• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Effortless Chic
  • Home
  • About
  • Travel
  • Interiors
  • Austin
  • Kids
  • Recipes
  • Nav Social Menu

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About
  • Travel
  • Interiors
  • Austin
  • Kids
  • Recipes
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Travel
  • Interiors
  • Austin
  • Kids
  • Recipes
×

How To Pickle Vegetables

Sep 15, 2020 ·

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Find out how to pickle vegetables the easy way! These homemade pickled vegetables are perfect for snacking, charcuterie boards, or as a side at your next bbq. They are easy to make, tasty, and are good for you.

Ingredients to pickle vegetables

This week we are talking pickles. But not just your average shelf pickle, these are homemade pickled vegetables, perfect for snacking, charcuterie boards, and as a side at your next bbq. What’s so great about these pickled vegetables? They are easy to make, tasty AND they are good for you. Make a batch today and enjoy them over the next few weeks!

How to Pickle Vegetables

  1. Salt sliced cucumbers and let sit for 2 hours then rinse before adding brine. (This step is optional I like to do this to ensure my cucumbers and are extra crispy.)
  2. Prepare vegetables.
  3. In a saucepan, combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar and dry spices in a large saucepan. Bring to low boil over med-high heat. Simmer 2 minutes, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  4. Add any fresh herbs you may like to the jar include, dill, oregano, basil, or rosemary are all wonderful additions to pickles.
  5. Fill jars with vegetables (I did one jar mixed veggies and one jar cucumbers).
  6. Pour or ladle brine over vegetables submerge completely, pressing down on them with the end of a wooden spoon. Be sure to leave ½ inch headspace.
  7. Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours and then place in refrigerator.
  8. Allow pickling for 48-72 hours, then enjoy! These are good for up to 2 months under refrigeration.

How to Pickle Vegetables - Recipe Variations

The best part of this recipe is that it’s so flexible! There’s so many variations of vegetables you can use this brine on and you can make it sweeter with a little more sugar, or try different types of vinegars to see what taste you like best. I’m giving you the base for great pickled veggies, but you get to make them your own!

Vegetables ready to pickle on a kitchen worktop

Pickled Vegetables are Healthy and Great For Gut Health

I talked a little about my health issues in my gluten free bread blog, and how changing my diet turned me into a believer that what we eat truly affects our health. All that said, another major change I made to improve my gut health was increasing my intake of good bacteria--aka probiotics and fermented foods.

The human stomach needs to be populated with good bacteria. Increasingly it is being found that where there is an absence of good bacteria, illness results. The best way of obtaining healthy stomach bacteria is through fermented foods.

The problem with buying store bought goods is in order to be safe for consumption and avoid food poisoning, companies have to pasteurize and add preservatives. This kills most of the good bacteria in fermented or pickled foods.

So if you truly want the full benefits of pickled veggies, it’s time to make you own! I promise it is so easy. It’s slowly becoming one of my favorite things to make because there’s endless possibilities.

Green vegetables in a glass jar

Pickling Liquid Recipe for Pickle Vegetables

This pickling recipe is pretty straight forward and it gives the perfect balance of tang and flavor to your pickled vegetables. The ingredients in the brine are:

  • Water
  • Aple cider vinegar
  • White vinegar
  • Sugar: I used coconut sugar as it's less refined, but you can use whatever you have to hand,
  • Yellow and brown mustard seeds
  • Salt and turmeric

You then add extra flavors to the vegetables by adding fresh herbs to the jar, or make it spicy by adding a chilli, sliced jalapeno or red pepper flakes.

Pickled Vegetables are Great Food Gifts

These make the cutest housewarming or hostess gifts. Just find a cute mason jar, tie a ribbon around the top and attach a sweet little note. They’ll be so impressed by your thoughtful, unique gift!

This recipe makes 2 quarts which is two large jars and it's easily doubled, so you can keep some for yourself and give some as gifts.

Brine being poured over the jarred vegetables to pickle

How Long Do Homemade Quick Pickle Vegetables Last?

These quick pickles vegetables, or refrigerator pickles, will last for about 2 months when stored in the fridge. Because these pickles are not canned, they must be stored in the fridge. If you process and can the jars, you can keep them unopened at room temperature.

Top Tips on How To Pickle Vegetables

  • Use the freshest vegetables you can for pickling, and preferably organic.
  • Sugar is for flavor and can be adjusted to your liking. For a sweeter pickle add closer to ½ c.
  • Add in your favorite fresh herbs and spices to customize your pickles.
  • Green vegetables can be blanched in water before pickling to retain their vibrant color - this is optional of course.

