Perfect Pickled Eggs and BEST Recipes for Pink & Yellow Pickled Eggs (How to Preserve Eggs) — All Posts Healing Harvest Homestead (2024)

This post is all about how to make pickled eggs and how this food preservation method (vinegar) works. I’m sharing my two favorite recipe for pink eggs and another for some bright yellow pickled eggs. You’ll love these easy recipes!

So, you went on down to the Quickety Quick, and there were no pickled eggs? Well, good golly, be self-reliant! Make your own! They’re healthier, cheaper, and SO easy. Here’s how to make your own perfect pickled eggs! In fact TWO recipes you’ll just love…AND they’ll be there anytime you want them.

My ladies are busy! Even though it's fall, and many of my girls are molting, they are still laying like gangbusters! Currently we have 23 chicken hens and two duck hens, and between the bunch, we get around a dozen and a half eggs a day.

Since it's just Mr. V. and me, we have a LOT of eggs going on around here.Even though we eat a lot of eggs weekly, we give tons to the local food bank each week, and I bake with them, there's still a lot of eggs left over.

What can you do with old or too many eggs?

Preserve those eggs, that's what! There are quite a few ways to preserve eggs, but my favorite method of preserving eggs is to pickle them.

I know this might be an acquired taste for some, but I have loved them from my very first bite! If you are a person who loves pickles and hard-boiled eggs, then pickled eggs could very well be a great choice for you!

You can get creative with pickled eggs, too. Just by adding different spices, juices, and herbs, you can create some delicious, lovely, gourmet pickled eggs. You can use these in salads, as fancy deviled eggs, and in cooking dishes as well. But really, they’re just the best snacks ever!

Here are my two favorite recipes for making bright yellow eggs and bright pink pickled eggs! The yellow eggs are colored primarily with turmeric, and the pink ones are colored with beet juice. Here are general directions for how to make pickled eggs, plus my two favorite pickled egg recipes:

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Recipe for Making Pickled Eggs

Ingredients for Pickled Eggs

** Hard Boiled Eggs

I have so many eggs, but you should be able to get about a dozen eggs in a quart size Mason jar, maybe more. I'm estimating here, so if I'm off a bit, please forgive me. I usually use a half-gallon or even a gallon jar when I'm pickling eggs, and I can get a LOT in those!

TIPS for boiling and peeling eggs….

The older the eggs are (while still being good, of course), the better and easier they will peel for you. I know there’s a fancy steaming method out there for getting easy to peel hard boiled eggs, but I’ve found the eggs turn out rubbery. I prefer old-fashioned boiling.

My secret is to get them into cool water immediately after cooking, let them sit for a few moments. Then put them on a towel on the counter to cool down a bit more. After about 30 minutes, they usually peel easily.

** Vinegar, 5% acidity.

You can use plain white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. I make my own apple cider vinegar, but for pickling eggs, I use Bragg's raw apple cider vinegar because I have no way of testing the acidity of my own vinegar. I like to use 5% because it's the acidity you want for these eggs.

** Sea Salt

I don't really measure my salt, but I use an estimated 1/2 tablespoon per quart of pickled eggs. The salt just makes everything taste better, and I think it enhances the pickling process.

** Spices

You can use all kinds of herbs and spices to make your own delicious pickled eggs. Garlic, onions, dill, jalapeño peppers, red peppers, chipotle...the possibilities are endless!

General Directions for Pickled Eggs

1) Hard boil your eggs

Now, you don't want any yolk peaking out of the eggs you use for pickling. Therefore, if you accidentally split an egg to the yolk, or if the yolk happens to be really close to one side of the egg, you'll not want to use those. I set these aside and make egg salad from them.

For your pickled eggs, you only want eggs that have no yolk showing at all. Peel them and place them in your jar.

2) Add spices to the jar

Just go ahead and add all the spices and your salt now. You can also add them as you add your eggs: Layer the eggs one or two high, then add some spices. Continue til the eggs are about an inch and a half from the top of the jar. You can also add them to the jar first! Making pickled eggs is such a flexible process!

**Specific recipes are just below, but here are my suggestions for different spices:

Garlic, onion, peppers, black pepper, oregano, thyme, rosemary, dill, turmeric, cumin (for a Latin flair), cayenne, and the list can go on and on. The sky is the limit here!

