Pickled Watermelon | Refrigerator Pickle Recipe
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!
Ingredients
This is a very basic recipe; see notes for additional add-ins and flavors to try!
- 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.
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp salt I normally use kosher salt or sea salt.
- 2 tbsp vinegar You can use either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for this recipe
Instructions
- 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!
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
Nutrition
Calories: 1kcalCarbohydrates: 0.003gSodium: 1750mgPotassium: 1mgSugar: 0.003gCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.02mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!