Quick Pickled Cabbage Recipe

A fork lifting some pickled red cabbage from a jar.

This tender, quick-pickled cabbage comes out incredibly flavourful. They're brine-y, tangy, and a little sweet with the perfect, subtle crunch. You're going to want to put them on everything.

Course Jams, Sauces, Dips & Spreads, Sides

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Total Time 10

Servings jar

Calories 222

Author Jessica Hylton

Ingredients

½ head red cabbage chopped, about 550g (cucumbers will also work*)
1 cup apple cider vinegar 240ml
1 cup filtered water 240ml
2 teaspoons sea salt about 11g
1 tablespoon sugar coconut sugar, cane sugar, or brown sugar, 12g
Lime slices optional
A handful of peppercorns plus any flavour additions you’d like (cumin seeds, jalapeño, etc.)

Instructions

In a pot, add the vinegar, water, sea salt, sugar and peppercorns. If using any other additional seasonings, add them now too. Stir together. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes.
Add in the red cabbage, and allow to boil for 2 minutes with the red cabbage.
If making pickles with cucumbers, wash, dry and slice the cucumbers. Add them tightly packed to a mason jar (you might need two jars). Set aside for now (don't place them into the boiling liquid for best crunch).
Remove from heat, let cool for 1 minute, then pour into a mason jar large enough to hold everything and that also allows the red cabbage to be completely covered in the vinegar mixture. Add in the lime slices (optional) and swirl together to mix everything together.
If making pickles, pour the liquid into the mason jar(s) and completely cover the cucumbers.
Allow the mixture to cool completely to room temperature. You can serve immediately once cooled, but if you let it sit and continue to pickle, the flavours meld incredibly. I tried mine three days later and they were perfect. A week is even better. They will last several weeks in your fridge in a mason jar that has the cover tightly screwed on.
Enjoy!

Notes

*If you'd like to do something other than cabbage, go for it. You could use 4 small cucumbers or 2 medium-large cucumbers (sliced), for example.

Tips and Storage Notes

Submerge. Make sure the veggies are completely submerged in the vinegar mixture so every centimetre is properly pickled.
Cool completely. Let the contents of the jar/s cool completely before refrigerating so the veggies don't turn out too soft.
Have patience. I highly recommend letting everything sit in the fridge for at least a couple of days for the best flavour/texture. You can eat these pickled veggies immediately after cooling, though.
Storage. Once cool, store the pickled cabbage-filled jar/s in the fridge for up to one month. You can freeze them for up to 3 months and thaw them in the fridge, but the cabbage won't have the same crunch.