Quick Pickled Vegetables — It’s so easy to make quick pickles! These pickled vegetables take just 10 minutes to prep and are ready to eat after 24 hours. I made pickled carrots and parsnips, but you can use any veggies you have on hand!
Easy Pickled Vegetables
I love vinegar and vinegary foods. Pickling carrots and parsnips is how I’ve been getting my vinegar groove on lately.
If you’ve never pickled anything, don’t fret. Quick pickling is so fast and easy, and you have nothing to fear. It’s a 10-minute project, and a perfect way to bottle up summertime.
The pickled vegetables become tenderized and softened after a few hours, but the full effect and flavor of the pickling sets in a day or two later as the flavors marry.
The vinegar brine is tangy and sweetish, with a gentle kick from the mustard and peppercorn. Sweet with heat, of sorts. And vinegar has plenty of health benefits. I’ll consider myself super healthy then with all that I’ve been consuming lately!
What’s in Quick Pickled Vegetables?
For these quick pickles, you’ll need:
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Granulated sugar
- White distilled vinegar
- Favorite grill seasoning blend
- Dry yellow mustard seeds
- Salt (optional)
I used carrots and parsnips because they’re quite firm to begin with and I wanted the finished veggies to be firmer and not mushy. They retain plenty of texture, crispiness, and crunch. Cauliflower, rutabaga, beets, and turnips are next!
How to Quick Pickle Vegetables
To make the pickle brine, I simply combined equal parts white vinegar and sugar in a saucepan, brought the mixture just to a boil, and poured the brine over raw carrot and raw parsnip spears that I’d packed into jars. To each jar, I also added a few tablespoons of dry yellow mustard grains and some salt-free citrus pepper blend (a blend of lime, orange, and lemon rinds paired with black peppercorns).
Most people add salt to pickle vegetables, but I avoid cooking with or adding salt to our food as much as possible for health reasons. With the right blend of other seasonings, there’s plenty of flavor and a bit of a kick from the mustard grains and peppercorns. No salt needed. Plus, parsnips naturally have a peppery kick, and the spice blend enhanced it.
Tips for Making Pickled Vegetables
Think outside the box when flavoring your quick pickles. Try Jerk seasoning, chipotle seasoning, mesquite grill seasoning, or Indian spices like curry or garam masala. Remember: pickling doesn’t just have to mean Kosher dills!
Also, when adding the sliced veggies to your jars, make sure to really pack them in. You shouldn’t be able to fit any more veggies into the jars, that’s how full they should be.
Once you pour the brine over the vegetables, screw on the lid and gently shake the jars to distribute the seasonings. And let the pickles cool to room temperature on your counter before placing them in the fridge. If you place the hot glass jar in the fridge, it might crack!
More Easy Vegetable Recipes:
- Herb-Roasted Tri-Colored Carrots – Lightly caramelized around the edges, crisp-tender in the center, and seasoned with rosemary, thyme, and parsley!! A trusty side that you’ll make again and again for holidays or easy weeknight dinners!
- Grilled Mexican Corn (Elote) – Learn how to make this EASY and FLAVORFUL grilled Mexican street corn at home in minutes!! Fresh sweet corn is covered in crema, cheese, and finished with chili, lime juice, and cilantro!
- Cheesy Roasted Asparagus – Even picky eaters will LOVE asparagus when it’s roasted with onions and covered with melted CHEESE!! A fast and EASY side that’s perfect for busy weeknights!
- Rainbow Roasted Vegetables – Trying to eat more vegetables? Seeing the rainbow should do the trick!! FAST, EASY, and as HEALTHY as it gets!
- The Best Broccoli Salad — So many textures and flavors in every bite including crunchy broccoli, crisp celery, salty bacon and sunflower seeds, juicy grapes, and sweet raisins.
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Quick Pickled Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 extra large raw carrots, peeled and sliced into 4-inch by 1/2-inch spears*
- 1 or 2 large raw parsnips, peeled and sliced into 4-inch by 1/2-inch spears (I did not ‘core’ the parsnip, I used the whole thing)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups white distilled vinegar
- 4 tablespoons Salt-Free Citrus Pepper Blend, or a favorite all-purpose or grill seasoning blend, divided**
- 2 tablespoons dry yellow mustard grains, divided
- salt, optional and to taste
Instructions
- Place trimmed and sliced carrot spears in one glass jar and parsnips in another glass jar (or mingle them, if preferred); set jars aside. My jars were very well-packed and very stuffed; I couldn’t fit in any more spears.
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and vinegar and heat over medium heat to dissolve sugar, stirring constantly. Allow mixture to come to a boil and then shut the heat off.
- Pour the mixture over the vegetables, divided equally, or until the liquid comes up to nearly to the top of the jar. I find it’s easiest to pour the vinegar-sugar mixture into a heat-safe, large, glass measuring cup rather than trying to pour from a saucepan directly over the vegetables since more seems to spill onto the counter than get into the jars.
