How to Make Quick & Easy Pickles

I’m a big fan of homemade easy pickles. Sweet, garlicky or spicy—my favorites have always included a combination of all of these elements. While I’ve long admired people who’ve made their own, I always hesitated doing it myself because I figured it might be impossibly hard. But it’s not, I swear on my Ball jar it’s so simple. I actually thought I was reading the recipe wrong the first time around.

I decided to try out a more traditional pickle recipe and another for pickled onions. Pickled onions pair nicely with any sort of Mexican food, but I put some on a grilled cheese today and they were equally tasty.

One of the best things about pickling any veggie is that once you get familiar with a base recipe you can customize it to your own liking, making it sweeter or spicier, adding more herbs or garlic. It really becomes all up to you and your tastes. I used this recipe from Gimme Some Oven and they didn’t disappoint. The pickles came out with a nuanced flavor and still had a great crunch to them. I would definitely add the chili flakes, they lend a nice heat and help balance the overall flavor without being crazy spicy.

The recipe for the pickled onions was a basic one from Bon Appetit and was laughably simple and effective. It has only four ingredients: onions, vinegar, sugar and salt. I couldn’t believe it. You put all of the ingredients in a jar and shake.

Just remember that unless you end up canning any pickles you make, they will only last for about a week in the fridge. If you want to keep them around for longer (or even give them as a hostess gift) just purchase an easy canning set. I’d recommend this one from Ball.

 Definitely try both of these recipes, they’re easy and it’s a smart way to use up those last bits of bounty from your summer garden. Let us know about your favorite pickle flavor combinations in the comments!