Food and Recipes Entertaining Ideas & Tips 23 Southern Pickle Recipes To Relish Canning pickles is a time-honored tradition. By Southern Living Editors Updated on December 2, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Anna Theoktisto Canning pickles is a time-honored Southern tradition. When summer's bounty is in full swing, there's nothing quite as tasty as pickling your produce to ensure you can savor summertime flavors for months to come.Whether you're on the hunt for simple ways to brighten up salads, cocktails, sandwiches, or cheese boards, these tangy, crisp, and delicious pickle recipes are proven winners. Some feature bright veggies like radishes, carrots, green beans, or okra, while others will prove that fruit can get into the pickling fun too. We show you don't need to toss collard green toppers when you've got the right brine. Some are fit for your pantry, and others should be refrigerated. But the one thing they all have in common? They're so tasty that once you pop off the jar lid, they might not last as long as you thought. 01 of 23 Bread-and-Butter Pickles Southern Living Try these sweet-and-sour pickles on sandwiches, in deviled eggs, or straight out of the jar. Combine white vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, turmeric, and cloves, and pour the mixture over sweet onions and pickling cucumbers for a cost-effective way to enjoy these tangy treats. 02 of 23 Pickled Okra Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall This easy pickling recipe is very forgiving. You'd have to work to mess it up. If you've got tiny okra, then use half-pint jars instead. 03 of 23 Pickled Green Tomatoes Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Enjoy the summer's bounty of beautiful green tomatoes long after the temperature drop. All it takes is an easy brine made up of six simple ingredients. Choose smaller tomatoes because large varieties won't soak up the brine as well, leaving them tough and bitter. 04 of 23 Quick Pickled Radishes with Lemon, Ginger, and Maple Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox Flavored with lemon, maple syrup, and grated fresh ginger, these pickled radishes are a bright addition to any sandwich or party platter. Make them a day in advance to allow enough time for the radishes to chill overnight. Use a mandoline or a sharp chef's knife for thin radishes. 05 of 23 Kosher Dill Pickles Southern Living These classic pickles are crisp, sour, and a sandwich's best friend. Like most pickles, they'll reach their best flavor and texture after three weeks in the jars. Make a few jars of these pickles in mason jars and tie a ribbon around it to give as presents. 06 of 23 Pickled Beets Greg Dupree Remove skins from roasted beets while they're still warm by gently wiping them with a paper towel. To create a brine, use dried oregano, thyme, and tangy apple cider vinegar. Let the beets chill for at least four hours. 07 of 23 Basic Pickle Brine Anna Theoktisto Four ingredients are all you need to transform cherry tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, okra, or red onions. You name it, and this brine can transform any vegetable into a delicious, tangy treat. The best part is you can reuse the brine—but be mindful that it will lose some of its flavors over time. 08 of 23 Quick Pickled Slaw Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos The ultimate way to add color and texture to any meal, the veggies in this slaw will soften just a bit but retain a satisfying crunch. It only takes 15 minutes to create this light, healthy slaw. For ultimate freshness, serve the day you prepare this recipe. 09 of 23 Pickled Cherry Tomatoes Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall These red and yellow cherry tomatoes are refrigerator pickles that don't require water bath canning. They are so easy to pull off—It only takes about 10 minutes of active cooking time. Keep them for up to two months covered in the refrigerator. 10 of 23 Pickled Strawberries Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Don't let your veggies have all the fun. While this recipe calls for fresh strawberries, you can use any berry you like. The sweet and spicy pickled mixture works with blackberries, raspberries, or a combination of all three. 11 of 23 Pickled Collard Green Stems Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Thom Driver Don't let your collard stems hit the trash can. Instead, turn them into a pickled topping boiled in pickling salt, vinegar, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Crushed garlic and chiles add to this flavorful dish. 12 of 23 Pickled Tiny Tomatoes Iain Bagwell Use a mixture of baby tomatoes such as 'Sweet 100,' 'Yellow Pear,' or 'Sun Gold'—all available at farmers' markets in summer. This dish uses three pints of tomatoes, but feel free to halve the recipe. These tiny tomatoes pair well alongside a meat and cheese platter. 13 of 23 Candied Jalapeños Hector Sanchez These candied jalapeños are our new go-to summer condiment. Chill at least 48 hours ahead, so the jalapeños have time to take on a fiery-sweet crunch. With only four ingredients, you can have a new favorite topping. 14 of 23 Bourbon-Brined Pickled Peppered Okra Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Two Southern staples—bourbon and okra—are a natural fit in this new way to pickle. A little bit of chile heat brings this dish together. Serve these pickles on a cheese board, as a bloody Mary garnish, or on top of deviled eggs. 15 of 23 Deviled Eggs with Pickled Okra Jennifer Causey, Prop Stylist: Lindsey Lower, Food Stylist: Torie Cox A tray of deviled eggs is always a welcome sight at any Southern gathering. Show up with this recipe, and you'll be the party favorite. Pickled okra is the perfect complement to the well-seasoned dish. 16 of 23 Pickled Watermelon Rind Slaw Southern Living We love this summery side with our Fried Catfish Sandwich. Pickled watermelon rind slaw is a no-brainer to top anything salty. Chill for at least 12 hours before serving. 17 of 23 Grilled Chicken Salad with Blueberries, Goat Cheese, and Pickled Onion Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall A light summer dinner doesn't get more delicious than a grilled chicken salad with fresh berries and homemade quick-pickled onions. Onion-pickling liquid combines mustard, lemon juice, and oil to form a sweet and tangy salad topping. 18 of 23 Pickled Garlic Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Karen Rankin; Prop Stylist: Lindsey Lower Make this pickled garlic in about 15 minutes and keep it in the refrigerator for up to four months. This crispy, garlicky twist on traditional garlic cloves enhances any recipe. Add to salads or use to sautée vegetables. 19 of 23 Pickled Peaches Alison Miksch Capture peaches at their freshest. Preserve the sweetness by pickling peaches into something new in vinegar, water, cinnamon, and sugar. Ginger and peppercorns add an unexpected flavor pairing to the traditionally sweet peaches. 20 of 23 Pickled Green Beans Chad Ellis Pickled green beans come together with seven easy-to-find ingredients and 40 minutes of hands-on cooking time. To ensure the green beans don't lose their crunch when pickling, use rattlesnake beans when possible. This pickling recipe also works well with okra and jalapeños. 21 of 23 Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch These deviled eggs will undoubtedly be the most colorful on your dinner table. Don't leave the eggs in the beet pickling liquid for more than 24 hours, or it will create a tough exterior. Balance the acidity of the pickled egg by adding horseradish to the egg mixture, creating a bit of spiciness. 22 of 23 Pickled Red Onions The Picture Pantry / Aysegul Deniz Sanford / Getty Images It only takes one large, thinly sliced onion and four simple ingredients to brine these red onions. Combine white vinegar, sugar, and kosher salt for a simple and traditional mix. Add caraway seeds and bay leaves for additional flavorings. 23 of 23 Traditional Quick-Pickled Brussels Sprouts Greg DuPree Brussels sprouts might seem like an unlikely choice for pickling, but these snacks work perfectly to add flavoring to sandwiches and cocktails or enjoy themselves. It takes four days for pickling, so plan if you want to serve these at a particular event. Scale the recipe up if you're going to make more. Make your favorite summer cocktail even better. Learn why pickle juice belongs in your margarita this summer. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit