20 Easy Pickle Recipes (That Aren't All Just Cucumbers)

Though pickling started as a clever means of preservation, there’s a reason that people continue to pickle, despite modern means of freezing and refrigeration for keeping summer produce fresh year-round. A hamburger without pickles is one we’d never want to meet. The Vietnamese banh mi sandwich uses pickled vegetables to bring an acid and fresh crunch to what would otherwise be a very rich sandwich — pure genius. With that in mind, it should go without saying that if you want to try making your own pickles, think beyond the cucumber. And you don’t have to couple your efforts with home canning, if that helps reduce some of the nervousness around the project (although once you get pickling, you will see the temptation to fill your pantry with jars and jars of your handiwork; just pick up a good book about home canning and we promise, it’s not hard to do it safely). It’s enough to just quick-pickle and then keep that jar in your fridge all week, rewarding your efforts every time you open your fridge for a hit of that nose-tingly crunch.

These are the most basic and simple iteration of the fresh dill pickle, with a little heat and savory quality from the garlic. Simply make the brine and pour it over the top of the cukes; an overnight chill in the fridge lets the brine penetrate and brings them to their full pickle glory. You’ll have a hard time eating a sandwich without one (or two) alongside from now on.

You will never want to be without these. They are such a vast improvement over store-bought pickled jalapeños, maintaining the crunch of fresh chiles. Top a bowl of chili with them, scatter them over nachos, layer some slices on top of the cornbread batter, stir them into your queso…. we could go on.

These are essentially another take on bread-and-butter pickles but slicing them very thin makes them uniquely delicate. Tyler Florence spells out the essential instructions for home-canning, in case you want to try your hand. These will bring cream cheese finger sandwiches to a whole new level.

Even if you think you’ve never made pickles before, chances are you have made pickled red onions, since so many recipes use them. Indeed, these are meal-improvers. Toss a few on top of tacos for an incredible combination of acid and oniony-ness (even with the bite of red onion tamed by the pickling). Spread them on a sandwich or even scatter a few on that avocado toast that we talked about.

What makes a bread-and-butter pickle? Often, they are sliced into chips, and during the Depression they were said to be the ultimate lunch, eaten on a slice of buttered bread. But the clincher is a sweeter brine, still with that incredibly delicious combination of acid plus spices. Turmeric is often included in the brine, which colors it slightly yellow — another nod to the butter nickname.

Yup, that cucumber lookalike also makes an excellent pickle. This one is full of also-tasty red onion and classic pickling seasonings like mustard seeds and crushed red pepper. You can also slice them lengthwise so they’re easier to tuck into your hero sandwich.

Impatient? Here's a new way to prepare avocados that aren't quite perfectly ripe yet. The quick pickle brine can be infused with any aromatics you like — here, we used Mexican flavors. Try these in your tacos or quesadillas.

This is a slightly sweet pickle brine, the better to bring out the sweeter side of spicy radishes. Pickling tames them somewhat, just as cooking does, but they still maintain their crunch. We love these piled onto a charcuterie board or eaten with sourdough and plenty of butter.

This slightly spicy, crunchy and tangy relish will keep in the refrigerator for a month, but we're betting you'll use it up long before. Serve it as a condiment with everything from fried chicken-and-biscuits to fried rice, fold it into egg or chicken salad, or use it like giardiniera, layered with meat and cheeses on a crusty roll. And if you have some on hand...Stir some mustard seeds into the pickling liquid for a little extra crunch and flavor.

Back to our pals, pickled eggs, but this time, make ‘em beety! Beets give the eggs such a gorgeous color that appealingly outlines each slice if you choose to slice them and lay them atop, say, your avocado toast. It should go without saying that they are, even having been pickled, still an excellent protein source.

These pickled vegetables are named for gardeners, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a jumbled mix of cauliflower, carrot, celery and bell peppers, preferably made as hot as you can stand it and so acidic it makes your eyes water. But spread a bunch on some crusty bread and top with Italian cured meats and stinky cheese and please, find me a better sandwich.

Achara (or atchara) is a refreshing pickled green papaya relish that’s a Filipino favorite and is served with just about anything. Grilled and fried dishes especially benefit from its tangy kick. It’s made from crunchy grated green papaya mixed with red bell peppers, chiles and sometimes carrots or other vegetables, then packed in a sweet and sour mixture of vinegar, sugar and salt. Try it with popular grilled and fried foods like Pork Tocino or Filipino Pork Barbecue.

Good news for okra haters: Pickling denatures that gelatinous texture inside the pods, so you will get no sliminess at all here (with apologies to those of us that love okra for this same reason). What you do get is a crisp pod that explodes into all those little seeds, kind of like a caper berry. The green beans, too pick up a lot of flavor.

Pickled mango might sound unorthodox, until you think of the super classic Major Grey’s Chutney, based on spiced mango. Here, some spices and bracing fresh ginger partner with the fruit for a complex pickle that’s as fun to eat on its own as it is to pair it with all kinds of meats. Cumin, cinnamon and cardamom pair beautifully with the chiles to bring so much dimension to these pickles, just as the spices are an essential part of the chutney.

In the South you’ll often come across watermelon pickles, always made from the rind with that sweet-and-spicy sort of brine in the vein of a bread-and-butter. But Alex asks, why not pickle the fruit, too? Pair a cube of each on a cocktail skewer and bring a really summery touch to your next martini — even if you’re drinking it at the height of winter.

When you get more beets than you know what to do with in your CSA box, look no further. Grapefruit zest adds unexpected bitter notes and brightness that complement beets particularly well. “What am I going to do with it?” is a question best answered when you have a jar of it in your fridge — we promise you’ll start putting it on everything.

By coming up with a single brine formula that can be used for any kind of vegetable — and even strawberries! — Alex Guarnaschelli truly demystifies the process. And while you can’t keep these jars on the shelf for months, as you could with fully processed pickles, Alex notes how the ingredients still serve as a kind of preservative, keeping these pickles good for a few weeks. Add some of those pickled strawberries to a salad or vinaigrette and you will be amazed.

You might know pickled ginger as that little sometimes pink mound accompanying the wasabi on your plate of sushi. It’s included there because of its excellence in palate cleansing. Freshly pickled ginger is truly a great pleasure, more crisp and fiery than you’re used to — in the best possible way.

In an ideal world, we’d all have an old-fashioned bar or lunch spot we could frequent that kept a jar of pickled eggs behind the counter. If for no other reason, at least for the ambiance. It might be almost unnerving to think about how pickling could actually extend the life of a hard-boiled egg, but the process will reward any hard-boiled egg lover with a new thing to obsess about (that is, their deliciousness). Imagine a slightly firmer texture than a plain hard-boiled egg, and the flavors of heat, acid and spice coming through. It’s very appealing.