3) Now cover your eggs with the vinegar

You want to be sure the eggs are completely covered by the vinegar.

Use a plastic lid to cover the jar. You don't want to use a metal lid because the vinegar will corrode it, and you'll be left with a mess and some bad tasting eggs.

NOTE: You can use white vinegar (my favorite to be honest, for these eggs), or any kind of fruit vinegar such as raw apple cider vinegar as long as the acidity is at least 5%.

4) Refrigerate your pickled eggs

These need to go in the 'fridge! They will be done after a minimum of three days, and mine have lasted for a couple months when I've forgotten about them, and have still been completely delicious!They may even last longer, but we tend to eat them quickly around here.

NOTE: You might have seen some other recipes with water added. I think this is fine, as long as there is more vinegar than water. Personally, I like to add at least 80% to 100% vinegar. The eggs pickle faster, and I'm sure they keep longer with more vinegar.

Recipe for Pink (Beet) Pickled Eggs

** Beet juice from pickled beets OR beet kvass OR cut up beets into slices and use these.

** Apple Cider Vinegar (best) or white vinegar (just fine)

** Onion slices to taste

** A few Clove Buds to taste

** Sea Salt (optional)

** Sugar (optional)

Some people add a bit of sugar, but I don't. I'm not a big sweet pickle fan. If you decide to add sugar, I'd add about half the sugar to liquid, no more. Dissolve the sugar in the liquid first. You can do this by boiling it first, or just stir well til dissolved.

You'll want equal parts beet juice and vinegar. If you decide to use cut up beets, just use vinegar.

Follow the directions above!

Recipe for Yellow (Turmeric) Pickled Eggs

** 1 tbsp Turmeric powder per quart jar (I'm heavy handed with turmeric, so feel free to add more if you like!)

** Garlic, minced, to taste (I use about a tablespoon per quart jar)

** Sea Salt (see above general directions)

** Black Peppercorns, slightly crushed, to taste

Note: Black pepper aids in the bioavailability of turmeric's anti-inflammatory powers. When I use turmeric, I almost always add black pepper too.

** Jalapeno pepper rings (optional)

I like my pickled eggs spicy, so I almost always add a spicy pepper or two!

Just follow the general directions above for beautiful yellow pickled eggs!

A Quick Note About Buying Quality Culinary Herbs While Saving Money

Before I learned about buying bulk herbs, I just ran to the grocery store and bought the stale old small bottles off the shelf.

Little did I know there is a whole world of fresher, higher quality culinary and medicinal herbs out there! I buy my spices, herbs, and teas from Starwest Botanicals and not only save money but get high quality herbs too! Win!

What to Do With Pickled Eggs?

Oh. My. Gosh! First off, just eat them! They are SO good. In fact, pickled eggs are one of my main go to's for a quick snack or to add in lunches. Often, I'll just eat them for breakfast instead of cooking up my eggs!

You can also use pickled eggs in salads. They are great in all kinds of salads, especially those with balsamic and other savory type dressings. They add color, too, if you use one of the recipes here.

Pickled eggs make wonderful garnishes! Because they are so pretty, you can use them on appetizer platters, and most folks love them. If you want to make the extra effort, they make delicious and colorful deviled eggs too!

Can you think of other uses for pickled eggs I haven't included here? I'd love to know! Honestly, our pickled eggs get eaten right up, so I don't think to use them for lots of other things. I'd love to hear your ideas for other ways to use pickled eggs.

Final Thoughts on Pickled Eggs

The fact that pickled eggs are one of my favorite snacks makes this method of egg preservation my number one! The only downside is that they do take up some valuable refrigerator real estate, so I can't just fill my fridge with multiple jars. This means the number of eggs I can preserve in this manner is rather limited.

Normally, I use a gallon jar, and I can “almost” get two dozen eggs in that size.

Pickled eggs are easy. They’re fun! You can get really creative with your spices, flavors, and colors, too! I would totally love if you would share any of your additions with us in the comments section below.

Hey! I almost forgot:Maybe you're interested in learning about using herbs in food preservation? Or using herbs in general for your health? If you are, check into the courses offered over at The Herbal Academy of New England!

Hugs, Health, & Self-Reliance,

Heidi

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