Home › Recipes › From Scratch

Quick Pickled Veggies

Snejana Andreeva - 1

By Snejana Andreeva

on Nov 29, 2025, Updated Feb 03, 2026

Add as a preferred source on Google - 2

If you want to make the most addictive, delicious vegetables, you must try my Quick Pickled Veggies. The key to eating veggies effortlessly (without it feeling like a chore) is to make them irresistible. I’ve done just that by pickling them in a sweet, acidic, pickling brine with hints of garlic and dill. The result is crunchy, fresh, and tangy . Best of all, these are incredibly adaptable, based on what veggies you like or have in your fridge.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Snejana Andreeva (@themodernnonna)

A large glass jar filled with quick pickled veggies—cauliflower, carrots, and peppers—sits on a white countertop in a bright kitchen setting. - 3

Key Takeaways

  • Quick Pickled Veggies use a sweet, tangy pickling brine to make veggies irresistible.

  • You can customize the recipe with any fibrous vegetables, herbs, or vinegars to suit your taste.

  • These pickled veggies serve as a healthy side, helping you reach your daily vegetable intake.

  • They pair well with tacos, steak, sandwiches, and spicy dishes for balance.

  • Quick Pickled Veggies last up to 3 weeks in the fridge when fully submerged in brine.

  • Key Takeaways

  • Why You’ll Love Quick Pickled Veggies

  • Ingredients

  • Nonna’s Tip 🌈

  • Variations and Substitutions for Quick Pickled Veggies

  • Best Served With

  • Similar Recipes to Quick Pickled Veggies

  • Common Questions

  • Quick Pickled Veggies Recipe

Why You’ll Love Quick Pickled Veggies

In my humble opinion, every meal should be served with a side of pickled veggies 🥕🥬. They are a delicious way of getting in your “5-a-day” and they are great way to preserve whatever fresh veg might be starting to wilt in the fridge. This recipe follows a simple ratio of ingredients, so it’s easy to scale up or down depending on how much you want to make. (Check out the notes in the recipe card for the exact ratio.) This quick pickled veggies recipe is incredibly adaptable : you can make it with any fibrous vegetables, fresh herbs, and different vinegars.

Ingredients

🥬 Cabbage : Standard green cabbage is my go-to here, but Savoy or Napa cabbage work too. Purple cabbage is delicious but will turn the Quick Pickled Veggies purple.

🥕 Carrots : Peel your carrots and cut them into matchstick pieces.

🧄 Garlic : A few cloves of fresh garlic add flavor and antimicrobial health benefits to quick pickles. You can eat the cloves too 🧛.

🌿 Dill : Fresh dill fronds impart a classic pickle flavor. You can also use dried dill or other fresh herbs, such as parsley or cilantro.

💦 Water : Hot boiling water helps speed up the pickling process, breaking down the vegetables to soften them.

🍶 Rice Vinegar : Any vinegar will work, but rice vinegar has the smoothest flavor for pickling. It’s less sharp than other vinegars and slightly sweet.

🧂 Salt : Salt works triple duty here to draw moisture from the vegetables, enhance flavor, and preserve the veggies.

🍯 Honey : The intense acidity of vinegar is balanced with a touch of sweetness. Instead of honey, vegans can use agave nectar or granulated sugar.

Nonna’s Tip 🌈

Vegetables with dark pigments, such as beets, red onions, and radishes, will dye the whole jar of quick pickled veggies pink or purple. Use at your own discretion.

Variations and Substitutions for Quick Pickled Veggies

  1. Tough, fibrous veggies work best here, such as cauliflower, fennel, onions, beets, and radish.
  2. Add a few pieces of red onion to dye all the veggies pink 🧞‍♀️.
  3. You can use any fresh herb you like. Instead of dill, parsley, cilantro, and oregano also work well 🌿.
  4. Rather than using garlic cloves, you can also try fresh ginger or turmeric root .

Best Served With

  • Tacos and pickled veggies are a winning combo. Try them with my Ground Beef Tacos or Easy Shrimp Tacos 🌮.
  • A perfect steak with a side of pickled veggies is my idea of a perfect dinner 🥩.
  • These pickled veggies are epic with a cold cut sandwich, bringing the crunch and freshness. Put them on a plate next to my Cottage Cheese Flatbread or Bulgarian Meat Sandwiches 🥪.
  • Pickled veggies are perfect for balancing anything a bit heavy or spicy, like my Honey BBQ Chicken Wings or Hot Honey Chicken Wings 🍗.

