Pickled Squash has a fresh texture and a spicy kick. The refrigerator pickles come together in just a few minutes, with no special canning equipment needed!
My Favorite Pickled Squash Recipe!
To say that I am smitten with this recipe for Pickled Squash would be an understatement.
I love everything about it.
First of all, it is so easy to prepare these fun little slices.
And second, they have a wonderful fresh texture and flavor, with a bonus spicy kick.
I’ve added this recipe to my annual summer recipe roster. It’s an awesome way to enjoy the fresh bounty of summer squash, in a whole new spunky kind of way. Grab this recipe and get started!
Here are a few more quick and easy refrigerator pickles recipes I’m loving right now: This mixture of Pickled Vegetables is definitely a favorite of mine. I am rarely without a jar of these Pickled Red Onions in the fridge. And these Refrigerator Sweet Pickles – a MUST for my Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes!
Do you know Amanda Paa from Heartbeet Kitchen? She is a friend of mine from here in Minnesota, known for her gluten-free cooking and baking. She is a bubbly, sweet person with a signature beaming smile and tinkly laughter.
If you like squash, I recommend you check out Amanda’s book Smitten with Squash.
In between its covers, Amanda shares her passion for cooking with fresh ingredients, and specifically with her beloved squash. Amanda’s sunny manner shines through on every page.
Along with a host of wonderful recipes, Amanda includes a bit of history from the Cucurbit (my new favorite word!) plant family of hundreds of varieties of squash and helpful kitchen tips. All of the recipes include both regular and gluten-free instructions.
How to make pickled squash
I had never pickled squash before.
When I opened my copy of Smitten with Squash for the first time, I went straight to the section on summer squash because “tis the season”. It didn’t take me long to flag half a dozen recipes to try.
First up was this refrigerator pickle recipe for spicy squash pickles.
This recipe is SO EASY to make. I like to use this mandoline, for quick and uniform slices. A simple brine is heated on the stove top and then poured over the yellow squash and zucchini slices. And that. is. all. REALLY! It’s that easy.
Refrigerator pickles are a fresh treat
This refrigerator pickle recipe turned out to be such a treat! If you’re looking for a super easy recipe to add a little fun to your next summer spread, definitely give this pickled zucchini recipe a try.
Blake doesn’t really care for all my pickling experiments, and I’m ok with that. But it was fun to come across a recipe that he actually dug into the jar for more than the required I-tasted-it-so-now-leave-me-alone taste test. He liked these squash pickles a whole lot. I see a few more jars in our future before summer ends.
Here are a few more easy pickle recipes I’d like to try: These Pickled Green Tomatoes from Mama Loves Food sound awesome. And Spicy Dill Refrigerator Pickles from All Day I Dream About Food and Easy Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles from That Skinny Chick Can Bake look worthy of my pickle-dreams-come-true!
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Pickled Squash
Equipment
Ingredients
- 9 sprigs fresh cilantro
- 3 large cloves garlic halved
- 3 tsp. mixed peppercorns
- 1-1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
- 3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1-1/2 lbs. yellow squash and zucchini sliced into thin rounds.
- ⅓ c. thinly sliced sweet onion
- 1-1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
- 1-1/4 c. water
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 2-1/2 T. honey
Instructions
- In a large glass jar or bowl that holds about 2 quarts, add the cilantro, garlic, peppercorns, coriander, red pepper flakes, zucchini, and onion. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring vinegar, water, salt, and honey to a boil. Pour hot mixture over contents in the jar, pressing down on the vegetables so that brine covers them completely. Let cool on the counter to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or 2 days for maximum flavor.
Nutrition Information:
(This post was originally published in 2014, and remains one of my favorite quick pickled recipes. I updated some of the photos and text in 2018.)
I had a similar pickled squash at a restaurant recently and found myself craving it and wondering if I could recreate it today.
Can you can them and not refrigerate them to keep them longer?
My family does not like cilantro. Any other herb suggestions?
How about parsley?!
I never knew you could pickle summer squash and zucchini!! A perfect recipe to use up the abundance of garden produce I have! :)
I love refrigerator pickles and now I must try making them with squash!! So quick and delish!!! Pinning :)
Do you have to cook them? Or can they be eaten right from the jar?
No cooking!! :)
This recipe looks delicious! I’ve never tried pickled squash before but I can’t imagine it will be that far off from normal pickles because they are sort of in the same family! Thank you for sharing this, I can’t wait to try it at home!
These sound fabulous! I did a similar recipe here (http://theweeklypickle.com/week-29-pickled-summer-squash/) but love the idea of cilantro and coriander seeds that you used. Will have to try your version next time :)
Can you freeze these?
Will these hold up to canning?
I’m grabbing some squash at the farmer’s market and trying these soon!
Now here is one I never thought of. I love your recipe, sweet and spicy.
I can never get enough pickles!
I simply adore pickled vegetables of any kind! These look so delicious!
Giving these a try soon!
Apparently I am pretty ho hum just doing ol’ standard cukes for pickles. This is a great idea—–and actually an obvious one. Their textures are so similar. I like it!
I’ve been wondering why I never thought of this myself, as I love to pickle other veggies. I seriously love these squash pickles. Give them a try!
Great use of a Sumer surplus vegetable!
I’ve read in other refrig pickle recipes that they advise to let the hot brine cool before pouring over the squash to prevent them from getting soft (keep crispier). I haven’t tried any recipe, so am wondering if you noticed if they are just as crunchy with it poured over while hot? Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try it!
Hi Kristina – I always pour the hot brine over. These pickles turned out nice and crunchy.
Oh I love this idea!!! Squash is my favorite, so I have to try this!