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How to Make Pickled Summer Vegetables

Learn how to make pickled summer vegetables at home in just 10 minutes! This is a great way to preserve some of your favorite summer produce, including cucumbers, peppers, radishes, beets, onions, and more. 

Making simple and vibrant pickles is my favorite way to make the flavors of summer last all year. It's easier than you think to pickle your favorite summer produce. I love sweet pickled beets, crunchy cucumbers and radishes. If you haven't made your own pickles before, you're going to love how easy and versatile this recipe is.

How to Make Pickled Summer Vegetables

The first step is to pick your veggies! You can use this recipe for most crunchy vegetables. I like to hit up the farmer's market to find whatever's fresh, colorful and ripe.

The brine in this recipe is designed to work with any vegetable you like.

overhead of pickling brine for fresh radish slices in a measuring cup

Ingredient Notes

Here's what you need to make a simple brine to pickle summer vegetables:

  • Vinegar. This acidic ingredient makes up most of the brine to preserve your veggies. I like rice wine or apple cider vinegar. White or red wine vinegar also work well.
  • Maple syrup. You'll want a bit of sweetness in your brine for flavor and to help preserve things. You can also use regular sugar, honey or agave.
  • Spices. Use whole spices so they don't totally break down in the brine. I like fennel, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and fresh garlic.

collage of the steps to make pickled radishes in a jar

What Vegetables Can I Pickle?

My go-to veggies for making pickles are radishes, cucumbers and beets. But you can easily use this brine with other seasonal veggies, including:

  • Green beans
  • Snap peas
  • Onions
  • Carrots
  • Asparagus

collage of the steps to make simple pickled cucumbers

How to Serve Pickled Vegetables

You can eat these crunchy veggies straight out of the jar. Or use them as a salty and sweet condiment to your favorite dishes, like:

collage of the steps to make quick pickled beets in a jar

More Summer Vegetable Recipes

If you make these easy pickled summer vegetables, be sure to let me know what you think with a comment below!

six jars of pickled cucumbers, red beets, and radishes

Easy Pickled Cucumbers

Here is an easy all-purpose brine and method to make pickles from cucumbers, onions, beets, or any of your favorite fresh summer vegetables.
author: Alyssa
yield: 2 cups
two jars of thinly sliced pickled cucumbers
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Add vinegar, water, syrup and spices into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.
  • While the brine is cooking, thinly slice the cucumbers using a mandolin slicer. Add the cucumbers to a wide mouth mason jar.
  • Pour the warm brine into the jar, close the lid and let sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature. Then transfer it to the fridge and allow to pickle for at least 4 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 68kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 1172mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 4.7mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 0.6mg
cuisine: American
course: Side Dish

Filed Under:

Easy Pickled Radishes

Each of these brines would be delicious with numerous types of vegetables, so even if you don't like exactly what I'm using here, the preparation is still the same.
author: Alyssa
yield: 2 cups
overhead of pickling brine for fresh radish slices in a measuring cup
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Add vinegar, water, syrup and spices into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.
  • While the brine is cooking, thinly slice the radishes using a mandolin slicer. Add them to a wide mouth mason jar then pour the warm brine into the jar. Close the lid and let sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature.
  • Then transfer it to the fridge and allow to pickle for at least 4 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 66kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 1224mg | Potassium: 343mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 150IU | Vitamin C: 17.7mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 0.7mg
cuisine: American
course: Side Dish

Filed Under:

 

Easy Pickled Beets

Pickled beets are a quick and easy preservation recipe with fresh beets and shallots in a brine made from maple syrup, peppercorns and red wine vinegar.
author: Alyssa
yield: 2 cups
jar of sliced pickled beets with peppercorns
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Thinly slice the beets and shallots using a mandolin slicer. Add them to a small sauce pan and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer for 5 - 10 minutes until the beets have softened.
  • Strain the beets and shallots, then transfer them into a wide mouth mason jar.
  • Add vinegar, water, syrup and spices into the sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Pour the warm brine into the jar with the veggies, close the lid and let sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature. Then transfer it to the fridge and allow to pickle for at least 4 hours.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Sodium: 1252mg | Potassium: 440mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Vitamin C: 6.1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1.9mg
cuisine: American
course: Side Dish

Filed Under:

 

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13 comments on “How to Make Pickled Summer Vegetables”

  1. Hi Alyssa,

    This looks so easy and delicious. I always thought pickling was much harder. I have a question about the beets, do you peel them before slicing? Or do you leve the skin on and then remove them after the simmering? I always love trying your recipes and super enjoy your blog.

    Cheers,
    Suzanne

    1. Hi there! I actually didn’t peel them or remove the skins at all (although maybe I should have). I think since they’re sliced so thinly you could go either way. If you do want to peel them, I’d do that before slicing and steaming 🙂 Let me know if you give them a try! xo

    2. Slipping the skins off the beets is a step I always include. The beets have been pulled from the ground. To keep the beets retaining their beautiful color, leave 1″ stem , cook beets in large pans. Eventually, the skin will slid off and you can trim you beet for the application you choose to use.

    1. If you can them properly (like seal the containers and sterilize), they would be shelf stable, but if not, yes in the fridge! And I’d say they’d last at least a few weeks 🙂

  2. I am totally on board with what you said about being afraid pickling / canning would take forever. I was afraid of this too! But once you sit down and prepare everything, it is so simple and easy. Its done in a flash and the only part that takes long is actually waiting for them to pickle! Thank you for sharing this recipe, I am going to give it a go myself the next time I pickle.

  3. Thanks for posting and cool site, came here from your youtube video. Trying the cucumber and radish brine recipes now 🙂 I’m gonna throw in some extra spiciness with jalapenos and dried chilies!

  4. Hi
    Can I use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for all of three pickles??
    Would quantity of vinegar change or same as above??