Someone once said that if you’re eating a selection of foods that span the color of the rainbow, then you’re probably eating healthy.  That person was wickedly wise.  I’m a salad freak, and I like to make my salads as colorful as possible with added tomatoes, avocado, red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, berries, feta cheese, cucumber, bell peppers… you name it, and I’ll put it in my salad.  I also happen to love my vegetables.  There’s rarely a vegetable I won’t try, and I enthusiastically enjoy most everything.  Pickled vegetables are terrific too, my favorite being Bread and Butter Pickles and Green Beans.  Today I’ve Pickled Cauliflower with an added bonus of red bell peppers and carrots.

Easy recipe for Pickled Cauliflower - recipe from RecipeGirl.com

Besides the fact that it’s way colorful and pretty, this stuff also makes a terrific low-cal snack or Happy Hour treat (especially for those of us who like to indulge in things like  Cookie Dough Cupcakes and Candied Bacon).

ingredients for Pickled Cauliflower

The recipe comes from the folks at Fine Cooking magazine.  It’s not your typical pickle recipe.  This one involves some funky but wonderful spices like cumin, coriander and mustard seeds.  Their flavors come alive when they are toasted briefly in a heated saucepan.

Ingredients for Pickled Cauliflower

Here are some more goodies that get added to the brine, along with garlic, ginger, onion and cider vinegar.

Easy recipe for Pickled Cauliflower - recipe from RecipeGirl.com

Your veggies are stuffed into a jar (or a big glass bowl).  I suppose you could always just pickle cauliflower… or only carrots… but they’re so pretty to mix them all together.

Easy recipe for Pickled Cauliflower - recipe from RecipeGirl.com

The hot, hot brine is poured over the top.  Let those veggies soak in the brine until it is totally cooled off.  Then close the lid and refrigerate it.  The veggies get to chill out and pickle themselves for two days before they’re ready for tasting.

Easy recipe for Pickled Cauliflower - recipe from RecipeGirl.com
And then… they are pickled!  These babies will be delicious to munch on for two weeks in your refrigerator.  If you’re interested in “canning” them for a longer shelf life, see the original recipe on the Fine Cooking website for instructions on how to do so.  I’m pretty sure you won’t need them to last longer than two weeks though.  They’re delicious and crispy, and they have that wonderful pickled flavor along with the interesting array of added spices.

4.45 from 20 votes

Pickled Cauliflower

A delicious pickling recipe!
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 7 minutes
Total: 27 minutes
Servings: 10 servings (5 cups)
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Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 cups cider vinegar
  • 5 medium garlic cloves, peeled & lightly smashed
  • Three ¼-inch thick slices peeled fresh ginger
  • 1/2 small onion, peeled & thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into 1½-inch florets
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled & sliced lengthwise into 4-inch pieces
  • 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips

Instructions 

  • Add the coriander, mustard and cumin seeds to a medium saucepan. Toast the seeds over medium heat, swirling the pan around until the seeds are fragrant and slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar, garlic, ginger, onion, sugar, salt, peppercorns, turmeric, red pepper flakes and 1 cup water to the toasted spices. Bring to a boil.
  • Pack the cauliflower, carrots and bell pepper in a 2-quart jar or bowl. Pour the hot liquid over the vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 days before tasting. The veggies will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1/2 cup), Calories: 75kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 1g, Sodium: 1424mg, Potassium: 224mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 4325IU, Vitamin C: 24.4mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 0.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.45 from 20 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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74 Comments

  1. Alex. B says:

    5 stars
    It turned out pretty dang good! Thank you for the recipe!

  2. Countrymouse says:

    5 stars
    Irresistible! We can’t stop nibbling these! I prepared them just to garnish a beet hummus but I think I will enjoy them on their own!

  3. Liz T. says:

    What kind of vinegar is “cider” vinegar? Apple? White?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      Apple Cider Vinegar 🙂

  4. Pat Bilsland says:

    5 stars
    Fine Cooking site has now been redirected to Food and Wine. Sadly this recipe is no longer posted. Do you have recommendations for the hot water bath in order enable storage out of the fridge?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      I’m not so familiar with traditional canning, so I’m not sure- sorry!

  5. Barbara Goodwin says:

    This is literally the exact same recipe from Fine Cooking issue 87 (published September 2007), not even slightly adapted. So did they steal it from you or did you steal it from them?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      I reference Fine Cooking magazine as the source within the post as well as in the recipe card. Did you not read the post?

  6. Ashley Wesley says:

    3 stars
    I made this recipe for the first time today. I did run into some troubles. There is not enough brine per recommended veggies. I backed the veggies in nice and tight too. Also, the onions are part of your brine, so when you dump the brine over the veggies all of the onions collect at the top and I ended up having to scoop them off the top to get enough brine in the jar . Next time I’m going to incorporate the onions in with the other veggies.

  7. Lisa Paauw says:

    Do you think baby carrots would work?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      Probably- or maybe cut the baby carrots in half lengthwise.

  8. Edward Kowalski says:

    I actually prefer my cauliflower pickles to be soft not crunchy. Should I parboil cauliflower separately before finishing this recipe?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      Probably!

  9. Cheryl says:

    Could you use powdered condiments instead of fresh and seeds

    1. Lori Lange says:

      I haven’t tried it!

    2. Laverne Tyus says:

      Question, can monk fruit be used instead of regular sugar?

    3. Lori Lange says:

      I have never tried monk fruit, so I’m not sure!

  10. Michele Thrasher says:

    Can I use a red onion in the recipe?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      Probably? It might turn the mixture a bit pink… not sure!