One bite of these Rosemary Spicy Pickled Carrots and you'll have to force yourself to stop eating them!
They are spicy, herby, sweet and tangy and you totally can't stop with just one!
Serve them as a side dish, a snack or they are great on an appetizer board!
Pickled vegetables are one of my favorite snacks to have on hand. I have jars of canned pickles lining the shelves in the basement and I have jars of quick pickles in the fridge.
They are so versatile. You can chop them and add to salads, serve as a quick side dish, pile them on appetizer trays and my favorite - grab one every time you open the fridge.
I try not to play pickle favorites, I love them all, but these spicy pickled carrots are amazing! Spicy with a lovely herby flavor from the the rosemary.
Ingredients:
4 lbs carrots - peel them and cut them into strips about 4 inches long and about 1/2 inch thick.
Hot peppers - you'll need 6 hot chili peppers.
Garlic - 6 cloves of garlic, peeled.
Rosemary - six sprigs about 3 inches long. You can omit if you want just spicy pickled carrots.
Peppercorns - I used mixed, you can use all black.
Sugar - regular white granulated sugar.
Salt - use pickling salt if you have it, or a kosher salt with no additives.
Vinegar - I used regular distilled white vinegar.
Instructions:
Please view general canning instructions on this post: Water Bath Canning.
Prepare the jars and water bath as in the instructions in the above link.
In a pot, over high heat, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, salt and peppercorns. You want to bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Take your sterilized jars out of your water bath and working with one jar at a time, place one garlic clove and one chili pepper in each jar.
Pack the carrots, standing up, in each jar. The tighter you pack them the less chance that they will float (you can see that mine floated some.)
Nestle in a sprig of the rosemary and pour some of the vinegar solution over the carrots into the jar. You want to leave 1/4 inch head space at the top.
Use a wooden or plastic chop stick to release the bubbles and wipe the rims clean. Place lids on jars (again, see the general link above.)
Do this for each jar.
Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from the water, and place on a towel. Wait to hear the satisfying ping!
If you have any that didn't seal, just store them in the fridge and eat them first!
As with most pickles, they get even better with age. You'll want to let these age for about 2 to 3 weeks before trying them. I try to eat all my canned goods within a year.
These are so good! I had to stop myself from eating most of the jar!
They are crisp, spicy, sweet and tangy. The rosemary adds a lovely herby flavor, but you can omit it if you want just spicy pickled carrots.
I found this recipe in Well Preserved, one of my favorite small batch canning books (link in recipe card.)
More carrot recipes:
Balsamic and Honey Roasted Root Vegetables
Browse:
Spicy Rosemary Pickled Carrots
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar white
- 1/4 cup pickling salt or kosher salt
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns or mixed
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
- 6 red chili peppers
- 4 lbs carrots peeled, cut into 4 inch long sticks about 1/2 inch wide
- 6 sprigs rosemary
Instructions
- Process jars and lids following general canning instructions - link in notes.
- Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, salt and peppercorns in a small pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Working with one jar at a time, add 1 clove of garlic and 1 chili pepper into the jar. Pack the jar tightly with carrot sticks. About half way through packing them, nestle in your rosemary sprig.
- Pour the vinegar solution over the carrots, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Tap the jar gently on the counter to release air bubbles (or use a small skewer inserted) add more vinegar solution if you need to.
- Wipe the rims clean and place the lids on the jars. Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
- When time is up, remove the jars from the water and set them on a towel. You should hear a ping as they cool.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
This was originally published in 2010 and has been updated for 2020.
I followed the directions for these pickles using baby carrots but the outer part of the carrots were soft, with just a bit of crunch in the middle. What can I do for next time to have a crunchier carrot?
Use fresh carrots instead of the baby carrots. I find that baby carrots are already getting soft on the outside from all the moisture inside the bag.
I just canned these and can NOT wait to try! They smelled so good and looked beautiful. Thank you for this great recipe! I won't be wasting carrots anymore that's for sure!
Oooh, I have a rosemary bush in my garden just waiting for me to make these carrots!
These looks so good! I can wait to make these this weekend.
This is such a great idea. Never added rosemary to my homemade pickles even though I grow it. Gonna have to start doing that!
These look delicious! I didn’t have enough carrots to can this year but am saving this one for our next harvest. 🙂
I think I would get just as much enjoyment from looking at these stacked up in the pantry. Very nice! I know I would enjoy eating them.
It never ceases to amaze me all the things that you can pickle. Carrots, cherries, essentially anything. Crazy.
Wow, even if I wasn't interested in food, which I certainly am, I would come here just to ooh and ahh at your fantastic photos. I get really inspired looking at them. I've always wanted to start canning food. I have dozens of glass canning jars, but they are just sitting in the cupboard holding food stuff like rice and popcorn 🙁
Have a wonderful weekend.
Maureen
Lovely! You are such an inspiration with your canning.
Larry was talking about canning today. I really need to learn to do that. Those carrots look awesome!
Your carrots look beautiful and will look so pretty on your pantry shelf. You should think of enter your canning in the county fair if you have one in your area.
Mimi
I think we will do the pickled carrots as our Saturday Activity. We are throwing a "Luau" tonight and I have to tell you... The food is smelling AWESOME!!! I'm glad the weather decided to cooperate!
The carrots look beautiful in the jars! I bought some canning supplies this past summer. I started reading about canning and safety and got scared off. I returned it all the next day 🙁
Well, was there a law saying you can't participate in some event sort of private-like? I don't think so. And when the result is as pretty as those carrots, they should extend the invitation sort of special-like to you!
Everytime I see Foodie Friday I think about it. Problem is, I don't always do a post on Fridays! Try to do one every 5 days or so. This won't work for me.
But the canning will work. Not that I need to be tied down to a day or date, but I can do what you did...on my own when I have time. So I read your post with interest. I think the carrots will be great pickled! I may just try this!
Carrots sure do make for a beautiful, colorful display in a jar. I have never canned carrots. Also love your photo a day page. I am finding myself looking forward to that post daily.
Canning is a production! We have the equipment, as my wife was a country girl- but you gotta be ready to make a lot to be worth the effort! I barter with my sister-in-law for canned goodies!
Pam... your pickled carrots look awesome! And I know they will be delicious when you try them. How could they not, looking like that.
I need to try pickling some carrots, too. Thanks for a great recipe...
dill-pickled carrots, i like. rosemary-pickled carrots? frankly, that sounds even better.
meanwhile, deadlines stink--sorry you missed the canning-challenge boat but i'm glad you're playing anyway!
Looks great ... you joiner you
These carrots look beautiful. I'm somewhat canning challenged. I really should give it more of an effort.
I LOVE this- will have to try these. There is no vegetable that isn't better with fresh herbs
xoxo Pattie
Good for you and doing so much~ The carrots ..what can I say?I love clear jars w/ "GOOD THINGS" in the them adorned w/ herbs..To me? Beautiful:)