Dyed eggs are the ultimate Easter tradition. And now you can take the celebration a step further by dyeing the entire egg itself and stuffing it with a creamy egg salad. The secret ingredient for the fuchsia rim? Beets!
A simple pickling technique that uses beets, shallots, vinegar and sugar extracts the bright purple color from the root vegetable. Add in a dozen hardboiled eggs and then let the marinade work its magic. A few hours later and you’ll slice into colored eggs while mashing together a classic salad of the yolks. The eye-catching effect is a simple touch that makes for a spectacular presentation on your holiday table.
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 small beet, peeled and sliced
- 1 small shallot, sliced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 Tablespoon sweet relish
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Paprika, for dusting
Instructions
- Bring water, vinegar, beet, shallot, sugar and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Simmer it, covered, until beet is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer the beet mixture to a container and cool it completely, uncovered.
- Add the eggs to the mixture, submerging them entirely in the liquid. Refrigerate the eggs for at least 2 hours, and up to 6 hours, allowing the eggs to marinate while gently stirring them once or twice.
- Remove the eggs from the beet mixture and pat them dry (discard the beet mixture). Halve the eggs lengthwise and remove the yolks.
- Mash the yolks with the mayonnaise, mustard, sweet relish, and salt and pepper.
- Divide the mixture among the egg whites. Sprinkle with a light dusting of paprika.
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Recipe adapted from Gourmet.
Can you use canned beets?
Hi Michelle! I haven’t tried that so I can’t say with certainty what the results would be but my initial thought is that it *should* work. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Hi! This looks fabulous! Do you think I could make the pickling liquid ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until I’m ready to submerge and make the eggs? Just trying to prep as much before Easter! Thank you!
Absolutely!
Use a beet that is already pickled?
Yes indeed!
Hi, I would like to know about the taste after the beet soak. Does the taste of beet stick to the egg and overpower the creamy mixture or is it bland?
Hi Clarissa – The flavor from the beets is very mild.
When do you boil the eggs?
Hi Kevin – The recipe calls for eggs that are already hard-boiled and peeled prior to adding them to the beet mixture. Hope that helps to clarify!
Making these now, but my ? Is “can I refrigeratorate the eggs for a few days after the beet mixture process before turning them into those beautiful deviled eggs for easter sunday, it’s only Wednesday? ” thanks Cheryl
Hi Cheryl! I’ve never tried making them that far in advance, so I’m not sure how the taste will last.
I made the pickled eggs a couple of weeks ago and have just been using them to add to tuna and chicken salads. The whites are pink to the yolk and a little bit rubbery, but still tasty. I actually like the texture in my tuna salad.
These are beautiful! Do you think it would make much of a difference if I didn’t use the sugar when pickling? I don’t know much about the process!
Thanks, Cait! It definitely gives more flavor to the mixture.
Love love love these colorful deviled eggs. Nice. Inspiring–I pinned these so I don’t forget them!
Awesome! Thanks so much, Letty!
I do quick pickles on my red onions….could I use that brine instead for a light onion flavor? I guess the question is will the onions impart the same color to the egg as the beets? My pickle liquid looks like the same pink hue.
I make my own pickled beets, I wonder if I could just plop some hard boiled eggs in the juice? That means I’ll have to finish the rest of the jar to try it…darn :)
Wonderful! The pickled eggs bring me back to my childhood. The eggs have a sweet pickled mild flavor. My family is from Pennsylvania and no one here in CA have ever seen pickled eggs. My boyfriend and I love chorizo! Can’t wait to make these! Thanks for sharing!
Does this leave the eggs with a funny taste? I can’t imagine beets and deviled eggs go together, but the pickle taste wouldn’t be bad. I would love to try it. My girls love all things pink, and are the weird kids that take hard boiled eggs to school for lunch. I think they’d love this – but they are picky about flavors.
Great question, Angie! The flavor from the beets is very mild, and if the other weren’t there, I’d highly doubt they could even taste the difference. It all depends on how long you pickle the eggs for, which in turn determines how far into the egg the pink color seeps. Hope this helps!
I’m from Central Pa we have “red beet eggs” at almost every picnic. The best ones are when they are pink all the way to the yolk!
what a great idea. i think i’ll pickle some eggs today.
Hi Kelly! This is the perfect addition to Easter brunch. I can’t wait to try this recipe out and report back on the reaction. I also pinned it to my food board on Pinterest. Congratulations on the book; I’ll be sure to pick up a copy.
Enjoy.
Thanks so much, Jenn! I hope you enjoy these festive eggs and I look forward to keeping in touch!
How long did you soak them for? I don’t want them to be all pink, but would like them to be only pink along the edges like yours.
Hi Erin! I left mine in for about 3 hours, but you’d still get that same rim if you soak them for four or 5 hours as well. Hope this helps!
I love deviled eggs – these pink hue ones are amazing. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks, Samta! These are so much fun for spring :)
This blog is packed with great recipes – I am your new fan!
Thanks so much for checking out the site, and welcome!!
so so cool: love the fluorescent hue
(I made these for Thanksgiving 2 years ago: http://bit.ly/lDrSDU)
Thanks so much for stopping by, Darcy! I’m loving The Supper Model!
I my gosh I loved these-made them two years ago and they are so fabulous looking :) good choice!!!
xo