Is your garden overrun with zucchini? These homemade Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles are just what you need.
Zucchini ribbons, pickling brine, and a day or two in the fridge produce the most amazing quick DIY pickles ever.
Quick fridge pickles are crisp and tangy. Super easy to make and a great way to preserve fresh zucchini. The perfect pickle recipe for beginners.
Zucchini pickles are a delicious topping for burgers and sandwiches. Have you tried grilled zucchini burgers? Perfect for summer.
Pickled Eggs are still my most popular recipe on the blog. If you have read that post, you would know I am NOT a canner/preserver per se. Quick pickles are my way to a great-tasting condiment.
You can never have too many ways to use the zucchini crop this time of year. Although they are delicious, we can only eat so many zucchini muffins.
Refrigerator Pickled Zucchini Is Easy
No-cook refrigerator pickles are perfect for people (like me) who don’t want all the work involved in the traditional canning method.
- Slice the zucchini into ribbons.
- Remove excess liquid (see recipe).
- Boil brine (this takes 5 minutes).
- Pack zucchini into jars.
- Add brine.
- Put the lid on the jar.
- Place in refrigerator.
- In a few days, you will have pickled zucchini.
To cut the zucchini into ribbons I used a spiralizer (affiliate). Do you have one? This really is a fun kitchen gadget.
It is great for making zoodles too. Greek Zoodle Salad is a favourite around here. If you are looking to cut some carbs out of your diet, try Zucchini Noodles with Shrimp for an easy weeknight dinner. Have you tried Zucchini Gazpacho?
If you are a fan of Caesar salad, then this Zucchini Caesar Salad is right up your alley. The perfect raw zucchini salad.
Quick Pickling Tips
- Prepare the jars and lids (wash with hot, soapy water, rinse and dry).
- I even poured boiling water in mine just to make sure I got all the soap out.
- Wash and dry the zucchini before slicing.
- Tightly pack the ribbons into jars (leaving a bit of room at the top).
- Pour the HOT brine into the packed jars (chances are you will have extra brine).
- Lightly tap the jars to remove air bubbles, and top off with additional brine.
- Tightly seal the jars.
- Let the jars cool before placing in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating (pickles improve with age).
Feel free to experiment with the brine. Some recipes will use equal amounts of vinegar and water. For this pickled zucchini recipe, I used more vinegar than water.
The type of vinegar you use will produce different results as well. I used rice wine vinegar, but you can experiment with white vinegar, cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or a combination. It is best to avoid concentrated kinds of vinegar like malt or balsamic.
I omitted salt in my brine (but feel free to add some) since I used salt to remove excess liquid in the zucchini ribbons before placing them in the jar. I added a small amount of sugar, but you can omit that if you like.
Pickling spice is the flavouring in this recipe. Feel free to experiment with fresh herbs such as dill, thyme, or rosemary (add them to the jar before pouring in the brine).
Whole spices such as mustard seed, peppercorns, or chili flakes work great in the brine (especially if you want to add a bit of spicy heat). If you like garlic, by all means, add that too.
Here is a great article on common pickling mistakes.
After a few days in the fridge, I was eager to see how these tasted. Hubby grilled up some Octoberfest sausages for the taste test. I stuffed a bun with that juicy sausage, topped it with honey mustard, and piled on these zucchini pickles. WOW! They had a nice tang, and are the perfect alternative to sauerkraut.
Easy homemade pickles are perfect in so many ways. Try making quick pickled onions, they are ideal for burgers and sandwiches. Check out this Homemade Burger Roundup!!
This pickle roundup is packed with lots of great ideas. Did you know you can pickle fruit too?
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Normally about two months. They will begin to lose some crunch over time. They should always be kept in the fridge.
White distilled vinegar is the norm for pickling vinegar.
Yes, you can reuse it to make another batch of refrigerator pickles, but not canned/fermented pickles.
Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles
Ingredients
- 25 ounces zucchini (sliced into ribbons)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
For the Brine:
- 1 cup rice wine vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons pickling spice
Instructions
Prepare The Jars:
- Wash jars and lids with hot soapy water and rinse well.
