share Reels, Stories and more of our daily life with you.
