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These Homemade Pickled Carrots are crisp, tangy, and incredibly easy to make. Quick-pickled in a simple vinegar brine with garlic and spices, they’re the perfect way to add a bright, flavorful crunch to sandwiches, salads, tacos, or your favorite snack board.
Love having a jar of these pickled carrots in my refrigerator because they make it so easy to add a pop of flavor to everyday meals. They’re crisp, tangy, and come together with just a handful of simple ingredients. I like adding them to tacos, sandwiches, grain bowls, or serving them on a charcuterie board whenever I want something fresh and crunchy.
I love adding them to a Spicy Salmon Maki Bowl, Cucumber Sandwiches, or an Asian Chopped Chicken Salad.
Recipe Overview
Ingredients Notes
This quick pickled carrots recipe requires just a handful of easy-to-find ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Carrots: Look for fresh, crisp carrots to pickle. They should be peeled and cut into sticks or batons.
- Vinegar: White vinegar provides the acid for pickling. You want a vinegar with 5% acidity.
- Water: Combined with the vinegar to make the brine.
- Salt: Use pickling or canning salt, not regular table salt, which can make the brine cloudy.
- Sugar: A bit of sugar balances the tartness. Plain white sugar or cane sugar works well.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves add aromatic flavor to the brine.
- Peppercorns: Whole black peppercorns give a lightly spicy kick.
- Jars: You’ll need 1 quart jar or 2 pint jars with lids to pack the pickled carrots in.
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Prepare the carrots: Wash and peel the carrots. Cut them into sticks or batons about 4 inches long. Pack the carrot sticks tightly into a clean jar or jars, leaving about 1 inch of headspace at the top.
Make the pickling brine: In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, garlic cloves, and peppercorns. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes to allow the salt and sugar to fully dissolve.
Pour over carrots: Carefully pour the hot brine over the carrot sticks in the jars, making sure they are fully submerged. Use a spoon to evenly distribute the garlic and peppercorns between the jars. Leave 1 inch of headspace at the top.
Cool and refrigerate: Allow the jars of pickled carrots to cool to room temperature with the lids off. Once cooled, secure the lids and refrigerate the glass jars for at least 24 hours before eating to allow the flavors to develop.
Store and enjoy: The pickled carrots will keep for up to 1 month refrigerated. For best flavor and crunch, enjoy within 2-3 weeks. The carrots will continue to pickle the longer they marinate.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Make sure you use pickling or canning salt rather than regular table salt to prevent the brine from becoming cloudy.
- Feel free to add other pickling spices like mustard seeds or coriander seeds. You can even add red pepper flakes for spicy pickled carrots.
- For an extra special presentation, add thinly sliced radishes, cauliflower, or other veggies to the jars. You can also use a variety of carrots like yellow, purple, white, and orange for a burst of color.
- Keep in mind that since this is a quick-pickling carrot recipe, these are not meant to be kept on a pantry shelf for an extended period of time like the pickles you buy in the store. To do that, you’ll need to fully sterilize the jars before canning.
How to Store Pickled Carrots
These quick-pickled carrots should keep very well when properly stored. Here are some tips for storing:
- Refrigerate: Once cooled, seal jars and refrigerate. They will keep for up to 1 month, but are best within 2-3 weeks.
- Freeze: Pack pickled carrots in freezer-safe containers or bags, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Freeze for 6-12 months. Transfer frozen pickles to fridge overnight to thaw.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not allowing enough pickling time: While the carrots are safe to eat after they’ve cooled, they’ll develop a much better flavor after at least 24 hours in the refrigerator.
- Cutting the carrots unevenly: Try to keep the carrot sticks or slices about the same size so they pickle evenly and stay crisp.
- Pouring cool brine over the carrots: Use a hot brine so the flavors infuse the carrots more quickly.
- Overpacking the jar: Leave a little space so the brine can fully surround the carrots.
- Not keeping the carrots submerged: Make sure the carrots stay below the brine’s surface for the best flavor and texture.
How to Use Pickled Carrots
These pickled carrots can be used on any dish where carrots or pickles would be tasty! Here are my favorite ways to use them:
Common Questions
White vinegar with 5% acidity works best for pickling, but you can substitute apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. Avoid using very strong vinegars like malt vinegar.
The carrots need to sit in the pickling brine for at least 24 hours before eating for the best flavor. However, they will continue to pickle the longer they sit, up to 1 month.
For shelf-stable canned pickles, sterilizing the jars is required. For these refrigerator pickles, there’s no need! Just be sure to eat them within 1 month.
Using regular table salt rather than pickling/canning salt can cause the brine to turn cloudy due to anti-caking agents. Be sure to use pickling salt.
More How To Recipes
- How to Caramelize Onions
- Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe
- Homemade Pesto Recipe
- How to Make Homemade BBQ Sauce
- How to Make Homemade Nutella
- Homemade Healthy Alfredo Sauce
- How to make Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- How to make Homemade Ranch Dressing
Thank you so much for being here and for cooking along with me. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment and ⭐️ rating below.
Homemade Pickled carrots
Ingredients
- 4 medium carrots, about 1 lb. peeled and cut into sticks
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- 1 cup white vinegar, 5% acidity
- 1/4 teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon sea salt , or pickling salt
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, slice the 4 medium carrots into sticks to match the size of your jars. Make sure you leave about 1 inch of headspace from the top.
- Tightly pack the carrot sticks into the jars. You may need two mason jars. Set aside.
- Next, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the 1 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon cane sugar, 1 tablespoon sea salt , 1 garlic clove, and 1 teaspoon black peppercorns and stir.
- Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes or until all the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Turn off the heat and let it cool a bit.
- Pour the hot brine evenly over the carrots in the mason jars, and distribute the 1/4 teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns evenly between the two jars. Make sure the brine completely covers the carrots. Leave an inch of space from the brim.
- Set the jars aside uncovered to cool off, then close them with the lids and store them for 24 hours in the fridge before serving.
Notes
- Serving Size: ½ cup pickled carrots
- Cut the carrots into similar-sized sticks or slices, so they pickle evenly.
- Let the carrots cool completely before sealing the jars and refrigerating.
- For the best flavor, refrigerate the pickled carrots for at least 24 hours before serving.
- Feel free to adjust the spices to your taste by adding fresh dill, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, or red pepper flakes.
- Store the pickled carrots in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
- These are refrigerator pickles and are not intended for shelf-stable canning.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