- Add 2 tablespoons citrus pepper blend and 1 tablespoon mustard to each jar. If adding salt, add it to each jar, to taste.
- Seal jars and shake gently to disperse spices.
- Allow jars to cool on counter before transferring to the refrigerator. Do not put hot glass jars into a cold refrigerator, they could crack. Vegetables will be ‘ready’ after about 2 hours, but the full effect of the pickling will set in about 48 hours later. Vegetables will keep refrigerated in jars for many weeks; let common sense and your tastebuds be your guide.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Even More Summer Vegetable Recipes:
Mexican Grilled Corn and Zucchini Salad — A healthy EASY salad that’s ready in 15 minutes and so flavorful!! Corn, zucchini, cilantro, queso fresco and more are tossed in a DELISH creamy lime sauce!
After putting the lid on the jars, can this recipe be water sealed and stored in a cool dry pantry? Or is this a fridge only kind of recipe?
Don’t know much about pickling/canning..anything.
I’ve only made this recipe the way I wrote it and can’t really speak to other options or methods. Good luck!
I love this! I’m so going to try this with my last harvest! Thank you for sharing <3
LMK how it goes!
I was wondering if you, or anyone, have tried “pressure canning” these ? It’s just my husband and I and we don’t eat a lot. Last time I made refrigerator pickles we didn’t finish them and I had to toss out a few .. :( .. I plan on making a smaller batch but canning would be awesome. Thank you
I haven’t tried canning them but almost anything can be canned. You just have to figure out how long to boil for, etc. and I haven’t tried so can’t give you the exact info, but I would just google a bit to find out what’s normal & recommended and go from there.
Great article Averie! I’m going to be making this all summer. Love the pictures used. Damn, I shared this with my social media family :)
The pickled veggies sound really good but I am really trying to watch the sugar so I was wondering if stevia or honey could be used instead or if the sugar is really necessary at all. Thanks
If you can drink straight vinegar, no sweetener, you have more hair on your chest than I do, and I love vinegar :) I would just use the sugar because you’re not drinking the brine and on a cellular level, your body really isn’t going to process honey any ‘better’ than sugar; sugar is sugar is sugar. I personally think stevia would be gross in this recipe and I like stevia, but not here.
How about using this method to pickle eggs? I’ve been dying to try pickled eggs for a while, but I’ve been put off by long recipe lists that usually include the words “pickling spice” somewhere (what the heck is pickling spice and where do I get it???).
I have never heard of pickling eggs and really have no advice for you! Good luck though!
Does anyone have any good ideas for pickling without sugar or carb-heavy sugar substitutes?
I loooove making homemade pickles and these look really tasty! But you know what? I’ve never tried a pickled parsnip. Sounds delicious!
I love that they stay nice and firm with plenty of texture and don’t get mushy – and that little bit of peppery-ness is good too!
This is a great idea and for kids who love pickles why wouldn’t they love pickled carrots?? Everything on your page looks so yummy too!
This looks great Averie! My garden is starting to produce some veggies and I am always looking for new ways to enjoy my harvest. Pickling is a great alternative to canning. I planted beets this year and am really like Paula’s suggestion of balsamic beets, sounds delicious.
If you try them, any version, LMK!
I got my vinegar groove on too–these were absolutely great! I’ve had store bought pickled veggies and wasn’t a fan, but these…..sooo much better! I used baby carrots and beets (I steamed the beets and peeled them) and golden balsamic vinegar so the carrots wouldn’t turn dark. The only drawback is that white/golden balsamic is pricier, but it was worth it (I got the cheapest bottle I could find and needed 2 of them). They do taste best on day 2..the hard part is waiting. Great recipe Averie (and easy too)!
Paula they sound incredible! Storebought pickled veggies is like storebought PB vs. homemade – the two can hardly be compared! So glad you tried these and I bet the steamed beets were incredible. I love beets (one of my fave veggies, period – but not everyone does and so don’ t bother with them on my blog) but the golden balsamic sounds worth every $$ drop! You could probably do golden beets and regular vinegar next time. I love golden beets, too! And yes, they taste even better after about 5-7 days, if you have any that will last :)
Looks delicious !
Your pictures are great!! I love how the veggies just pop! ;) I must find time to try pickling something!!! Thanks for the motivation!
Never thought it could be so easy! Now I look forward to preparing many many jars of pickles. Just need to buy more jars :)
Yum i love pickled vegetables (and some fruits even!) and they pack so much flavor with relatively few calories. Pickled carrots especially, with Mexican places they can be so hit or miss.
I followed your link to the spice blends. I found the blend you used, but it came in a grinder. Do you open the grinder or did I miss the opportunity to buy it without the grinder attachment on the bottle?
I opened the lid and just dumped them right in. Lid comes off very easily.