Homemade Pickled Watermelon | Refrigerator Pickle Recipe

These homemade watermelon pickles are unique and delicious! Featuring a simple brine and fresh, juicy watermelon, this refrigerator pickle recipe is a great way to use up fresh watermelon and puts a fun spin on a summer favorite!

Yes, you read that right: homemade pickled watermelon, not pickled watermelon rinds, as in that old recipe you’ve probably heard mentioned once or twice in your life. But pickled watermelon, as in the watermelon itself. 

Now it’s perfectly fair to ask why anyone would make watermelon rind pickles, and well, let’s just say it’s a recipe from another time. And it’s even more fair to ask why anyone would ever pickle full watermelon slices. 

And to be fair, I don’t really have any answer for you. I don’t know exactly where they came from, nor do I know who first thought up this recipe in the first place.

But I saw someone eating pickled watermelon online once, and talking about how much they loved it.  

Which got me thinking: what does pickled watermelon taste like? What would the texture be? And what other odd things can I pickle?

To make a long story short, I recently got into pickling over the past month or so, and these watermelon pickles are just the first of my newfound favorite pickling recipes. 

I know it’s getting kind of late in the summer for fresh watermelon, but I figure there was just enough time left to get this recipe shared!

And while I could list all the reasons these pickles were delicious and tell you just how much they surprised me.

I’ll just cut to the chase: basically, don’t knock it till you try it.

This pickled watermelon recipe is super easy to make, and since these are refrigerator pickles, it doesn’t require any real canning and takes less than 30 minutes to make. 

You’ll be surprised by how yummy these pickles are, and they might just turn into a new summer favorite! 

How To Make Pickled Watermelon

This is a very basic recipe; see notes for additional add-ins and flavors to try! 

Ingredients:

• Fresh ripe watermelon. Wash the outside/rind with soap and water, rinse well, and dry. Then cut into small triangle pieces; be sure the pieces are small enough to fit in your jar of choice. I used a wide-mouth quart-sized canning jar. 
• salt, I normally use kosher salt or sea salt.
• freshly ground black pepper, or a few whole pepper corns. 
• water
• vinegar. You can use either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for this recipe 

Directions

Once your watermelon has been washed, dried, and cut into small pieces, gently pack the watermelon into your clean, dry canning jar. I normally make one quart jar with this recipe. The amount of watermelon you can fit in a jar will depend on how big your pieces are and what type of jar you are using. 

Add your pepper, and set the jar aside until needed.

In a small saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Simmer until the salt has dissolved. 

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the pickling liquid to cool to room temperature. 

Once the liquid has cooled, carefully pour it into your jar of watermelon, filling the jar to the top and completely covering the watermelon. Since you aren’t actually canning these pickles, there is no need to leave a gap at the top of the jar. Just be sure that all your watermelon pieces are covered in the pickling brine/liquird. 

Scraw a lid tightly onto your jar and transfer the jar to the fridge. Allow the watermelon pickles to sit in the fridge for at least 3-4 days before opening.

Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Once opened, pickled watermelon is best eaten within 1 week. Pickled watermelon should be stored in the fridge in an airtight jar or container once opened.  And be sure to keep in mind that the longer your watermelon pickles, the stronger the flavor it will have! 

Normally I make this recipe in a quart-sized canning jar, but you could also make it in two pint jars. This recipe can also easily be doubled or cut in half!

I love pickling my watermelon in little triangles, but you can really make this recipe with any size or shape of watermelon pieces. You can use small chunks or pieces, long spears, or even try pickling just the red flesh without the rind!

The recipe above is a very basic, more of a starter recipe for pickled watermelon. It is what I like best, but there are a million different ways and things you can add to your pickled watermelon.  You can easily play around with different flavors to make sweet pickles or hot pickles.

Here is a short list of some of the best sweet and savory add-in ideas!

• fresh dill
• garlic
• jalapeños
• cinnamon sticks
• whole cloves
• coriander seeds
• red pepper flakes
• star anise

Pickled watermelon is great served on its own, but it’s also great on salads, served as part of a cheese board, or as a fun side dish for BBQs and summer get-togethers. 

Be Sure To Check Out These Great Pickle Recipes Too!

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