Red Beet Eggs Salad – Pickled Eggs with Avocado & Watercress

Eggs, avocado smash and watercress. This is a nice and simple pickled egg salad made to look like something out of a magazine.

If you like, you can even add some crispy croutons on the top, and you’ll have yourself a deconstructed smashed avocado and egg breakfast.

The vibrant colours of the red beet pickled eggs are simply stunning to look at. To think that they were naturally dyed by earthy red beets and not food colouring is very cool.

The flavour of the eggs is also delicious as the coriander and cumin seeds work their magic.

Smashing avocados add creaminess to the salad while the watercress leaves lighten the overall salad. As we eat with our eyes, the delicate edible flowers do everything to beautify this platter of goodness.

It’s the perfect balance of savoury and sweet, making it a unique twist on an avocado egg salad — elegant enough for brunch, easy enough for every day.

Recipe Overview

Flavour/Texture: Eggs and avocado. You can’t quite beat this classic combination. These red beet eggs are pickled perfectly in both flavour and colour.

The sharp flavours from the cumin and coriander seeds permeate the earthy beet puree beautifully, while the vinegar provides the classic pickled flavours.

The pickled eggs, however, take on a firmer texture after having gone through the pickling process. The smashed avocado gives it creaminess, while the watercress and edible flowers give it delicate, leafy textures. Eat it all together for the perfect bite.

Ease: Making red beet eggs from scratch is easier than it looks. All you’re doing is essentially allowing the red beet mixture to do the work. No cooking is involved with this salad, and yet you still end up with something that looks so spectacular!

Time: Pickling requires time, so you will have to, at a minimum, prepare the eggs a day before so that it can do its work overnight. Other than that, the rest of the process takes 10 minutes.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make These Red Pickled Eggs Salad

Eggs: Any eggs will do for this recipe. I have tried all sorts of different types of eggs, and not one is better than another.

To ensure hard boiled eggs don’t crack, always immerse room temperature eggs into a saucepan of water and slowly bring to a boil.

I have always found that adding fridge cold eggs into boiling hot water always cracks both from the extreme change in temperature and the eggs banging against each other.

Beets: Fresh beets are always best, and you will need 2 medium/large sized beets. If you can only find smaller ones, perhaps get 4-6, depending on the size. You need enough to be able to cover 6 eggs in a jar.

Red wine vinegar: An important component to get the colour from the beets to stick to the egg whites. And, of course, you can’t pickle eggs without vinegar!

Traditional Pennsylvania Dutch pickled eggs use apple cider vinegar. Either of the options will work just as well.

Coriander and cumin seeds: Adding some spices makes a difference in the flavours. Just put whole seeds into the mixture when you’re cooking off the beets to allow it to permeate the juices.

Watercress: Fresh watercress is so delicate, and we love the peppery flavour which is perfect to counterbalance the pickling tastes from the red beet eggs. We only want the leaves with a bit of stem for this recipe.

Edible flowers: Edible flowers of any kind add to the overall aesthetic of the salad.

They complement the bright fuchsia-coloured eggs perfectly. In fact, they are simple a gorgeous addition to any salad such as our Herb Salad with Edible Flowers.

Variations and Substitutions

Canned beets: If fresh beets are hard to find or are out of your budget, you can use canned beets. Pour in the juices too, and follow the same instructions.

Watercress replacement: If you can’t get watercress, you can replace it with rocket leaves or arugula. Or, if the watercress and rocket leaves are too peppery for you, you can get mixed leaves to tone it down or some baby spinach.

Quail eggs: If you want to be a bit different, you can use quail eggs to replace regular eggs or give the salad different sized elements.

Vinegar options: Use apple cider or white wine vinegar for a lighter, fruitier flavour in your red pickled eggs.

Spices: Try mustard seeds, peppercorns, or star anise for different aromatics in the pickling brine.

Avocado upgrade: Mix the avocado with Greek yoghurt or crème fraîche for extra creaminess.

Add crunch: Sprinkle toasted nuts or seeds (like pistachios or pumpkin seeds) over the top.

Leafy greens swap: Replace watercress with rocket (arugula) or baby spinach for a gentler peppery note.

How to Make Red Beet Pickled Eggs Salad

How to Make Red Beet Pickled Eggs

Hard boil the eggs. Peel and place in a jar, ready for pickling.

Peel the red beets and cut into chunks. Add into a small saucepan with the red wine vinegar, sugar, coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Bring to a boil and let simmer for a further 20 minutes.

Let it cool down, and then place in a food processor and blitz until pureed.

Pour red beet puree into the jar of peeled eggs. Place in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove eggs and give them a quick rinse. Pat dry and cut in half.

How To Prepare The Watercress And Avocado

Pick watercress leaves from the stem. Place in a small mixing bowl and add 1 tsp of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and toss lightly.

Peel avocado and remove the pit.

Smash with a fork and season with salt and pepper to taste.

How to Assemble the Salad

Place the watercress leaves on a serving platter and make room for the avocado.

Add avocado to one side and, using a small fork, make circular motions on the avocado to give it swirls.

Gently place pickled red beet eggs on the other side.

Tuck edible flowers around the salad. Be gentle with them as you don’t want to bruise the flower petals, and you want to keep the flower buds intact.

Pour 1 tsp of olive oil on top of the avocado smash.

Season with pepper and serve.

How To Make This Salad Perfectly [Expert Tips]

Cool eggs before pickling: Warm eggs can cause uneven colour absorption.

Use a glass jar: Metal can react with the vinegar — glass keeps the red pickled eggs bright and clean-tasting.

Pickling time: Overnight yields a soft pink hue; 2–3 days gives a deeper magenta and more tang.

Slice just before serving: Cut pickled eggs last to preserve their clean, vibrant edges.

Balance flavours: A sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil over the avocado completes the plate.