Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (2024)

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A homemade Pickling Spice recipe to make refrigerator pickles, overnight pickles, canned pickles, and more! This simple recipe will take you less than 10 minutes.

Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (1)

Simplest Pickling Spice Recipe

This recipe might not be one that you make tomorrow, but when you are in the middle of making pickles (the canned kind or the simple refrigerator kind) and you run out of pickling spice (or your little store doesn't carry it), this might just come in handy. I'm here to save the day, friends, one pickle at a time.

I am pickle crazy, if you haven't noticed. I love normal canned pickles, overnight pickles, pickled peppers, and pickled hot peppers. Heck, I've even been getting into fermented pickles, and they are amazing (is that something you would want to know more about too??). All of them are so great in my opinion, and I'm here to get you excited about making pickles, too.

In the world of homemade pickles, pickling spice is essentially just a blend of spices that you use to season your pickles. It's what makes a good pickle taste like a good pickle!

Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (2)

What is pickling spice made of?

I make mine from a mix of black peppercorns,mustard seeds,coriander seeds,dill seed,allspice berries,bay leaves, and optionalcrushed red pepper flakes. Some recipes include cinnamon, but it's not my favorite in it, so I don't include it.

What recipes do you use pickling spice in?

I have a few pickle recipes that I LOVE and make often. Here's the list:

  • Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers and Vinegar
  • Quick Dilly Cucumbers in Vinegar
  • Homemade Claussen Knock-Off Picklesfrom Foodie with Family (this recipe is AMAZING and I give it as gifts all summer long)

The fun part about those recipes is that you can reuse the brine! I just toss in more cucumbers when we've eaten through the jar of pickles. I'll do this a time or two before tossing out the brine and the cucumbers still taste delicious.

Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (3)

If you’ve tried thispickling spice recipeor any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget torate the recipeand leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me onInstagramso I can repost on my stories AND add your photo to your comment so that other can see your creation!

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Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (4)

Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe

★★★★★5 from 1 review
  • Author: Melissa Griffiths - Bless this Mess
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: About ½ of a cup 1x
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Description

A homemade Pickling Spice recipe to make refrigerator pickles, overnight pickles, canned pickles, and more! This simple recipe will take you less than 10 minutes.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 2tablespoonsblack peppercorns
  • 2tablespoonsmustard seeds
  • 2tablespoonscoriander seeds
  • 2tablespoonsdill seed
  • 1tablespoonallspice berries
  • 2bay leaves,crumbled
  • 1tablespooncrushed red pepper flakes, optional

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients to a small jar with a lid (one cup wide-mouth canning jar works great). Use your fingers to break the bay leaves into small pieces.
  2. Stir to combine.
  3. Add a lid and store until needed.
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Category: Side
  • Method: Canning
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: pickling spice recipe, easy pickling spice recipe, simple pickling spice recipe, ready to use pickling spice, pickling spices, homemade pickling spice, homemade pickling spice recipe

Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (5)

And there you have it - your very own pickling spice recipe and a few of my favorite quick pickle recipes to try it with. I don't have a great canned pickle recipe yet (the recipes I've tried have resulted in squishy/soggy pickles), so if you have one, I'd love to know!

Enjoy from my kitchen to yours!

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Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (6)

About Melissa

Melissa is dedicated to helping parents figure out the nightly questions, "What's for Dinner?!" with her no-fuss approach to cooking. Read more...

  • Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (7)
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  • Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (9)
  • Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (10)

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Review

  1. Nic

    Sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it. However I’m looking at the nutrition facts and scratching my head … where do all the fats, carbs a & protein come from? Please excuse my ignorance lol I’ve never pickled anything before and haven’t used one of the ingredients before in whole form (allspice berries). Just curious! Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes and stories to go with them!!

    Reply

    • Melissa

      I just a paid service and sometimes it's just weird, there's no reason that should have fat in it... I'll try to see if I can get it to fix it.

  2. Helena

    The classic! Thank you!

    Reply

  3. Thelma Blake

    Hi Melissa, Thank you for sharing this recipe. This will be my first time canning Dill Pickles, would you use 1 tsp with dill in making dill pickles?

    Reply

    • Melissa

      Yep, it's excellent with dill, you can also use fresh! I like using dill weed instead of the seeds when using dry.

  4. Gp

    No. The coriander and all spice is a terrible blend for pickles. You must have never used your recipe . its awful and gives the brine a terrible flavor. Your recipe its set up for failure.

    Reply

  5. Ana Branaman

    How much of this are you using for a quart jar?

    Reply

    • Melissa

      I generally use 1 teaspoon per quart but it depends on what the recipe calls for.

  6. steve a abril

    Recipe for Irish-style pickled hard boiled eggs ? perhaps

    Reply

  7. Lee

    Soak I’m pickling lime for 24 hours. Won’t be mushy

    Reply

  8. Sandra Doerr

    Some reasons for mushy pickles:
    Use water without fluoride or chlorine, do not use table salt, cut the blossom end off cukes. Hope this helps.

    Reply

  9. Tom Flinn

    Hi thanks for the pickling recipe; write me back and ill send my no boil crunchy dill pickles! Thomasflinn@gmail.com hugs Tommy

    Reply

  10. Pamela Tautari

    Thank you for the great advice for pickling spice. I tried it and totally enjoyed it with my pickling onions.

