Get ready to fall in love with this quick pickled radish recipe! The crunchy, tangy, salty veggies are perfect for jazzing up tacos, toast, salads, and more.
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If you opened my fridge right now, you’d see jars upon jars of these quick pickled radishes lined up inside. They’re so pretty and pink that it’s almost a shame to eat them. I love the vibrant patterns the radishes create against the glass, all those circles and stripes. The natural beauty of these humble root veggies never ceases to amaze me.
Still, eat them I will. Tangy, salty, and delightfully crisp, they’re an addictive snack or topping for toast, tacos, bowls, burgers, salads…just about anything you like! This pickled radish recipe is easy to make (the fridge does most of the work for you), and the radishes keep for weeks. I love having a jar on hand for jazzing up all sorts of spring dishes. I think you will too!
Pickled Radish Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this pickled radish recipe:
- Radishes, of course! I call for red radishes here, but other varieties would work well too. Experiment with Easter Egg, watermelon radish, or daikon radish. Whatever you do, don’t toss the tops! Learn how to use them here.
- White vinegar and water – They make up the tangy base of the brine.
- Cane sugar – It’s the perfect sweet complement to the assertive vinegar, making these quick pickles well-balanced and addictive.
- Sea salt – It helps preserve the radishes and adds necessary salty flavor.
- Whole peppercorns and mustard seeds – They add unique depth of flavor to this simple brine.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Quick Pickled Radishes
This pickled radish recipe is super simple to make! Here’s what you need to do:
- First, prep the radishes. Wash the radishes well, trim off the tops, and thinly slice or halve them. If you want to slice the radishes, I recommend using a mandoline. It will make the process go way faster and yield even, paper-thin slices. Divide the radishes among 4 (11.5 ounce) jars, or whatever lidded jars you have.
- Then, make the brine. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve, about 1 minute. Allow the brine to cool at room temperature before pouring it over the radishes in the jars. Finally, add the peppercorns and mustard seeds, cover the jars, and refrigerate.
The quick pickled radishes are ready to eat when they are bright pink, tangy, and complex, with subtle depth from the peppercorns and mustard seeds. Thinly sliced radishes taste great after just an hour in the fridge, while halved radishes are best after a day. They will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Pickled Radish Serving Suggestions
If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a hard time not devouring all these radishes straight from the jar. Of course, you should snack on them as much as you like, but there are all sorts of other ways to use them too:
- On tacos or nachos. Top them onto my Sheet Pan Nachos or swap them in for the pickled onions in this Sweet Potato Taco recipe.
- On a sandwich or toast. They add a delicious crunch and a bright pop of flavor to my Egg Salad, Vegan Egg Salad, and Chickpea Salad sandwiches. They’re great on avocado toast, too!
- On a veggie burger. Pile them onto this veggie burger, this black bean burger, a portobello mushroom burger, or a BBQ jackfruit sandwich.
- In a salad. Replace the regular radishes in my Bright Spring Salad or Healthy Taco Salad with pickled ones!
- In a grain bowl. They’d be excellent in my Buddha Bowl or Veggie Power Bowl.
How do you like to use quick pickled radishes? Let me know in the comments!
More Homemade Pickles
If you love this pickled radish recipe, try one of these easy pickling recipes next:
Love radishes? Check out this radish salad or these roasted radishes.
Pickled Radishes
Ingredients
- 4 bunches red radishes, tops removed
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2½ tablespoons cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon mixed peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
Instructions
- Thinly slice the radishes (or halve them, if you prefer), and divide between 4 (11.5-ounce) jars or equivalent. The amount of radishes and brine used may vary based on the size and shape of your jars and how you slice your radishes.
- Heat the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve, about 1 minute. Pour the brine over the radishes, then divide the peppercorns and mustard seeds among the jars. Let cool and chill until ready to use. Pickled radish slices will be ready to eat in about 1 hour, radish halves are best when pickled overnight.
Can you replace the mustard seeds with ground mustard?
Hi Jackie, you could! I would use just 1/4 teaspoon. You can also omit the mustard seeds.
Are you sure the salt isn’t supposed to be a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon?
Hi Geoff, we do use a tablespoon. It’s just to season the brine, so you won’t actually consume all of it.
I added lots of crushed garlic to it and I’m eating them about a week and half later and they are Devine. I absolutely hate radishes but I love these pickles with lots of garlic. I have no idea how much garlic I add if I had to guess it looks like 2-3 tablespoons in the bottom of the jar.
So glad you love the pickles, Audrey!
Nice recipe, I waterbathed them and it turned out all right. I had to take a star off because the page did that thing I really hate when they put a novel in front of the recipe with non-recipe content and an ad and a picture which made this whole ordeal hell when trying to use a phone.
Made these whole (no slicing.) went a bit different, used white vinegar and apple cider vinegar, sugar, and some GSP, crushed garlic and red pepper flakes.
They are outstanding.
Think next time though will slice.
Thanks for the great idea!
I’m so glad you loved them, Darrell!
I’m ecstatic to find this recipe while I was desperate to figure out what to do with the radishes from my farm share. I am dissolving the sugar and salt as we speak. Very much looking forward to trying them! I will try to remember to report back and rate!
I hope you love them, Nica!
I haven’t tried this recipe but I just wanted you to know how absolutely beautiful your picture of the sliced radishes is!
Ha, thank you 🙂
Can you any other sweetener…..I don’t use sugar?
Hi Lorna, you could substitute honey or agave!
Made these for the first time. I’m really disappointed. They’re soft and to be honest, the smell is really off putting.
Hi Mishmish, yes, pickled radishes do have a bit of a funky smell! They shouldn’t be soft though. Just so I can help troubleshoot, did you change anything about the recipe?
No, I followed it to the letter. FYI, I cut them in half, not thin slices.
Did your brine start bubbling at all when you heated it? I’m wondering if it was hotter than ours usually is, which may have softened the radishes. We typically heat, stirring, until the sugar and salt dissolve without it simmering or boiling at all.
No, I made sure it dissolved but didn’t boil. It’s the same process for pickled white turnip. Defo room temp when I filled the jar.
Question – mine smell like death, literally. So much so that my husband has requested I never make them again, ever. Is this normal? Do they always smell so bad?
Great , easy and fast ! Plant lots in your garden .. you will be glad you did !!
Can you substitute apple cider vinegar for white?
yes!
Do you keep them in the brine for the whole two weeks, or drain them and store after they’ve reached the right brininess?
Hi Kate, keep them in the brine.
Have you ever tried quick pickled radishes before, or would this be your first time making them?
Hi Komal, we’ve made them many times.
These are delicious on avocado toast. My humble opinion slicing the avocado rather than smashing is better.
Wanting to make this but don’t have cane sugar handy; would regular white sugar suffice, or is cane essential for the pickle?
Yes white sugar will work just fine
exquisita y facil receta. muchas gracias
Can you give a rough weight for 1 bunch of radishes?
Can you water bath process these like other pickle recipes to make them shelf stable?
These were so delicious! I’m wondering the same question Kathy has. Can we water bath safely?
Hi, we’ve never tried processing these in a water bath! I’d recommend using a recipe specifically designed for that if you want them to be shelf stable.
No! If you heat at all, including having the brine warmer than room temperature, you will have smelly, soft & rather nasty cooked radishes.
This is a fresh pickle.
This is my first time picking something. To what temperature/type of boil do I heat the vinegar mixture to?
You’re not cooking the mixture. You only need to warm it to dissolve the salt and sugar.