Similar Recipes to Quick Pickled Veggies

A ceramic plate with spiral-cut pickled red onions from a classic Pickled Onions Recipe and two yellow pepperoncini peppers on a white background. - 4 A ceramic plate with spiral-cut pickled red onions from a classic Pickled Onions Recipe and two yellow pepperoncini peppers on a white background. - 5

Quick Pickled Red Onions

2 mins

A bowl of spiral-cut cucumbers seasoned with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. The cucumbers are drizzled with a sauce and garnished with sesame seeds. Chopsticks rest on top of the bowl. - 6 A bowl of spiral-cut cucumbers seasoned with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. The cucumbers are drizzled with a sauce and garnished with sesame seeds. Chopsticks rest on top of the bowl. - 7

Asian Cucumber Salad

15 mins

A hand holds a mason jar filled with bright pink pickled onions in brine, with a sprig of dill visible inside. The background is blurred, featuring warm, bokeh lights. - 8 A hand holds a mason jar filled with bright pink pickled onions in brine, with a sprig of dill visible inside. The background is blurred, featuring warm, bokeh lights. - 9

Pickled Red Onions

5 mins

Common Questions

If the vegetables are fully submerged in brine, these will last for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.

Certainly you can. Simply increase the quantity of honey (or agave or granulated sugar, if you’re vegan).

Yes, these are an excellent way to help you reach your “5-a-day” vegetable intake. Plus, eating fermented or pickled foods can be a good source of probiotics.

I like to eat these straight from the jar , as a crunchy, low-calorie snack. But you can chop them up and put them on sandwiches or tacos, or serve them alongside meat or chicken.

In addition to carrots and cabbage, any fibrous vegetable will work here: cauliflower florets, sliced fennel bulb or onions, wedges of peeled beets, or halved radishes.

A New Recipe Card!!

  1. Check off each step in instructions!
  2. Add ingredients to your shopping list!

Video

Equipment

  • ▢ Chefs Knife
  • ▢ Cutting Board
  • ▢ Measuring Cups + Spoons
  • ▢ Half-Gallon Mason Jar

Ingredients

  • ▢ ⅛ small green cabbage , rough chop
  • ▢ 2 carrots , peeled and sliced into matchsticks
  • ▢ 6 cloves garlic , peeled
  • ▢ fresh dill
  • ▢ 2 cups boiling hot water
  • ▢ 2 cups vinegar , (rice, white wine, apple cider, or white)
  • ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
  • ▢ 2 tablespoons honey , or sugar to taste, optional

Instructions

  • ▢ Place the cabbage, carrots, garlic cloves, and dill in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid.
  • ▢ In a large bowl, carefully mix the boiling hot water, vinegar, salt, and honey. Stir until the salt dissolves. Carefully pour the hot solution on top of the veggies in the jar . The veggies should be submerged in brine.
  • ▢ Note: you will need anywhere from 2.5 to 4 cups of liquid TOTAL, depending on how tightly the vegetables are packed.
  • ▢ Let the jar cool, then close the lid, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Can be stored the fridge and enjoyed for up to 3 weeks.

Nonna’s Notes

  • Make More or Less : Using a simple ratio, you can easily make a small or large batch of quick pickled veggies. 1 cup water to 1 cup vinegar to 1 tablespoon honey to 1 teaspoon salt. So, if you want to multiply the recipe by 5 to make 20 servings, simply use 5 cups water, 5 cups vinegar, 5 tablespoons honey, and 5 teaspoons salt.
  • Prep as you Please : The smaller you cut the veggies, the quicker they will pickle. However, you can prepare them in any shape you prefer: carrot coins or matchsticks and cabbage spears or bite-size pieces.
  • Make it Sweet or Make it Salty : You can adjust the saltiness or sweetness of the recipe by increasing either salt or honey.

My Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Quick Pickled Veggies

Equipment

  • Chefs Knife
  • Cutting Board
  • Measuring Cups + Spoons
  • Half-Gallon Mason Jar

Ingredients

  • ⅛ small green cabbage rough chop
  • 2 carrots peeled and sliced into matchsticks
  • 6 cloves garlic peeled
  • fresh dill
  • 2 cups boiling hot water
  • 2 cups vinegar (rice, white wine, apple cider, or white)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons honey or sugar to taste, optional

Instructions

  • Place the cabbage, carrots, garlic cloves, and dill in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid.
  • In a large bowl, carefully mix the boiling hot water, vinegar, salt, and honey. Stir until the salt dissolves. Carefully pour the hot solution on top of the veggies in the jar . The veggies should be submerged in brine.
  • Note: you will need anywhere from 2.5 to 4 cups of liquid TOTAL, depending on how tightly the vegetables are packed.
  • Let the jar cool, then close the lid, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Can be stored the fridge and enjoyed for up to 3 weeks.

Video

Notes

  • Make More or Less : Using a simple ratio, you can easily make a small or large batch of quick pickled veggies. 1 cup water to 1 cup vinegar to 1 tablespoon honey to 1 teaspoon salt. So, if you want to multiply the recipe by 5 to make 20 servings, simply use 5 cups water, 5 cups vinegar, 5 tablespoons honey, and 5 teaspoons salt.
  • Prep as you Please : The smaller you cut the veggies, the quicker they will pickle. However, you can prepare them in any shape you prefer: carrot coins or matchsticks and cabbage spears or bite-size pieces.
  • Make it Sweet or Make it Salty : You can adjust the saltiness or sweetness of the recipe by increasing either salt or honey.

Nutrition

Quick Pickled Veggies https://themodernnonna.com/quick-pickled-veggies/ November 29, 2025