Spicy Pickled Carrots Recipe

By
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith is a food writer and certified botanist who has written five books on foraging and preserving food.
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Updated on 12/22/22
Close-up of carrot pickle
Michele P. / FOAP / Getty Images
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Canning Time: 10 mins
Total: 25 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 2 cups

This recipe for colorful, spicy pickled carrots has a multitude of uses—serve them a wonderful zesty hors-d'oeuvre or chop and add them to grain-based salads like tabbouleh. Finely minced and added to sour cream, they make a terrific dip.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 3- to 4-inch spears

  • 2 to 3 small fresh chile peppers, or dried chile peppers

  • 1 clove garlic

  • 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds

  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

  • 1 leaf bay leaf

  • 3/4 cup white wine vinegar, or cider vinegar

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1 teaspoon honey

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or another non-iodized salt

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Tightly pack the carrots into a clean 1-pint canning jar (it is not necessary to sterilize the jars for this recipe unless you will be processing in a boiling water bath). It is easier to lay the carrots in lengthwise if you put the jar on its side and slide the carrot spears in horizontally.

  3. Tuck in the chile peppers. garlic, coriander, cumin, and bay leaf as you go.

  4. Bring the vinegar, water, honey, and salt to a boil.

  5. Pour the hot liquid over the carrots and seasonings in the jar. The carrots should be completely covered by the liquid, but there should be 1/2-inch space between the top of the liquid and the rim of the jar.

  6. Screw on a 2-piece canning jar lid and put the jar of spicy pickled carrots into the refrigerator and start enjoying them after they've had two weeks for the flavors to develop. 

  7. To be able to store at room temperature, pack sterilized jars with the ingredients and process the jar(s) in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. You must use a canning jar and canning lid to process in a boiling water bath.

Tips

  • You can process them in a boiling water bath and they will last at room temperature for a year or longer.
  • Or you can skip the processing and make them as you would refrigerator pickles, in which case they will last three months.
  • This recipe will yield approximately one (1-pint) jar but you can multiply the recipe to make bigger batches. Do not, however, use larger jars as that affects the canning time. So, for example, if you double the recipe, use two (1-pint) jars rather than one (1-quart) jar.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
46 Calories
0g Fat
7g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 46
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 114mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 7g 3%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 10mg 51%
Calcium 26mg 2%
Iron 0mg 3%
Potassium 182mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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