    Reply

Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe | Ready for Use in Under 10 Minutes (2024)

FAQs

What can I use if I don't have pickling spice? ›

I recommend using mustard seeds, black peppercorns or red pepper flakes, and at least one of the sweet spices (allspice, cinnamon, or cloves), and then as many of the other spices as you like.

What is the minimum time for pickling? ›

The actual process of pickling takes as little as 10 minutes. Then you should allow your pickles to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. Although for best flavor, let them brine for 24 hours before serving.

Do I have to boil pickling spice? ›

No, there are other methods for pickling, including quick pickling and refrigerator pickling. But this pickling method does call for boiling the brine. This process helps bloom the flavors of the ingredients and help speed up the pickling process when it's added to the fresh vegetables or fruit.

What is the ratio of pickling spice to vinegar? ›

Spices to use include cinnamon, allspice, cloves, mace, peppercorns, and ginger. You can bring out their flavour by toasting them briefly in a dry frying pan. In The River Cottage Preserves Handbook, Pam Corbin recommends using 15-30g of spices for 1 litre of vinegar.

How do you add flavor without spice? ›

There are many ways to add flavor to a dish without using spices or herbs. Here are a few ideas: Use different cooking methods: Cooking methods like roasting, grilling, or caramelizing can bring out natural flavors in foods, such as the sweetness in caramelized onions or the umami in roasted mushrooms.

What is pickling spice made of? ›

Pickling spice ingredients (usually whole or in coarse pieces) can include allspice, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mustard seeds, and peppercorns. Pre-packaged pickling spice mixes are sold in most supermarkets.

How do you pickle something quickly? ›

Quick pickling is simply the act of storing fresh produce in a brine of vinegar, salt, water, and sometimes sugar, in the refrigerator. These pickles are not canned and are ready to eat mere hours after making, though I usually wait at least a day or two.

How do you speed up pickling? ›

Once the brine is hot and ready, pour it into your jars—leaving ½ inch of headspace between the liquid and the rim for liquid-induced expansion—and screw on the lids. The heat will soften your veg a little and speed up the pickling process. Let the jars cool to room temperature, then transfer them to the fridge.

How do chefs pickle so quickly? ›

Quick pickles are also known as refrigerator pickles. They are simply vegetables that are pickled in a vinegar, water, and salt (sometimes sugar, too) solution and stored in the refrigerator.

What happens if you don't boil vinegar before pickling? ›

The key is knowing that first off, boiling your brine (vinegar mixture) will help all the flavors meld better, and that if you add in your pickling subject while the brine is hot, your pickle will be briefly cooked, and you risk losing some of the crunch.

Do you leave pickling spice in jars? ›

Store the pickling spice in a tightly sealed glass jar or airtight container for up to one month in a cool, dark place (such as the pantry or spice cabinet).

Is sugar necessary for pickling? ›

Sugar in pickling is used to balance the tartness of the vinegar. Although the sugar can be eliminated from pickle recipes, the pickles are likely to be too sour. Note: Under no circ*mstances should the amount of vinegar be decreased or diluted to compensate for less sugar.

What is the basic pickling ratio? ›

Start with the base. For our base Epi pickle brine, we wanted a solution that could be used with virtually any vegetable to create a simple but satisfying snack. This liquid uses a ratio that's easy to remember: Add equal parts water and vinegar, one-quarter part sugar by volume, and one-sixteenth part kosher salt.

What happens if you put too much vinegar in pickles? ›

Shriveling happens most often in very sweet or sour pickles. Using too strong a salt, sugar or vinegar solution at the beginning of the pickling process causes shriveling. Measure ingredients carefully when preparing a cucumber pickle that requires the addition of sugar, vinegar or salt over a 3-day to 2-week time.

Which vinegar is best for pickling? ›

Most pickle recipes call for distilled white vinegar. This is the clear, colorless vinegar made by fermenting grains. It has a mellow aroma, tart acid flavor and does not affect the color of light-colored vegetables or fruits.

What are the ingredients in Mccormick pickling spice? ›

CINNAMON, ALLSPICE, MUSTARD SEED, CORIANDER, BAY LEAVES, GINGER, CHILLIES, CLOVES, BLACK PEPPER, MACE, CARDAMOM, AND SULFITING AGENT.

Is pickling spice the same as mustard seed? ›

Their pickling spice is made with mustard, dill, bay leaf, ginger, allspice, pepper, clove, star anise, coriander, cinnamon, juniper, mace, chiles, and cardamom. Generally, though, these are some of the usual suspects you'll find in most pickling spice blends: Mustard seed. Coriander.

What herbs are good for pickling? ›

What's In Pickling Spice? For this top-rated pickling spice recipe, you'll need: whole mustard seeds, whole allspice berries, whole coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, ground ginger, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and whole cloves.

Is pickling spice the same as canning salt? ›

Pickling salt, also called canning salt or preserving salt, is a fine-grain salt with no additives. Made of pure sodium chloride, pickling salt doesn't contain the iodine and anticaking agents that are traditionally added to table salt.

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