Quick Pickled Carrot Ribbons

Quick Pickled Carrot Ribbons, an easy refrigerator pickled carrot peels recipe that helps reduce food waste. Ready in just a few hours, they will be your new favorite condiment or snack!

Can’t get enough of carrots? Making quick pickled carrots is a great way to preserve carrots while in-season so you can take advantage of their flavors all year long.

We know fermenting and canning vegetables can be intimidating, but it’s still possible to make pickled carrots at home — in the refrigerator!

👉 To make quick pickled carrot peels in the refrigerator, follow these four simple steps:

1. Prepare the carrots by peeling them into long strips.
2. Add the carrot peels, spices, and seasonings to a large jar.
3. Make a salted vinegar brine and pour into the jar with the carrots.
4. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and enjoy right away, or store in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Ready to learn how to quick pickle carrot peels? Let’s do it!

---

🥣 How to make quick pickled carrot peels in the fridge (step-by-step)

1️⃣ Step One: Peel the carrots

First, use a vegetable peeler to peel the carrots. Peel them into long strips until you reach their core.

♻️ Sustainable cooking tip: Save the carrot cores, ends, and tops! Reduce food waste by adding these to a simple stock using carrot leaves and scraps or making a chimichurri out of carrot greens.

---

2️⃣ Step Two: Prepare the pickling jar

Put the carrot peels into a tall jar along with dill or other herbs, mustard seeds, garlic cloves, and red pepper flakes.

If you have other veggies, like sliced radish, bell pepper, or cauliflower on hand, you can add them to the jar if you’d like.

---

3️⃣ Step Three: Prepare + add the brine

You can’t make pickled vegetables without brine! This salted and sugared vinegar water is what adds the “pickled” flavor to carrot ribbons.

Our go-to refrigerator pickling brine formula is:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vinegar (distilled vinegar, white wine vinegar, and apple cider vinegar are our favorites)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar

We increase or decrease the amount of brine depending on the amount of vegetables we’re pickling, but this is the foundational recipe we use that always produces great tasting pickled vegetables.

To make the brine, simply add water, a vinegar of your choice (see our recommendations below), salt, and sugar to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

💡 Want more tips for making pickling brine? Check out my full recipe, tips, and advice for making a refrigerator pickling brine here.

Pour the hot brine into the pickling jar and completely cover the carrot ribbons, then close the lid tightly and allow it to cool down on the counter until it reaches room temperature.

👉 Which vinegar should you use for quick pickled carrot peels? For the mildest flavor choose distilled white vinegar. For an extra flavor kick, try white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar (our top choice). Malt and balsamic vinegar have the strongest flavor.

---

4️⃣ Step Four: Refrigerate to quickly pickle the carrot peels

Once the jar of carrot peels is cool, put the jar into the refrigerator and allow the carrots to pickle in the salted vinegar brine.

---

🥕 How long to quick pickle carrots

If you want to serve quickly, let the carrot ribbons pickle for at least 2 hours. For best results, we recommend letting the carrot ribbons soak up the brine for at least 24-48 hours.

Quick pickled carrot peels are good up to one month in the refrigerator as long as the carrots are submerged in the vinegar water.

---

❓ Questions and quick tips

---

🌿 Ideas for serving

Quick pickled vegetables like carrot ribbons are great additions to salads, bowls, or even as a topping for tacos and burgers. Here are a few recipes and ideas to get you started:

• On a large fruit, vegetable, and nut board. Use quick pickled carrots as a pickable vegetable on a large platter or board with assorted seasonal fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, crackers, and other pickled veggies (try our pickled asparagus!).
• Use as a topping for tacos. Pickled carrot ribbons add a unique flavor kick to tacos, especially when paired with plant-based fillings like tofu or tempeh.
• Enjoy as a condiment. Grab a few pickled carrot peels and enjoy on top of a burger or other dish. It’s a yummy switch-up from traditional pickles!
• Mix into a salad or bowl. Use as a topping for salad or grain bowls, like this Simple Quinoa Greek Salad or Ginger Soy Tofu Bowl.
• Munch on this salad for a snack. Pickled carrot ribbons make a great simple snack. Pair with a handful of nuts or seeds for a delicious and balanced plant-based treat.

---

♻️ Sustainable kitchen quick pickling tips and tricks

While pickling carrot ribbons is a great way to reduce food waste in itself, there are a few tips and tricks you can learn to make this recipe even better for the planet:

Take advantage of carrot season! The best time to make quick pickled carrots is at the peak of carrot season. In California that’s almost year round (minus June-August in the Southern part of the state), but check out Seasonal Food Guide’s produce seasonality calendar to find when carrots are in season where you live.

Keep jars to use for quick pickling. We’re always looking for jars to keep on hand for pantry and food storage. Look out for larger jars that you can remove the label from and save to use for picking vegetables later (try our simple method for removing labels using natural ingredients).

Save carrot cores and ends for soups and broths. Don’t toss the cut off carrot ends and leftover cores. Instead, use them to add flavor to soups and broths, like our homemade carrot tops vegetable broth.

---

🧡 More quick pickling recipes

Check out our other easy simple vegetable recipes:

• Quick Pickled Radishes
• Quick Pickled Cauliflower
• Quick Pickled Green Beans
• Refrigerator Pickled Peppers
• No Cook Refrigerator Pickles
• Quick Refrigerator Pickled Red Onions