These homemade quick pickles are ready in just a few hours instead of the several weeks required for traditional ones. They're crisp and flavorful and make an excellent addition to any entree.
I enjoy making homemade pickles. They're delicious, and it's fun to change things up and use different vegetables, vinegar types, and seasonings. I almost always have a jar of these refrigerator pickles in the fridge. I especially enjoy them with cold leftover meat slices for lunch.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Vegetables: I use green beans, cauliflower florets, and mini peppers.
- Vinegar: I use white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
- Sweetener: Optional, but helps balance out the vinegar's acidity.
- Optional: You can make these pickles spicy by adding two hot chili peppers to the pickling jar.
Instructions
Traditional pickling is an elaborate process, but making these quick pickles is easy. The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Prep the vegetables and pack them tightly into a glass jar, leaving ½ inch of space at the top. Prepare the brine: Combine water, vinegar, garlic, sweetener, salt, and spices in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sweetener and the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly, pour it over the vegetables, and seal the jar.
Allow the jar to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least six hours, preferably overnight. At this point, you can go ahead and serve your tasty homemade pickles!
Recipe Tip
As quick as this recipe is, you still want to allow the pickles to rest for several hours in the fridge. You don't want to eat them immediately or even within a couple of hours of making them. Let the brine do its magic! Ideally, you should allow the veggies to sit in the brine overnight before enjoying them.
Recipe FAQs
The combination presented in the recipe card below is the one I use most often, but you can use any sturdy vegetable. I often use green beans, cauliflower florets, and mini peppers. Other vegetables that work well are thick spears of asparagus, firm cucumbers, carrots, and radishes.
While adding a sweetener is optional, I recommend it. It balances out the vinegar's acidity. But it's really a matter of personal preference. My husband prefers a version without any sweetener. As for what sweetener to use, I like to use a sugar-free granulated sweetener. You can use white sugar if you'd like, or even stevia.
I don't recommend using distilled white vinegar. It's highly acidic and won't taste as good.
You can keep these pickles in the fridge, in an airtight glass jar or container, for about a week. Being homemade, they don't contain preservatives, so they won't last as long as store-bought pickles.
Serving Suggestions
These pickles are perfect with hamburgers! I serve them with baked hamburgers, grilled hamburgers, broiled hamburgers, bison burgers, lamb burgers, and turkey burgers.
I also like to make myself a lunch plate with cold cuts, cheese, hard-boiled eggs (or deviled eggs), and quick pickles. It's one of my favorite lunches.
Instead of store-bought cold cuts, I often use cold leftover meat or chicken, including:
Recipe Card
Homemade Quick Pickles
Video
Ingredients
Vegetables:
- ¾ cup cauliflower florets - use small florets
- ¾ cup green beans - trimmed and cut in half
- ¾ cup mini peppers - I leave them whole
For the brine:
- 1 ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ½ tablespoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sweetener
- 2 garlic cloves - peeled
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Place the cauliflower, green beans, and mini peppers in a 20-ounce glass jar or a lidded glass storage container. Make sure the container is made from thick glass that can withstand near-boiling water. Pack the vegetables in tightly, leaving ½-inch of space at the top.
- Prepare the brine: In a small saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, salt, sweetener, garlic, peppercorns, coriander, and bay leaf. Stir to dissolve the salt and sweetener. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
- Allow the brine to cool slightly, and then pour it over the vegetables. It helps to pour the brine into a spouted measuring cup first. The brine should cover the vegetables completely. If it doesn't, you'll need to make more.
- Close the jar tightly, cool it to room temperature for about 30 minutes, and then refrigerate the pickles for 6 hours or overnight.
- Serve with any meat or poultry dish. They are especially good with burgers!
Notes
- In the nutritional info, I assumed that the vegetables absorb ½ of the vinegar and salt. This is just a rough estimate, though.
- This recipe is just a rough guideline. It's fun to change things up! For example, you can change up the vinegar you use. I like to use champagne vinegar. White wine vinegar is also good. However, I don't recommend using distilled white vinegar. It's too acidic.
- You can make these pickles spicy by adding a couple of hot chili peppers to the pickling jar. Just make sure no one actually tries to eat them!
- You can keep these pickles in the fridge, in an airtight glass jar or container, for about a week. Being homemade, they don't contain preservatives, so they won't last as long as store-bought pickles.
Nutrition per Serving
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Disclaimers
Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Jennifer says
Hi, would apple cider vinegar work? I usually have that on hand.
Thanks
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Jennifer,
Apple cider vinegar works and it's delicious, but it will darken the pickles. So it might not be as aesthetically pleasing.