Pickled Eggs (A Simple Old-Fashioned Recipe)
A simple, old-fashioned pickled egg recipe with genuine tang and texture, worth the few extra days of patience it takes.
Pickled eggs are a genuinely old-fashioned recipe, once a common bar and pub snack, with a texture and tang that's distinct from a plain hard-boiled egg - worth revisiting rather than dismissing as a novelty.
Simple Pickled Eggs
Prep time: 15 minutes, plus cooling | Cook time: 12 minutes | Makes: 6 eggs
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup white or apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- Optional: a few slices of beet, for color and added flavor
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by an inch. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Transfer the eggs to an ice bath to cool completely, then peel.
- In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar and salt fully dissolve.
- Pack the peeled eggs into a clean jar, along with beet slices if using for color.
- Pour the warm brine over the eggs, making sure they're fully submerged.
- Let the jar cool to room temperature, then seal and refrigerate.
- The eggs are ready to eat after about 3 to 5 days, and the flavor deepens the longer they sit.
Notes
Unlike most quick pickles in this guide, pickled eggs genuinely benefit from a longer wait before eating - a few days is a minimum, and up to a week or more gives a more thoroughly pickled flavor throughout the egg, not just on the surface.
Why Pickled Eggs Take Longer Than Other Quick Pickles
A whole egg has much less surface area exposed to the brine relative to its size compared to thinly sliced vegetables, and the brine needs time to penetrate through the egg white to reach the yolk. This is why pickled eggs are one of the few quick pickles in this guide where patience genuinely pays off in a noticeably different result.
What to Use Them For
- A simple protein-forward snack on their own
- Sliced into a salad
- Chopped into a pickled egg salad, similar to a classic egg salad but with the tang already built in
- Served alongside beer or as part of a bar-food-style spread
Variations
- Beet pickled eggs: Adding sliced beets to the jar turns the eggs a vivid pink-purple and adds a subtle earthy sweetness.
- Spicy version: Add a few dried chilies or a spoonful of chili flakes to the brine.
- Curry version: A teaspoon of curry powder in the brine gives a distinctive, warmly spiced version.
For more traditional pickled recipes, see the complete pickling guide.
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