These super quick and easy spicy pickled carrots make a great addition to an antipasti platter or just to add to a sandwich. They are sweet yet sour, crunchy with a hint of spice. And it’s a great way to use up extra carrots too.
Pickles, pickles, pickles, I just love preserving fruit and vegetables this way. These pickled carrots just sing of spring time.
Pickled carrots are the perfect addition to salads and sandwiches to add a bit of flavour and crunch. Just watch out Bugs Bunny doesn’t nick them first!
Get Pickled
Pickling goes back centuries and is a great way of preserving fresh food for the months ahead. I originally did this recipe for pickled carrots in my book Gourmet Gifts For Christmas which is now available as an eBook. I chose it for a Christmas book as carrots are something we can get all year round in the shops so its a pickle that can be made in wintertime too.
What type of carrots?
You want to use nice young carrots for this pickled carrots recipe, avoid big gnarly carrots, the smaller younger carrots have more flavour.
Ingredients for pickled carrots
You can pickle carrots with just 4 ingredients – carrots, vinegar, water and sugar. That’s it folks!
However, that might just be a tad boring. Add some spice and make those pickled carrots sing!
Spices;
Bay leaf, cloves, allspice berries, coriander seeds, star anise and chilli.
How to make pickled carrots
All you have to do for this simple recipe is wash and dry the carrots. Slice them into long batons (size depends on the jars you are using) or into rounds.
Then blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds before draining and packing into sterilised jars.
Heat up all your other ingredients for the pickling brine and then pour this into the carrot filled jars.
Simplicity itself, seal with a lid and now you have pickled carrots. Leave these jars in the fridge for 2 days before using them.
How long will pickled carrots keep?
These pickled carrots will keep in the fridge for about a month. Once opened they will keep in there for 2 weeks.
I’ve packaged my pickled carrots with a page of an old recipe book featuring carrots as a jar topper on top of the lid. It’s little touches like this that make your foodie gifts special at any time of year.
New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in the preserving stakes in no time at all!
Just check out these quick articles to get you started;
Serving suggestions
These are great in a salad bowl, Buddah bowl, in any bowl dish.
They will add some crunch and added texture and taste to all sorts of dishes.
Use them in salads, add to sandwiches.
Best of all serve these pickled carrots on an antipasti platter or with dips and crudites. They make a great healthy snack too.
Looking for more quick and easy pickling ideas? Then check these out before you go;
Quick and easy pickled cucumbers
Sweet and sour pickled blackberries
Homemade traditional English pickled onions
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Quick and easy spicy pickled carrots
Ingredients
- 300 g carrots small young carrots
- 150 ml white wine vinegar
- 150 ml water
- 30 g sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 2 allspice berries
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 star anise
- 1 dried chilli small dried chilli or 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
Instructions
- Wash and dry the carrots and slice into batons or rounds
- Blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds then drain and pack into sterilised jars
- Heat all the other ingredients and bring to boil and lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes
- Pour over carrots and seal jars
- Keep in fridge for 2 days before using to let flavours develop
- Store in fridge for up to a month. Once opened eat within 2 weeks
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