DIY: How To Easily Make Refrigerator Pickled Veggies

Last fall my son treated me to a lovely dinner out for my birthday. We ordered a Charcuterie board to munch on for an appetizer while we waited for our meals to arrive. The restaurant included a small dish of pickled veggies on their Charcuterie board that we just couldn’t get enough of. Come to find out that the restaurant actually sells jars and jars of their pickled veggies. They are actually quite famous for them. It seems we are not the only ones obsessed with those tasty pickled veggies. Unfortunately, when we inquired about purchasing a jar to take home, we were told that they had sold out. Apparently this happens all the time!

The thought of not having some delicious pickled veggies in my future anytime soon made my heart so very, very sad. So I decided to do what I love to do most; research how to make it myself, so that I could make it at home. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only is it a very easy process to quickly pickle vegetables in the fridge, but it uses just a few very common ingredients that you have in your pantry, and you can quickly and easily whip them up any time you want!

To change it up, you can easily add fresh herbs from your garden such as fresh dill, oregano leaves, tender sprigs of thyme or even some dried bay leaves to each jar. Spices and seeds such as coriander seeds, fennel seeds or whole cloves could also be added to each jar for slightly different flavor profiles. You may or may not have any of these herbs or spices on hand, and that’s ok, because the basic pickling recipe below produces excellent flavor results. Add in whatever you happen to have on hand. Play around with it and come up with your very own favorite combination.

For Easter I created an all natural centerpiece for the dining room table using a variety of fresh spring vegetables. It was so beautiful and easy to put together that I will be creating it again for the table on Mother’s day. It was so much fun shopping the produce section of the grocery store to create a centerpiece. No tchotchkes needed, just a beautiful plethora on display using just Mother Nature’s bounty. That’s all that’s needed to create this showstopper of a centerpiece! Learn how easy it is to create an all natural centerpiece for your table using produce from the grocery store here.

After Easter, I ended up with more vegetables than I knew we could ever possibly eat before they went bad. I detest throwing away food and I knew I needed a solution, and quick. This vegetable centerpiece provided me with a large assortment of vegetables to use for pickling. 👍🏻 Here’s how I did it.

Chop and cut up assorted vegetables into small, thin, bite sized pieces.

Vegetables that are good candidates for pickling:

• Red and/or green cabbage, cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Red, yellow, orange and green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Chili peppers, seeded and cut into rings.
• Jalapeño peppers, seeded and cut into rings.
• Cauliflower florets, cut into 1 inch bites sized pieces.
• Radishes, thinly sliced.
• Red onion, cut into rings.
• Garlic cloves, smashed and peeled.
• Green beans.
• Snap peas.
• Asparagus spears, woody ends removed.
• Broccoli florets, cut into 1 inch bite sized pieces.

Place vegetables into glass jars, pushing them down inside the jars. 

Add a few peppercorns, and a garlic clove (or two or three) into each jar. Set aside. 

In a sauce pan mix together water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer and stir until salt and sugar are completely dissolved and liquid turns clear.

Carefully pour the hot pickling liquid into the vegetable filled glass jars, making sure that the vegetables in each jar are completely submerged in the pickling liquid. 

Screw on lids and hand tighten.

Allow the contents in the jar to come to room temperature.

Once the contents have cooled off, transfer the jars to the refrigerator and allow vegetables to marinate overnight; for at least 24 hours.

Vegetables are best if eaten within the first 2-3 weeks, but they will keep for a longer time in the fridge. It’s doubtful that they won’t all get eaten and last that long!

These pickled veggies can be eaten after marinating for a good 24 hours. They will keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge. You can keep them longer but they will start to lose their crisp, crunchiness the longer they hang out in the pickling juices. Ours hardly last longer than 3 days!!! If you are a lover of all things sour, it will be hard to resist these pickled veggies! Not only are they pucker-up good, but fermented foods have been shown to help individuals with digestive issues.

Did You know: Adding pickled and fermented foods to your diet provides many gut health benefits.

One of the best things about this pickling technique isn’t just about how easy it is to do. Nor is it only about the fact that it uses everyday ingredients you always have on hand. It’s about how delicious and crisp they are, and how very versatile they are. Add them as a condiment to just about any meal. They are also a beautiful and delicious addition to your Charcuterie boards. They are equally delicious served on a sandwich, or tossed in a green salad.

Did You Make This?

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Romans 8:28

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