20 Southern Pickle Recipes to Relish

May 28, 2014
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

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 make sure 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 totally 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 even show you that collard green toppers don't have to be tossed when you've got the right brine. Some are fit for your pantry and others are meant to be refrigerated. But the one thing they all have in common? They’re so tasty, that once you pop off the jar lid, they just might not last as long as you thought.  

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Bread-and-Butter Pickles

Credit: Southern Living

Recipe: Bread-and-Butter Pickles

Try these sweet-and-sour pickles on sandwiches, in deviled eggs, or straight out of the jar.

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Pickled Okra

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Pickled Okra

This easy pickling recipe is very forgiving; you'd have to work to mess it up. If you've got very small okra, then use half-pint jars instead.

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Pickled Green Tomatoes

Credit: Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch

Recipe: Pickled Green Tomatoes 

Summer's bounty of beautiful green tomatoes can be enjoyed long after the temperature starts to drop. All it takes is an easy brine.

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Quick Pickled Radishes with Lemon, Ginger, and Maple

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Quick Pickled Radishes with Lemon, Ginger, and Maple

Flavored with lemon, maple syrup, and grated fresh ginger, these pretty pickled radishes make a bright addition to any sandwich or party platter. 

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Kosher Dill Pickles

Credit: Southern Living

Recipe: Kosher Dill Pickles

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.

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Spicy Pickled Carrots Recipe

Credit: Photographer Greg DuPree, Food Stylist Torie Cox Prop Stylist Christine Keely

Recipe: Spicy Pickled Carrots

From the family recipe box of a Test Kitchen professional, this recipe is kicked up with crushed red pepper, onion powder, and mustard seeds.

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Quick Pickled Onions Recipe

Credit: Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Missie Crawford Food Stylist: Torie Cox

Recipe: Quick Picked Onions

A salt rub helps break down and tenderize the raw onions to make the perfect accompaniment to a sandwich or an appetizer tray.

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Pickled Beets

Credit: Greg Dupree

Recipe: Pickled Beets

Remove skins from roasted beets while they're still warm by gently wiping with a paper towel.

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Sweet-Spicy Refrigerator Pickles

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Sweet-Spicy Refrigerator Pickles 

This colorful mix of sweet peppers, red onion, and jalapeño is good enough to eat straight from the jar. Use them to top off a burger or sandwich for an any day lunch upgrade. 

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Master Pickle Brine

Credit: Anna Theoktisto

Recipe: Master Pickle Brine

Four ingredients are all you need to transform cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and zucchini, okra, red onions...you name it. 

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Turmeric-Dill Cucumbers

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Turmeric-Dill Cucumbers

Take to canning this summer with this classic recipe for cucumbers, though you can pickle any of your favorite seasonal produce. 

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Quick Pickled Slaw

Credit: Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos

Recipe: Quick Pickled Slaw

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.

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Pickled Cherry Tomatoes

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipes: Pickled Cherry Tomatoes

These red and yellow cherry tomatoes are refrigerator pickles that don’t require water bath canning, they are so easy to pull off.

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Hot Dogs with Pickle and Parsley Relish

Credit: Evin Photography

Recipes: Hot Dogs with Pickle and Parsley Relish

Recreate (and upgrade) your favorite ballpark dog with a homemade pickle relish that will be the hit of your next cookout. 

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Pickled Strawberries

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners

Recipe: Pickled Strawberries

Don't let your veggies have all the fun. While this recipe calls for fresh strawberries, you can use any berry variety you'd like.

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Pickled Collard Green Stems

Credit: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Thom Driver

Recipe: Pickled Collard Green Stems

Don't let your collard stems hit the trash can. Instead, turn them into a great pickled topping. 

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Triple Pickle Deviled Eggs

Credit: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell

Recipe: Triple Pickle Deviled Eggs

Capers, bread-and-butter pickles, and pickled okra can take your traditional deviled egg recipe up a notch. 

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Poached Salmon Salad with Pickled Snap Peas

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Poached Salmon Salad with Pickled Snap Peas

Snap peas so flavorful, they'll make you say, "Oh, snap!" 

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Pickled Tiny Tomatoes

Credit: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Pickled Tiny Tomatoes

Use a mixture of baby tomatoes such as 'Sweet 100,' 'Yellow Pear,' or 'Sun Gold'—all are available at farmers' markets in summer months. This dish uses 3 pints of tomatoes, but feel free to halve the recipe.

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Candied Jalapeños

Credit: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Candied Jalapeños

This is our new go-to summer condiment. Chill at least 48 hours ahead so the jalapeños have time to take on a fiery-sweet crunch.

Watch Us Make It: Candied Jalapeños

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