These quick-grained carrots are crispy, fresh and rich, and are about to become your favorite pickle! They are ready to enjoy the day and they will be happy to hang out in your refrigerator for a month.
In our home, kimchi is a permanent resident in our fridge (we are fascinated!). Although we love the classic dill pickles, these bright, lively, quick-pickled carrots are indeed a little special.
They are very crunchy, fresh and versatile. Enjoy a quick snack, appetizer or deli, or add some extra shortbread to your salad and sandwich. If you’re obsessed with pickled carrots like we do, you’ll also love this homemade gidiniera (coming soon), which is more like a pickled veggie.
Key Ingredients
- carrot: The star of the show! The best carrots you can find with this recipe. We really want their natural sweetness and bright colors to shine. If you grow up on your own (this is amazing by the way!), or you can access carrots from your local farmers’ market, be sure to use them.
- vinegar: We use regular distilled vinegar (5% acidity) to keep the brine super easy. It gives the carrot a clean, classic pickled flavor, making the carrot sweetness really pass (and very cheap!). Feel free to replace with rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar if you prefer.
- Salt and sugar: These are essential for balancing brine. Without salt or sugar, our salt water will taste as strong as pure vinegar. They help perfect the flavor and enhance the carrots. For salt, I use sea salt or pickled salt (it is better to avoid cream here as iodine interferes with the pickling process). For sugar, I use regular granular sugar as my first choice. You can replace brown sugar with brown sugar, but it may make your brine slightly cloudy.
- Garlic and spices: For the classic flavor, we like to add thinly sliced garlic to the jar (you can chop it up, but prepare for a slightly strong garlic flavor in salted water!). Then, for the spices, we keep the mustard seeds, coriander seeds, bay leaves and whole pepper simple. These add that the typical pickled aroma and some warmth without overwhelming the carrots.
The secret to these perfect quick pickling carrots is their simplicity! Simply trim the carrots, pack them into a jar, and pour them over quickly heated brine. One night in the fridge turns them into crunchy, rich carrots that last until a month (if you don’t eat them soon!). I can’t wait for you to try them! For easier kimchi, see our bread and butter kimchi, simple pickled chili (coming soon) or these pickled beets!
Perfect quick pickled carrots
These crunchy, lively, quick-grained carrots are a great thing in the refrigerator. I snack on it, savor them with cheese and meat, cut them into salads and slice them thinly for sandwiches. Thanks to the vinegar in salt water, like our cucumber dill pickles, they can last in the refrigerator for a month (but this is if you don’t stop eating them soon!).
Note: After spending overnight in the refrigerator, the carrots are ready, but they get better when they sit in salt water. They really lit up around the third day!
8 servings (make a 1 quart jar)
You will need
1 lb (450g) carrot, scrub and clean
16 oz (470 ml) distilled vinegar, 5% acidity
2 cloves and garlic, sliced
1 sea leaf
2 teaspoons (12g) fine sea salt
4 teaspoons (17G) sugar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
12 whole peppers
direction
1Prepare carrots: Trim the ends of the carrot. Cut each carrot into quarters lengthwise. Then, cut them into a nice length that fits perfectly inside your 1 quart jar. (We often cut the length first and then wrap the middle of the jar into the middle using any random remaining pieces.)
2Fill the jar: Add half of the sliced garlic to the bottom of the clean 1 quart jar. Pack the prepared carrot spear tightly into the jar. Add the remaining garlic and carefully slide the bay leaves off one side of the packaged carrot.
3Make kimchi salt water: In a small pot, mix together distilled vinegar, sea salt, granulated sugar, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and whole pepper. The mixture is boiled over medium heat and stirred until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved.
4Pour salt water on carrots: When the salt water is still hot, pour it directly into the jar with the packaged carrots. Make sure the salt water completely covers all the carrots. Secure the lid to the jar until “fingered fingers” (meaning comfortable, but don’t shake too much).
5Cool and refrigerate: Place the jar on the counter and allow it to cool completely to room temperature. Once cooled, transfer the jar to the refrigerator. For best taste, refrigerate the carrots overnight before enjoying them. If you can wait, they will get better in 2 to 3 days! These quick pickled carrots will continue to be covered in salted water in the refrigerator for up to 1 month!
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Jar: We use 1 quart mouth basin jar (32 ounces or 946 ml).
- can: These pickled carrots are designed specifically for the refrigerator and are designed to be kept in the refrigerator at all times. However, if you have a lot of experience in canning, you can adapt them to long-term shelf stability. This will involve the use of sterilized jars, new lids and pressure cans.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. It is difficult to calculate the amount of salt in carrots, so we have included all the salt water in the calculation.
Nutrition per serving
Service size
4 to 5 carrot sticks/spike or 1/8 of jar
/
Calories
43
/
Total fat
0.2g
/
Saturated fat
0G
/
cholesterol
0mg
/
sodium
621.7mg
/
carbohydrate
7.8 grams
/
Dietary fiber
1.7 g
/
Total sugar
4.8 grams
/
protein
0.6 g
We are Adam and Joanne, a couple who are passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? Inspire you to enter the kitchen and cook fresh and delicious meals confidently.
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