Pickled Cauliflower: the quick, easy side dish recipe for zesty, pickled cauliflowers

Everyone should have a jar of pickled veggies in the fridge. It’s the perfect addition to burgers, tacos, salads, and even sandwiches. Pickling has been used for hundreds (and even thousands) of years as a form of food preservation, and pickled foods are said to be good for the digestive system.

Quick pickled cauliflower is an easy, quick side dish that you can enjoy as a side dish, or as a snack. Once pickled, the cauliflower becomes zesty and tangy, while the texture is crunchy.

With one head of cauliflower, vinegar, white wine, peppers, and olive oil, you can make this tasty pickled cauliflower recipe. You won’t want to use store-bought cauliflower anymore. Give the cauliflower a quick boil in the vinegar-wine mixture, then place it in the jars with olive oil. It’s quick and easy.

Pickled Cauliflower Ingredients

Cauliflower – whole head of fresh cauliflower.

Spices – for this recipe, we used peppercorns.

Vinegar – the best vinegar for pickling is distilled white vinegar. Not only is it cheap, but it also won’t leave any tinge of color on the food.

How To Make Pickled Cauliflower

First prep the cauliflower by washing the head, and then breaking the cauliflower into small pieces. Fill a pot with vinegar and wine, wait for it to boil. Usually, a brine consists of a ratio of 2/3 vinegar to 1/3 water, but for this recipe, we used a 1:1 ratio with wine and vinegar. When the mixture is boiling, add the cauliflower florets and boil for about 4 minutes. Remove the cauliflower and drain it on a kitchen towel. Allow drying for at least half an hour.

In the meanwhile, sterilize the jars. Boil the glass jars and the lids for at least 10 minutes. Place the cauliflower and peppers in the jar and top with olive oil. Place the jars in a pot of water and boil to seal.

What To Serve With Pickled Cauliflower

Pickled Cauliflower will taste great on any dish that needs a little bit of tang and crunchiness. Add them to tacos, burritos, sandwiches, salads, burgers, and nachos.

Serve it with meaty main dishes, cold meat sandwiches, and even salads. They also make a great accompaniment to burgers!

Tips For Making Quick Pickled Cauliflower

Make sure to sterilize the bottles and lids properly before you start filling them with the sliced onions and brine mixture.

There are many different variations you can make:

Vegetables: add sliced peppers and carrots to the cauliflower.

Spicy: add coriander seeds with the peppercorn. Also try fresh garlic, fresh dill, and mustard seeds. Red pepper flakes are an optional addition that will make your pickles spicy.

For sweetness, add sugar, honey, or maple syrup.

Color: for a bright yellow color, add ½ tsp turmeric. If you want pink cauliflower, pickled it with beets.

How To Store Pickled Cauliflower

Store the Pickled Cauliflower in the fridge for up to 2 months. They can be eaten immediately but will develop more flavor as time goes by.

Instructions

Wash a whole cauliflower and cut it into small pieces. Fill a pot with vinegar and wine, wait for it to boil.

Add the cauliflower pieces and cook for 4 minutes.

Remove the cauliflower from the pot, place it on a tray, and let dry for 30 minutes.

Boil the glass jars and the lids for 10 minutes to sterilize them.

Place the mixed peppers in the three sterilized glass jars.

Add the small pieces of cauliflower into the jar until it’s full. Fill with olive oil.

Place the jars in a pot of water and boil to seal.

Serve and enjoy!