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Here’s how to make quick pickled cauliflower! Add bell pepper, carrot and dill to make a colorful jar filled with tangy flavor.

Pickled cauliflower
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Ever tried cauliflower…pickles? Yes, this vegetable works for everything from buffalo wings to rice to alfredo sauce. And you can include pickles in that list! This pickled cauliflower is full of bright, tangy flavor, with an herby essence from fresh dill and coriander seeds. Add bell pepper and carrots to make a colorful jar and they’re positively eye catching! We love cauliflower pickles because biting into a floret is an explosion of flavor. It’s almost even better than a dill pickle…we think. Here’s how to make them!

What are quick pickles?

This recipe for pickled cauliflower is a quick pickles recipe. What are quick pickles? Quick pickles are also known as refrigerator pickles: pickles that you store in the refrigerator. Here’s what to know about quick pickles:

  • No special equipment required. You don’t need any special canning equipment or fancy preserving gear for boiling jars to sterilize them.
  • Crisp, tangy flavor. Because you don’t have to boil the jars, the flavor is bright and tangy, and the texture is crisp.
  • Not shelf stable, so store in the refrigerator. You can store them refrigerated for up to 1 month: but ours don’t last that long.
How to make cauliflower pickles

Ingredients for pickled cauliflower

The basic idea for pickled cauliflower is this: make a brine solution and cover the vegetables, then refrigerate 24 hours! The brine is all about salty, tangy flavor with a hint of sweet. Here’s what you’ll need to pull it off:

  • Cauliflower
  • Carrots (optional)
  • Red bell pepper (optional; these add nice color but are not required)
  • Garlic
  • Fresh dill: for the best flavor! You can also substitute 2 teaspoons dill seeds if you can’t find fresh dill, but it’s usually easy to find.
  • Peppercorns & coriander seeds
  • Salt & sugar
  • White vinegar
  • 2 quart mason jars with lids
Cauliflower pickles

Here’s how to make pickled cauliflower (the basic steps)

Got those ingredients? Then we’re ready to make pickles! Here’s what you need to know about the outline of the process:

  • Cut the vegetables & pack the jars. Here’s our favorite way to cut cauliflower. Slice the red pepper and carrot into thin strips, if you’re using them.
  • Make the brine. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the vinegar and water: it takes only 1 minute on the stove.
  • Pour in the brine. Then pour in the brine, tap them on the counter to release any air bubbles, and cap the lid.
  • Refrigerate 24 hours! That’s it! Then your pickled cauliflower is ready for munching.
Cauliflower pickles

Serving cauliflower pickles!

This pickled cauliflower is so good, it’s best eaten right out of the jar! We love snacking on it when we’re craving something salty: it’s a healthy alternative to most salty snacks. Here are a few other ways to serve these pickles:

More cauliflower recipes

There are so many great ways to use cauliflower in recipes! While this vegetable used to be relegated to the veggie tray, today it’s used in all sorts of inventive ways. Here are some of our favorite cauliflower recipes to try:

This pickled cauliflower recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

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Pickled Cauliflower

Pickled cauliflower
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Here’s how to make quick pickled cauliflower! Add bell pepper, carrot and dill to make a colorful jar filled with tangy flavor.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 2 quart jars 1x
  • Category: Essentials
  • Method: Canned
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 quart-sized mason jars with lids
  • 1 small cauliflower head
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 2 small carrots
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 large handful fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 2 tablespoons peppercorns
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 ⅓ cups white vinegar
  • 2 cups water

Instructions

  1. Wash the mason jars and lids in hot soapy water. Rinse them, then let them air dry.
  2. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Cut the red pepper and carrot into strips. Peel and slice the garlic cloves in half.
  3. Tightly pack the cut vegetables into the mason jars. Then pack in the following ingredients, divided between the two jars: garlic, dill, coriander seeds and peppercorns.
  4. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, kosher salt, white vinegar, and water and bring to a boil.
  5. Once just boiling, remove from the heat and pour the hot brine into the jars. Tap the jars on the counter to release any air bubbles and top off the jar with extra water if any vegetables are exposed.
  6. Place the lids on the jars and screw on the rings until they are tight. Cool to room temperature and transfer to the refrigerator. Refrigerate 24 hours. The pickles last up to 1 month refrigerated.

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There are so many different pickles to satisfy your craving…where to start? Here are some top homemade pickles recipes:

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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