14 Pickling Recipes To Brighten Up Your Meals

It's time to brine.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and chef.
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Updated August 15, 2024
View of three jars of tourshi

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

If you crack open any fridge or pantry, chances are you'll find at least one or two—or in my case, six or seven—jars of pickles. When all else fails, pickles will save the day (or dish). Sandwich tastes bland? Add a few pickles. Need to zhush up a lackluster sauce or dressing? Drizzle in some pickle juice. Want to lighten up a meat-heavy meal? Dish up some pickled vegetables.

Every culture has some kind of pickling heritage. In Korea, pickling and fermentation are at the heart of their cuisine, with kimchi at the very top of the pickled vegetable hierarchy. In Turkey, eating pickles and drinking pickle juice is part of a daily ritual. When it comes to some of our favorite dishes, it's inconceivable to serve them without their pickle companion—pupusas and curtido, bánh mì and đồ chua, or hot dogs and sauerkraut. So, we've rounded up some of our favorite pickling recipes to help bring brightness and balance to your table. Some rely on lactic acid fermentation, while others are a quick pickle. Whichever you choose, you'll want to keep a few jars on hand—thank us later!

  • Milwaukee Dill Refrigerator Pickles

    A tall mason jar of pickled cucumber spears with dill and spices

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    When I think of a classic dill pickle, this is what comes to mind—spears of cold, crisp, vinegary, briney cucumber standing tall in a glass jar. These Milwaukee-style refrigerator pickles are deeply layered with flavors from a well-rounded spice blend, onion, garlic, and, of course, lots of fresh dill. Make sure to trim the flower ends of the cucumber in order to remove the enzyme that makes them go soft.

  • Baechu Kimchi (Napa Cabbage Kimchi)

    a serving of Beachu kimchi in a small bowl

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Pickling and fermenting vegetables is central to Korean cuisine, and Napa cabbage kimchi reigns supreme over all fermented pickles—no meal is complete without it. Rather than the traditional method of salting the cabbage leaves by hand, our recipe utilizes a brine to guarantee a more even salt distribution. A thick rice slurry well-seasoned with gochugaru perfectly coats each layer of cabbage leaves and provides sugar for fermentation.

  • Tourshi (Armenian Pickled Vegetables)

    Four jars of Armenian pickled vegetables flipped upside down

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Armenian families stock up on tourshi the way Koreans put away kimchi—it's ubiquitous on every table. You can use whatever edible-when-raw vegetable you'd like or have on hand. Once they're packed into jars, you simply pour a hot, lightly spiced vinegar brine over them, which gently par-cooks and tenderizes the vegetables without compromising their texture. Then, all you have to do is seal the jars and let them sit out at room temperature for five days.

  • Karışık Sebze Turşusu (Turkish Mixed Vegetable Pickles)

    Side view of two jars of Turkish Pickles

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    You've heard of the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," right? Well in Turkey, make that a pickle (or six) a day. Turkey's long-standing pickling heritage and copious consumption of pickles have as much to do with their flavor as it does their healing properties—cutting through fatty meals and aiding in digestion. Here, a medley of crunchy vegetables is submerged in a salty brine with just a touch of vinegar, creating the right conditions for lactic acid fermentation.

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  • Pickled Watermelon Rind

    Adding pickling liquid to watermelon rind in mason jar

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Pickled watermelon rind is a Southern American tradition that is the epitome of upcyling. Born out of frugality, it makes the most of something that would otherwise be tossed out. Watermelon is trimmed clean of red flesh and tough outer green skin, leaving only the crispy, tender white rind, which is then simmered in an intensely sweet-tart brine. Serve it alongside any Southern-inspired dish, chop it up for relish, or add it to a charcuterie board—it'll keep for about a month in the fridge.

  • Homemade Sauerkraut

    Closeup of sauerkraut in pickling jar

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    To a lot of people, a hot dog is naked without sauerkraut, though most of us never think beyond popping open a jar or bag of the stuff from the market. But Daniel's recipe just might convince you to make a batch at home. The process is surprisingly easy and fun, requiring only three ingredients. We do recommend a digital scale and either a 5-liter fermentation crock with stone weights or half-gallon glass jars with Easy Fermenter lids.

