Quick Pickled Vegetables are easy to make with almost any vegetable and are a practical way to use the odds and ends in your crisper drawer. The tangy, crisp bites are great for snacking and will elevate salads, sandwiches, charcuterie boards, burgers, burrito-type bowls, stir fries, and more.
Pickling can be a very simple process. There’s no need for special equipment or hot water bath canning, and you can make as little as one jar – or many.
You start with a simple brine: equal parts vinegar and water, and a small amount of salt and sugar. The brine is brought to a simmer, just long enough for the salt and sugar to dissolve.
As for the vegetables, perennial favorite cucumbers work well, as do a rainbow of other veggies, like cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, red onions, bell peppers, green beans, and radishes.
The vegetables are packed in the jar and flavorings of choice are added – peppercorns, garlic, dill, a hot pepper or red pepper flakes if you like a little spice – and then the hot brine is poured over top.
Let the jar cool, put on the lid, and then refrigerate and enjoy. The pickled vegetables will be ready to eat after 24 hours, but the flavor will continue to improve over several days.
The quick pickles are great for general snacking and add a crisp, tangy bite to a variety of salads, from green- and grain-based salads to pasta salads and burrito bowls.
The pickled onions and cabbage are especially delicious on burgers and sandwiches. Conveniently, the recipe also offers a practical way to use up odds and ends in your crisper drawer.
Is it better to mix the vegetables or use separate jars?
This comes down to personal preference. I enjoy them both ways but tend to keep red onions and cabbage separate because we use them more frequently as a condiment (on burgers, sandwiches, salads, burrito-type bowls, etc.) than for general snacking as with the others.
I also really like carrots with lots of dill, so I will make jars of those frequently. My husband loves radishes. The boys love cucumbers. This small batch method is also the ideal way to make use of a small amount of unused cauliflower or baby carrots.
A note on color that may also inform your choice of which vegetables to pair (or not pair) together: After a day or so, vinegar’s low pH will draw out the pigment in some veggies (most notably red onions, radishes, and red cabbage), making the brine a gorgeous shade of pinkish-red. Keep this in mind if you’d like to retain the natural color of vegetables like cucumbers or cauliflower.
Herb and spice variations:
This recipe is meant to be quick, easy, and no fuss. Under “optional ingredients,” I include a few of my favorite extras, like a chili pepper and fresh dill. Additionally, basil, oregano, thyme, mint, sage, dill, rosemary, and chives all lend themselves beautifully to pickle recipes. Seeds to experiment with include mustard, coriander, and fennel. And for another dimension of familiar pickle flavor, you could incorporate dried pickling spices, as I do in this recipe for pickled red onions.
I’d love to know if you try this recipe. Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @fountainavenuekitchen on Instagram and Facebook. Your feedback is always appreciated.
Small Batch Pickled Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetables like carrots, radishes, pickling cucumbers, red onion, cauliflower, bell peppers, green beans, asparagus, beets, and/or red cabbage
- ½ cup (120ml) water
- ½ cup (120ml) white vinegar*
- 1 teaspoon (5g) kosher or sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (4g) granulated sugar (could substitute honey)
- ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- Optional: 1 red chili pepper, split lengthwise (or jalapeño or serrano), a few sprigs of fresh dill, a bay leaf
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables: Make sure they are clean and mostly dry. Slice radishes into coins and carrots into sticks or coins (for sticks make sure they are slightly shorter than the height of the jar; same with green beans and asparagus). Cucumbers can be cut into rounds or spears, cauliflower into bite-size florets, and thinly slice red onion and cabbage.
- In a non-reactive small pot or saucepan, bring the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat as soon as the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Meanwhile, add the peppercorns, garlic, chile pepper, and herbs, if using, to a clean, pint-size jar—or divide among two 8-ounce jars. Add the raw vegetables, packing them close together, and then pour the hot liquid over to cover. (If you are short on brine, top off with a little water or a 50-50 mix of water and vinegar.)
- Let cool to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate.
- Storage: The vegetables will be ready to eat after 24 hours, but the flavor will continue to improve over several days. They will keep in the refrigerator for at least one month.
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