- You can also then pour boiling water into the jars to ensure all the soup is out.
- Let air dry, or dry with a cloth.
To Prepare The Zucchini:
- Wash and dry zucchini.
- Slice into ribbons.
- Place in a colander, sprinkle with salt, mix with your hands to distribute.
- Let sit for 10-15 minutes to drain excess liquid.DO NOT RINSE (that is why I did not add salt to the brine).
- Place zucchini ribbons in a kitchen towel, and squeeze to drain the liquid.
- Pack tightly into jars, leaving a bit of room at the top.
To Make The Brine:
- Combine vinegar, water, sugar and pickling spice into a small pot.
- Bring to a boil, and boil for about 2 minutes (to dissolve the sugar).
- Remove from heat, and let cool for a couple of minutes.
- Pour over the zucchini ribbons in the jar. (I used a knife to move the zucchini a bit so the brine could get all the way down and around the zucchini.)
- Be sure to add some of the pickling spice throughout the jar.
- Tap the jar slightly to release any air bubbles. You will likely be able to add a bit more brine to the jar at this point.
- Tightly seal.
- Let cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator.Let sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours (the longer the better).
Moop Brown
I enjoy making pickled cucumbers but have never thought to do pickled zucchini. However this recipe for it looks really tasty, I could see these tasting really well on a burger or something.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This is the best summer condiment for burgers and more. Hope you give it a try.
Hayley Dhanecha
Pickled zucchini is such an amazing recipe. Our next door neighbour gave us lots of zucchini the other week, came across you recipe. Now they all are in jars 🙂 thanks for this recipe.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
You can never have too many zucchini recipes, especially with neighbours that grow it in their gardens.
Jamie
I made these pickles with my garden zucchini. It was so flavorful and delicious on my homemade burgers!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
So glad you enjoyed these easy to made zucchini pickles.
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer
Such an amazing summer condiment perfect for dressing up any cookout meal! This is so easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
We love them on so many things. Always a great recipe to have with zucchinis in season.
Carrie Robinson
I have never tried pickling zucchini before! This is such a great idea. 🙂 Going to try this later this summer when all of that garden zucchini is ready.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This is such an easy recipe. You will be amazed!!
Amy Liu Dong
This looks great, perfect and heathy homemade pickle that is perfect for anything!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
It is the perfect summer condiment for sure. ENJOY!
Angela Campos
This is such a great idea! I always have so much zucchini from my garden. So, I can’t wait to make it again this summer.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
By far our favourite summer condiment.
Tracy
This is so great for all of those summer zucchini! Plus we always love adding a new pickled veggie to our fridge and these are delicious!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
These zucchini pickles are our favourite summer condiment by far.
Molly Kumar
This is such a great idea to use up zucchini and I m living the flavors here. Super easy to make and would be perfect add on to so many meals.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
These are so easy to make, and the perfect topping for burgers and more.
Krystel
I wouldn’t have thought of making zucchini pickles but I’m glad I did because they were amazing!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
The easiest pickles to make.
Nora
What a fun recipe for zucchini! The whole family loved it!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Glad to hear it. ENJOY!
Audrey
My garden is indeed overrun with zucchini!! This was so easy to make and I’ll be saving this recipe for next summer too.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
So glad you found this zucchini pickle recipe a hit. Perfect for your garden fresh zucchini.
Ana
I tried this and loved it! The zucchini stayed crunchy and absorbed the tangy, flavorful brine, making it a perfect snack or addition to salads.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This is the perfect summer condiment for sure. ENJOY!
Ramona
Oh my! I love this recipe and I always said I wanted to pickle zucchini. I am a huge fan of pickles. They have been in the fridge for 4 days now. They taste amazing already.
Q! Do you know if this would work to salt pickle the zucchini?
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
They are awesome, I do agree. As for salt pickle, are you referring to salting the zucchini to draw out the moisture? If so, that is one of the steps in the process.
Oscar
I just made these homemade Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles, and they are amazing! The zucchini ribbons soaked in pickling brine for a couple of days in the fridge turn into the best quick pickles ever.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I haves to agree with you. These pickles are so easy to make, and a great way to use zucchini.