Pickles are inarguably superior to cucumbers. Hear me out—yes, they’re the same vegetable, but the salty, tangy brine just delivers something that a normal cucumber could never. But traditional pickles shouldn’t get all the glory. You can pickle just about anything. From green tomatoes to avocados, the possibilities are endless.
Pickling not only makes fruits and veggies taste great, but is also great for cutting down on food waste. Instead of chucking watermelon rinds or tough veggie stems, pickle them into an easy-to-eat treat.
To pickle any fruit or vegetable, all you need is water, salt, vinegar, and sometimes sugar. Jazz it up by adding some of your favorite spices to your brine, soak your produce, and voilà, you’ve got pickles! And don’t limit yourself to cucumbers, pickle one (or all!) of the items below.
10 best things to pickle that you’ve never thought to pickle
1. Strawberries
If you love green salads topped with berries, you’re sure to love this sweet and tangy pickled strawberry recipe. Pop these into a sparkling cocktail, enjoy with cheese, or just eat them on their own.
2. Avocados
Whether you’ve got an underripe avo that you’re dying to eat, or just want to mix things up, try pickling an avocado. Infusing your brine with red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and fresh cilantro sprigs turn this beloved fruit into the perfect snack.
3. Watermelon rind
After using a vegetable peeler to remove the tough green skin, you can make use of the white of the rind. Enjoy the rest of the melon separately, or together for a sweet and savory snack.
4. Beets
In less than two hours, you can make deliciously simple pickled beets. Eat them on their own, toss them into a salad, or serve them on a charcuterie board.
5. Jalapeños
Pickling jalapeños not only adds more flavor, but can also help subdue the spice if needed. The more sugar you add, the less spicy. The best part of this recipe, is that it gives you pickled jalapeños in 10 minutes flat.
6. Onions
Elevate sandwiches, salads, and tacos with these pickled onions. Though ready in one hour, you can store your pickled onions for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
7. Asparagus
Asparagus are more than delicious on their own, so imagine them pickled. Eat as a side like you would normally, or snack on them like you would a pickle.
8. Green Tomatoes
Frying isn’t the only way to prepare this fruit. When you pickle green tomatoes they take on the flavors of the brine very well, so this spicy recipe is sure to yield a nice kick.
9. Mangos
Pickled mangos are sweet and tangy, and a perfect addition to salads, fish tacos, and more. This simple recipe just requires you to soak the mangos in a four-ingredient brine for eight hours.
10. Eggs
If you’ve got a ton of eggs and are starting to get bored, pickling is the perfect next step. Picking eggs in beet juice is common, and makes the eggs take on a gorgeous fuchsia tone. But, the possibilities are endless. This recipe includes three pickled egg brines with vastly different flavor profiles.
This dietitian calls eggs “nature’s multivitamin”:
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