Brine liquid being poured into a jar with vegetables

Be sure to check out some of my other recipes while you are here!

  • Brazilian-Style Marinated Grilled Shrimp Recipe
  • Vietnamese Noodle Bowl Recipe (Gluten Free!)
  • Whole30 Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs Recipe
  • Crispy Carnitas Taco Bowls

I'd love to hear from you if you have made your own homemade pickled vegetables! Be sure to scroll down and leave a comment and a star rating!

How To Pickle Vegetables

Jen Pinkston
These homemade pickled vegetables are perfect for snacking, charcuterie boards, or as a side at your next bbq. They are easy to make, tasty, and are good for you.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
pickling 2 days d
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 2 Quarts
Calories 264 kcal

Ingredients
  

Suggested veggies (use whatever kind you like!):

  • 2 small onions slices or spiralized
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1 cucumber sliced or cut into spears
  • 1 c carrots sliced or cut into sticks
  • ½ c radishes sliced
  • 1 c mini sweet peppers quarted or halved
  • ½ c cauliflower chop into bite size pieces
  • 1 celery stalk or ½ teaspoon celery seeds optional
  • Other veggies you could try: okra green beans, cabbage or beets.

Brine

  • 2 c water
  • 1 c apple cider vinegar
  • 1 c white vinegar
  • ¼ -½ c sugar I used coconut sugar, but any sugar will do*
  • ½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
  • 2 tablespoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • + 2 quart size glass jars

Instructions
 

  • Salt sliced cucumbers and let sit for 2 hours then rinse before adding brine. (This step is optional I like to do this to ensure my cucumbers and are extra crispy.) 
  • Prepare vegetables.
  • In a saucepan, combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar and dry spices in a large saucepan. Bring to low boil over med-high heat. Simmer 2 minutes, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Add any fresh herbs you may like to the jar include, dill, oregano, basil, or rosemary are all wonderful additions to pickles.
  • Fill jars with vegetables (I did one jar mixed veggies and one jar cucumbers).
  • Pour or ladle brine over vegetables submerge completely, pressing down on them with the end of a wooden spoon. Be sure to leave ½ inch headspace.
  • Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours and then place in refrigerator.
  • Allow pickling for 48-72 hours, then enjoy! These are good for up to 2 months under refrigeration.

Notes

*Sugar is for flavor and can be adjusted to your liking. For a sweeter pickle add closer to ½ c.
To add some heat and create a spicy pickled version, add 1 sliced jalapeno to each jar and 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
How To Pickle Vegetables
Amount per Serving
Calories
264
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
1
g
2
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Sodium
 
7070
mg
307
%
Potassium
 
859
mg
25
%
Carbohydrates
 
52
g
17
%
Fiber
 
6
g
25
%
Sugar
 
37
g
41
%
Protein
 
4
g
8
%
Vitamin A
 
11238
IU
225
%
Vitamin C
 
53
mg
64
%
Calcium
 
117
mg
12
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword how to pickle vegetables, pickled vegetables recipe, refrigerator pickles
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Two jars of pickle vegetables

Photography by Chase Daniel

« Home Interior Design Ideas- How to Create A Cohesive Look
The Best Pumpkin Recipes You'll Want to Make »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jonel says

    July 16, 2018 at 7:17 am

    This was perfect with the black bean burgers and grilled Chicken sandwiches I served to my GUESTS this weekend. This will go on my make again list!

  2. Jennifer says

    July 11, 2018 at 7:59 am

    I definitely need to try this!!

    Jennifer
    Effortlessly Sophisticated

Primary Sidebar

About The Effortless Chic

Jen Pinkston, The Effortless Chic
La Paloma

Popular Recipes

  • 26 Weeknight Meals To Refresh Your Meal Plan
  • Lemon Garlic Chicken Recipe with Turmeric
  • 20 of The Best Memorial Day Recipes For Outdoor Entertaining!
  • Wellness Recipe: Lemon Turmeric Ginger Shots
  • Three Easy Holiday Menus for Entertaining this Winter
  • 10 of the Best New Year's Eve Cocktails Worth The Effort
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Home
  • About
  • Travel
  • Interiors
  • Austin
  • Kids
  • Recipes

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Policy
  • About The Effortless Chic

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Media Kit

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 The Effortless Chic