All the Recipes You Need for Pickled Fruit and Vegetables

For pickles that deliver good gut bacteria, you want fermented—not vinegar—pickles. The brine is the easiest way to spot the difference: If it’s cloudy, they’re fermented; a clear brine means they’re pickled. You can also check the ingredients. For milder spice, remove the chile seeds and membranes. This recipe also works for green beans, pickling cukes, and baby bell peppers.

Brining vegetables in the refrigerator means you can enjoy crisp-tender pickles without the special equipment, processes, or lengthy curing times of canning.

We crown the summer classic with a pile of crunchy, pickly vegetables. Quick pickles add tangy crunch to our fresh riff on the cheesesteak sandwich.

This recipe requires only 8 minutes of hands-on time. After preparing, just cover and chill for 2 days. Use them as a unique condiment at spring barbecues, as a garnish in a spicy Bloody Mary, or even a la carte for a quick munch.

We love the look of multicolored carrots, but you can use all orange carrots if that's what you have on hand. For heat seekers, tuck a slice or two of jalapeño or serrano pepper into the jar; the spice is particularly nice with the carrots. You can make the pickles (and keep them refrigerated) up to a couple of weeks ahead; just keep in mind that the longer they marinate in the brine, the tangier they'll taste.

Sweet grapes get a hint of tang and spice from a gentle pickle. Add to your cheeseboard for a killer accompaniment, liven up a fruit salad, or enjoy as a snack. Removing a small slice from each grape allows the fruit to absorb the pickling liquid. Let the vinegar mixture cool slightly so it doesn’t soften the grapes. Once the grapes are gone, you can add more grapes to the liquid or strain and use the infused vinegar for salad dressings or a cocktail shrub.

Turn surplus veggies like red onions into a quick pickle to use throughout the week—or a sealed batch to last months. A simple brine of vinegar, salt, and sugar punched up with common pantry spices and fresh aromatics makes magic happen.

Here’s a unique spin on the classic pickle recipe. Use avocados instead of cucumbers. These go great on burgers and sandwiches, and stand on their own as well. Also, you can use unripened avocados as the vinegar will soften them. 

Grape or cherry tomatoes are the best candidates for pickled tomatoes. Toast the spice seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they become fragrant and start to release their flavorful oils.

Look for baby turnips with the greens on them for an elegant look that will wow. Trim greens to about 1/2 inch from the top of the bulb; then slice turnips vertically.

Find these mini summer veggies in markets. The toy-top shape makes them great for pickling whole. The spicy brine pairs perfectly with the mild squash flavor.

Packing these pickled green beans in small jars makes a great gift. You can even refrigerate them for up to a month.

Well worth the wait, these pickled beets have an intense flavor and super sweet aroma.

This salad contrasts the sweet, earthy taste of the beets with tangy-sweet, aromatic pickled shallots and a lemony vinaigrette. You can make the pickled shallots first thing in the morning or up to a day ahead.

Applying the concept of pickling was the nut Recipe Developer Robin Bashinsky really wanted to crack. In the Middle Ages, methods for pickling green walnuts were developed, and the pickled immature nut remains an English delicacy. Bashinsky's twist—a briny take on boiled peanuts but without the salt—is a combination of the two concepts. Rather than working with green nuts in the shell (as with boiled peanuts and pickled walnuts), this recipe uses mature raw nuts and requires only one step. Pine nuts, peanuts, and cashews work best for this process, in which the nut is boiled in a spiced vinegar solution and left to cure for one to three days. These nuts will keep for about two weeks. Over time, they'll become too soft, so reserve this technique for small batches.

These pickles are crisp, refreshing, and both sweet and sour—everything a perfect pickle should be.

Traditionally, the vegetables are salted and left to soften. Instead, we blanched them to tenderize before pickling.

These summer squashes offer meatier flavor and texture than traditional cucumber pickles.