Quick pickled strawberries might sound unexpected, but once you try them, you'll be hooked! I first came across these tangy, juicy gems a few summers ago and immediately devoured the whole jar (no regrets). If you're looking fun appetizers to share, I developed this crowd-pleasing goat cheese crostini recipe specifically for these pickled strawberries-SO good! Or, use them as a new way to liven up spring and summer salads, like this strawberry salmon salad.
Over time, I've tweaked this recipe to make it naturally sweetened, with no boiling needed-mostly to avoid vinegar boiling smells, but also to streamline the process. This pickled strawberry recipe only requires five minutes of hands-on time, plus it's a great way to use up imperfect strawberries. Let me show you how to make them-plus, a few spice suggestions and yummy ways to enjoy pickled strawbs once they're ready!
Key Ingredients
What's the best vinegar to use? I recommend using a lighter colored vinegar in this recipe. Apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, champagne vinegar, or white balsamic vinegar are all excellent options! I also love splurging the delicious flavored vinegars from O Olive Oil... they're so good!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Place hulled and halved strawberries into a jar (I usually use a 16-ounce wide mouth jar), and fill the jar halfway with vinegar.
- Step 2: Add in salt, honey, peppercorns, and any other herbs and spices of choice.
- Step 3: Fill the jar the rest of the way with water, then seal and gently shake to dissolve the salt and honey into the liquid.
- Step 4: Place in your fridge to pickle overnight and enjoy the next day!
Quick pickling vs. canning. These strawberries are "quick pickles", also known as "refrigerator pickles", meaning we're making fresh pickles that don't go through a full canning and preserving process. The latter is shelf stable and involves sterilizing jars, pressure sealing, and boiling the pickling brine. With quick pickles being more fresh, they do spoil faster than traditionally canned pickles, so I recommend enjoying your strawberries within a week. I also make a vinegar cucumber salad that is essentially quick pickled cucumbers!
Tera's Sustainability Tips
- Use up imperfect strawberries. We've all gotten a batch of strawberries that have some bruised or less than stellar looking berries. They're often picked last when it comes to eating, so they're at risk for spoiling before anyone gets to them. To avoid waste, these are the perfect berries to include in your jar (along with some really good ones, too, of course!).
- Eat seasonally & locally when possible. I'm from the Wisconsin, where strawberry season is terribly short (3 weeks)! But when the local strawberries are here, I enjoy them as much as possible through farmers markets, CSAs, and even strawberry picking. You don't have to be perfect with eating locally, but taking advantage of the opportunity when it comes up is a small, yet impactful, way to appreciate your community and the planet!
Pairing Inspiration
Add pickled strawberries to these recipes for a flavor pop!
📖 Recipe
Naturally Sweetened Quick Pickled Strawberries
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 jar 1x
Description
These quick pickled strawberries are tangy, naturally sweetened, and incredibly easy to make-no boiling required! A fun, low effort recipe that lets fresh strawberries shine while adding a bright, unexpected twist to salads, toast, cheese boards, and more. A must-try for strawberry season!
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups fresh strawberries, halved (see notes)
- ½ - ¾ cup rice vinegar (enough to fill jar halfway)
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- Water, enough to fill rest of jar
Instructions
- Fill jar with strawberries. Place hulled and halved strawberries in a jar, filling it full with enough room to close.
- Add vinegar + spices. Fill jar halfway with vinegar, then add salt, honey, and black peppercorns. See notes for other spices and flavorings you could try!
- Add water. Fill the jar the rest of the way with water, cover tightly, then gently shake to dissolve honey and salt. Chill in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours. Enjoy on toasts or crostini with goat cheese, salads, or plain!
Notes
- Jar. I use a 16-ounce widemouth mason jar, which works great! Feel free to use a different type of jar of similar size, or another size jar. Follow the same recipe guidelines to adjust for size (there will be less or more, depending on the jar size): fill halfway with vinegar, add spices, fill rest of the way with water.
- Spices. Try adding pink peppercorns, allspice berries, or thyme sprigs to the pickled strawberries in Step 2!
- Strawberries. The amount of strawberries that fit in your jar will depend on their size. I like halves best for size, but if your strawberries are massive, you could quarter them. Usually I end up using about 1.5 cups, which is why I recommended this amount here, but feel free to adjust!
- Storage instructions. I love this recipe because the jar you make in is the jar you store in. Simple leave the strawberries in the jar in the fridge, and I recommend enjoying within 1 week (otherwise they get a bit too mushy). We almost always devour ours within 2-3 days!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Pickle
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅓ jar
- Calories: 50
- Sugar: 9.5 g
- Sodium: 389.3 mg
- Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.6 g
- Fiber: 1.9 g
- Protein: 0.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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