If there’s one kitchen skill I wish more people knew about, it’s quick pickling. It sounds fancy. It’s not. It’s genuinely one of the easiest things you can make, and it will upgrade almost any meal you put it on.
Here’s the thing — it’s as simple as 1:1:1:1.
1 cup water. 1 cup vinegar. 1 tablespoon sugar. 1 tablespoon salt.
Bring that to a boil, pour it over whatever vegetable you want to pickle, and you’re done. That’s the whole recipe. Everything else is just making it your own.
The brine. The 1:1:1:1 ratio is your base — and it works every time. But this is where you can start having some fun. Add a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary, a smashed garlic clove, a pinch of peppercorns, some mustard seeds or cumin seeds. Any of those will take the brine from good to really good. I almost always add garlic and peppercorns at minimum. It just adds that extra punch that makes people ask what’s in it.
The vegetables. This is where I love quick pickling most — there are almost no rules. From cucumbers, red onions, carrots, and jalapeños to radishes, cauliflower, green beans and peppers, if it’s a vegetable, you can probably pickle it. The ones I come back to most regularly are cucumbers, red onions, and jalapeños. They’re the most versatile and honestly the most delicious. A quick-pickled red onion on almost anything — tacos, grain bowls, sandwiches, eggs — is a game changer every single time.
The cut matters more than you think. Once the brine is made, the fun part is deciding how you want to cut things. Sometimes I cut a cucumber into spears, sometimes thin slices, sometimes small bite-size pieces — it depends entirely on how I’m feeling that day (lol). Same with jalapeños: thinly sliced for heat in every bite, left whole if I want something a little more decorative. Cut your vegetables in uniform sizes so they pickle evenly. That’s really the only rule.
One small trick for tender quick pickles. For vegetables like onions or radishes where you want a little more tenderness, add them directly to the simmering brine for 2 to 3 minutes before pouring into the jar. It softens them just slightly without losing that satisfying crunch. For cucumbers and jalapeños I skip this step — I want them crisp.
The best part — use what you have. Have vegetables that are about to turn? Pickle them. Have leftover half a head of cauliflower from something else? Pickle it. Quick pickling is one of the best ways to reduce waste in your kitchen and actually use things up instead of watching them go soft in the crisper drawer. I do this all the time.
They keep in the fridge for up to two weeks, though honestly they never last that long in my house.
Try a pickle a week and see how it changes your meals. I think you’ll be surprised how often you reach for the jar once it’s in there.
Happy pickling. 🥒
I was so surprised to see Shanese do this too. I’m such a big fan when she pulls out her freshly pickled anything when I visit her.