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Pickled Zucchini gives its cucumber cousin a run for its money! Tangy, crisp, and delightfully garlicky, this refrigerator quick pickle recipe is simple to make and, oh so tasty!
Zucchini pickles are one of the best answers to every gardener’s summertime conundrum: what am I going to do with all this zucchini?!
While cucumbers get most of the refrigerator pickle love, don’t sleep on zucchini—especially if you’re dealing with a bumper crop from your (or your neighbor’s) garden.
The texture of pickled zucchini is slightly different from cucumber pickles. While cucumber slices soften in the brine, the lower water content in zucchini produces a firmer, crisper pickle with a bit more crunch to them.
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini – Although this is a recipe for zucchini pickles, yellow squash and other varieties of summer squash like zephyr, yellow zucchini, and costata romanesco work too. Eight ball and pattypan are trickier because of their shape, but you can halve them from stem to bottom and then slice them into half-moons.
- Onion – These infuse flavor into the pickles and you can also eat them right alongside the zucchini slices.
- Kosher salt – I use kosher salt because you’re more likely to have that on hand, but pickling salt can also be used, especially if you just made a batch of dill pickle relish.
- Black peppercorns
- Red pepper flakes – These are optional if you want to add some heat.
- Red bell pepper – Also optional. Like the onions, these add a hint of flavor and you can eat them.
- Fresh dill
- Brine – Vinegar (apple cider and white), water, garlic, kosher salt, and sugar.
If you have leftover zucchini after making this recipe, check out our air fryer zucchini, chocolate zucchini muffins, or air fryer zucchini chips.
How to Make Pickled Zucchini
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.
Prepare the zucchini by slicing them into coins or ribbons (ribbons will be softer, while coins have more crunch.) If you want a super cool visual effect, use a vegetable peeler to remove pieces of the peel for a “tiger stripe” effect.
Combine the zucchini and onion in a bowl with salt and cool water and let them soak for 2 hours.
Pour the veggies into a colander and rinse.
Combine the brine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar dissolves, reduce the heat and keep the brine at a simmer.
Divide the peppercorns and red pepper flakes into clean jars. Add the zucchini and onion, then tuck the dill and bell peppers between the zucchini.
Pour the brine into the jars, cover, and keep at room temperature for 12 hours, then refrigerate. Yup, that’s it. Not everything in life has to be complicated.
Storage
Jars of quick pickled zucchini will last for 3 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator. This recipe is not designed for canning, but if you are looking for a zucchini-based canning recipe, check out our zucchini relish.
How to Use It
For a perfect summer lunch, toast a thick slice of country bread, spread on some good whole milk ricotta, then add slices of pickled zucchini over the cheese.
Zucchini pickles also make an excellent addition to cheese and charcuterie boards, air fryer turkey burgers, salads, meal bowls, and more. Like refrigerator dilly beans, you can just snack on them too!
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- A mandoline slicer makes it easy to cut even coins or ribbons of zucchini. If you don’t have one, I recommend rotating the zucchini one-quarter turn on the cutting board each time you make a cut. This helps keep the zucchini coins from being uneven and thin at the top but thick at the bottom.
- If you’d like, you can add a bay leaf, coriander, and/or mustard seeds for additional layers of flavor.
- Use a fork to get zucchini pickles out of the jar. Tell your kids to keep their grubby little booger fingers out of there! This helps maximize the pickles’ storage life.
- You can totally use old pasta sauce jars and the like to make refrigerator pickles, but whatever kind of jar you use, it’s important to make sure they are clean and dry. Wash them with very hot water, and if possible, run them through the dishwasher before using them for fridge pickles.
- As the pickles sit in the fridge, their flavor will deepen and intensify. If you can wait a full day or two before eating them, that’s best!
- Use small or medium zucchini, not the super-huge-gigantor ones. Those have a stronger squash flavor and bigger seeds; they’re not really well-suited for pickles.
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Slice the zucchini into thin coins or long ribbons.
4 cups zucchini, thinly sliced
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Slice or dice the onions.
1/4 cup onion
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Add zucchini and sliced onion to a bowl, sprinkle with kosher salt, and add cool water just until the zucchini and onions are covered. Let sit for 2 hours at room temperature.
2 tbsp kosher salt
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Place zucchini and onion in a strainer and rinse with cool water.
Make the Brine
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In a saucepan, bring vinegar(s), water, salt, sugar, and garlic to a boil. Once it has boiled and the sugar has dissolved, reduce the brine to a simmer and keep hot on the stove.
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tbsp sugar, 3 cloves garlic
Make the Pickled Zucchini
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In clean jars, evenly divide the peppercorns and red pepper flakes.
1/2 tsp black peppercorns, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
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Add the zucchini coins/ribbons and onion to the jars. Tuck some of the dill and sliced red pepper amongst the zucchini.
4 sprigs fresh dill, 1/8 cup sliced red bell pepper
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Pour the warm brine over the zucchini, put a lid on the jars, and keep them on the counter for 12 hours.
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Transfer jars to the fridge. Will keep for 3-4 weeks.
- Makes 1 quart.
- Optional seasonings – bay leaf, coriander, or mustard seeds.
- Will keep in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.
Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 38kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.02gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.05gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 1193mgPotassium: 150mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 6346IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 0.2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