  • Đồ Chua (Vietnamese Pickled Daikon and Carrots for Banh Mì)

    A small glass bowl on a blue plate holding Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon. There is a jar of pickles and bring in the top lefthand corner of the image.

    Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

    I'd argue that what makes an ideal bánh mì, aside from the proper bread, is the đồ chua, or pickled daikon and carrot. You can layer on whatever combination of meats and herbs you want, but the sweet, tangy, and crisp julienned pickled vegetables are a must. This recipe is highly adaptable—you can cut the carrot and daikon thicker or thinner, though we recommend you cut them into sticks of about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick and 3 inches long, which makes them perfect for bánh mì, cơm tấm, and salads.

  • Jangajji (Korean Soy Sauce-Pickled Vegetables and Chiles)

    Overhead of a small banchan-sized serving bowl of jangajji.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Beyond kimchi, there are a host of other styles within the Korean pickling universe. Jangajj is one of the quickest methods—simply pour a hot soy sauce-based brine over your choice of seasonal vegetable and let it pickle for at least 24 hours. Serve the crunchy, salty, sweet, and spicy pickles as a banchan (or side dish) or a "drinking snack."

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  • Danmuji (Korean Pickled Daikon Radish)

    Small dish of Korean pickled radish beside a jar of the pickles

    Serious Eats / Emily and Matt Clifton

    Step inside a Korean or Asian market and you're bound to come across vibrantly colored packages of danmuji or pickled daikon in the refrigerated section. It's another banchan staple that's very quick and easy to make at home. Rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, turmeric, bay leaves, and black peppercorns form the basis of the brine, which pickles the radish in 1 to 2 hours at room temperature.

  • Yucatán-Style Pickled Red Onions in Sour-Orange Juice

    A bowl of Yucatán-Style Pickled Red Onions in Sour-Orange Juice

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

    Sweet, salty, and tangy pickled onions are just the perfect accompaniment to cut through the fatty richness of braised, slow-roasted, or smoked meats in tacos, burritos, fajitas, and sandwiches. We par-cook the onions so we can maintain the fresh, bright flavor of raw citrus juice. If you can't find Seville or sour oranges, a combination of grapefruit, lime, and orange juices will replicate similar floral, bitter notes.

  • Quick Curtido (Salvadoran Cabbage Slaw)

    Quick curtado in a white bowl

    Serious Eats / Lauren Rothman

    While you could say "slaw" is a type of salad, curtido is more of a pickle that only gets better with age. Like other kinds of quick pickles, a hot vinegar brine is poured over a mixture of cabbage, onions, and carrots to infuse it with a hit of acidity, then immediately cooled down in the fridge to retain its crisp, crunchy texture. Layer it into gorditas, serve it with beef barbacoa, or spoon on top of pupusas—the way I had it for the first time at a Salvadorian restaurant.

  • Pickled Mustard Seeds

    Pickled mustard seeds over bone marrow beside flaky salt and grilled bread

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

    Want to zhuzh up deviled eggs, soups, sandwiches, or roast meats? Add a dollop of pickled mustard seeds. I love how pickling plumps the seeds so they have a caviar-like texture that bursts in your mouth. These tiny pops of acidity and play of textures beautifully complement the unctuousness of dishes like roasted bone marrow.

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  • Quick-Pickled Rhubarb With Lemongrass and Ginger

    Open jar of pickled pink rhubarb

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    I always do a little happy dance whenever I see the first bright red stalks of rhubarb at the produce market. I can't resist buying up as much as I can and then trying to figure out as many ways as I can to use it all up. Quick pickling rhubarb is a great way to preserve a bit of spring. I love how each piece of rhubarb is a pink jewel bursting with sweet, tangy flavor.

  • Pickled Grapes

    Closeup of spoon lifting pickled grapes from top of celery soup

    Serious Eats / Emily Dryden

    I initially came across Sohla's cheeky play on "ants on a log" when I was searching for grape recipes. While the pickled grapes are a component in her celery soup, I was struck by what a cool idea it was to pickle peeled grapes in sherry vinegar. Beyond the soup, you can serve them with any rich, savory dish when you want a pop of sweetness and tang.

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