Quick Pickled Radishes (& Carrots)

Pickled radishes are crunchy and tangy with a little bit of bite. They are perfect for topping salads, tacos, and burgers – and are a great way to extend the life of summer produce.

I love to make quick pickles – whether refrigerator dill pickles or quick pickled red onions – they are the best way to add a little bit of brightness to otherwise heavy dishes.

I love refrigerator pickles because I don’t need to get out the canner for just a few jars – we will eat them within a week anyway! In the summer months, I love to make this quick pickled radish recipe to use up radishes because I always plant way too many to eat them while they are fresh. It’s one of my favorite condiments.

I plant radishes in an effort to bait caterpillars before they can eat my tomato plants. (And they are an excellent root vegetable to use as a companion plant with tomatoes to keep moisture near the roots of the tomatoes.) I plant the radishes around the base of the tomato plants and spray them with bacillus thuringiensis – the caterpillars will eat the radish leaves before they are able to climb up to the tomatoes, and… well… you can guess what happens! After a while, both the radishes and tomatoes will thrive, and I always end up with an abundance of radishes, so I use this easy recipe to make spicy pickled radishes.

If you don’t plant radishes, you can just buy a fresh bunch of radishes at the summer farmer’s market.

Mixed with crunchy carrots, these easy pickled radishes are perfect to add a lovely bite and a little bit of crunch to any dish – cheese boards, smash burgers, blue cheese salads, bowls, sandwiches, southern potato salad, hummus wraps, or Asian-inspired stir-fry recipes. You can use red radishes or white radishes. I like to use Easter Egg radishes – they have such a wonderful flavor.

🥘 Ingredients Needed to Make Spicy Pickled Radishes

• Fresh Radishes, thinly sliced – the thinner they are sliced, the more brine they will absorb and the more pickled they will be.
• Fresh Carrots, thinly sliced.
• Water
• Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
• Honey or Granulated Sugar (You can also substitute maple syrup for the honey)
• Kosher Salt
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Optional Additions

• Fresh Cilantro leaves and stems, roughly chopped
• Mustard Seeds
• Jalapeño, thinly sliced
• Garlic, thinly sliced
• Whole Peppercorns

🍽 Equipment Needed

• A Small Saucepan
• A Sharp Knife or a Mandoline Slicer
• Measuring Spoons & Measuring Cups
• A Wide Mouth Mason Jar
• A Vegetable Peeler

🥣 How to Make Quick Pickled Radishes

These pickled radishes are so easy to make, and they are SO GOOD. This great recipe requires no special equipment and just a few minutes of hands-on time.

To prepare the radishes, wash them really well and soak and scrub them if they just came out of the ground and are filthy. Then chop off the top and bottom of the radishes. The radishes that I like to plant are Easter Egg radishes and Watermelon Radishes, so even after they are pickled, they will still have a vibrant color. (I like to include cilantro in my pickles as well, not only because of the flavor but because of the bright green color that just pops alongside the radish slices in the jar.)

Then, thinly slice the radishes either by hand using a really sharp knife or using a mandolin slicer.

To prepare the carrots, wash, peel, and also slice off the ends. Thinly slice the carrots as well, either by hand using a really sharp knife or using a mandolin slicer.

Now, make the brine. In a small pot or saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, honey (or sugar), salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and mustard seeds.

Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring until the honey or sugar dissolves.

While the brine comes to a boil, pack the thin slices of radishes and carrots (as well as the optional cilantro, jalapeño, or garlic) into a wide-mouth mason jar.

Pour the hot liquid over the vegetables and agitate them a little to make sure that the pickling liquid gets into all the nooks and crannies of the vegetables.

Let the mixture cool to room temperature, and then cover the jar. The pickles can be eaten immediately or refrigerated to be eaten later. The pickles will keep well in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 weeks, although they will begin to lose their crispiness after about a week.

🥫 How to Store Quick-Pickled Radishes

Quick pickles are not shelf stable and need to be refrigerated. They can be eaten immediately or refrigerated to be eaten later. I like to store the pickles in a glass jar, but any airtight container will do. 

The pickles will keep well in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 weeks, but they will begin to lose their crispiness after about a week.

🍔 How to Use Pickled Radishes

My favorite way to use pickled radishes is as a garnish on salads, burgers, tacos, sandwiches, and avocado toast or as a pickled element on a charcuterie board. The best part about pickled radishes is they don’t have as much of a punch as pickled red onions do, so you can use a lot of them without overpowering the dish. 

✏️ Helpful Pickle Tips

• Enjoy pickled radishes within a week for optimum crispiness.
• This recipe can easily be doubled.
• Eat your pickles quickly? Reuse the brine to make a second batch!