Easy Pickled Rhubarb

For fans of pickles or rhubarb, this recipe for Easy Pickled Rhubarb is right up your alley — no canning needed! Just make a quick apple cider vinegar brine, mix it with the rhubarb, and let it sit in the fridge. In a couple of days, you’ll have a tangy, tart, bright-pink rhubarb ready to put on top all the things.

Attention, pickle lovers! I am one of you people, and I am here for you with this easy pickled rhubarb that you will LOVE with all of your tart-loving tastebuds.

The Start of (Pickled) Rhubarb Season

I know it’s just the veryveryvery start of rhubarb season, but you see, I was at the grocery store the other day and there — tucked between the Swiss chard and the organic carrots that I always want to buy just because they still have those gorgeous long green frond-y stems attached but GARSH are they expensive — was a bundle of bright red rhubarb. Glory glory. Spring is HERE, y’all. The rhubarb said so.

So naturally, I hoofed it over to the display and maniacally shoveled a gigantic handful of stalks into my cart. Onlookers probably thought me insane — they might be right. But RHUBARB, you guys.

Of course, I ended up buying way more rhubarb than I needed for any one recipe, so first, I made a pie (recipe is coming soon!) and with what was left, I made pickles. And it was good.

Truth be told, I’ve never made my own pickles before, not in any variety. But I’ve always been intrigued by the idea, and I do love pickles. In fact, I have a whole back half of one shelf of our fridge dedicated to pickle jars holding dill spears, baby gherkins and bread and butter slices. It’s that tart, vinegar-based tang that renders a pucker, and I just love the flavor. It’s what I love most about kombucha, and vinaigrette and now, these pretty rhubarb pickles.

How to Make Pickled Rhubarb

There are plenty of variations of pickled rhubarb out there, but I kept my version simple: water, apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt. Boil the liquids, pour them over chopped rhubarb stalks in a resealable jar, seal the jar and let it chill in the fridge for a couple of days. The rhubarb will soften just slightly and take on that tangy-tart vinegar flavor with just a hint of sweetness. Eat the stalks straight out of the jar, chop them up and put them on top of yogurt (with a drizzle of honey — SO GOOD, trust), dice them and serve on top of a blue cheese turkey burger, brat or salad, etc. The options are innumerable, really.

You can even add a few of your favorite spices to the liquid mixture before boiling it — star anise, mustard seeds, peppercorns and cloves are just a few go-to options I’ve seen out there. For me, I like the simple version. It’s all I need to get my tangy-tart fix.

I’m just tickled pink for these rhubarb pickles (get it? Eh?).

4 from 5 votes

Easy Pickled Rhubarb

By Stephanie Wise

A tasty, tangy pickled rhubarb recipe that comes together with just three ingredients.

Servings: 4 Jars

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 7 minutes mins

Chilling Time: 2 days d

Total Time: 2 days d 17 minutes mins

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 lb rhubarb stalks, trimmed to fit 2, 8-ounce or 4, 4-ounce resealable jars
• ▢ 1 ½ cups water
• ▢ ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon salt

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions 

• Tightly arrange rhubarb upright in resealable jars. In medium saucepan, bring water, vinegar, sugar and salt to boil. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring until sugar and salt is dissolved.
• Pour water-vinegar mixture over rhubarb in jars, leaving about 1/2-inch headspace at top of each jar (there may be leftover water-vinegar mixture). Seal jars. Chill 48 hours in refrigerator. Store in fridge up to 1 month.

Notes

• Use the pickled rhubarb on top of meats, in salads, as part of a relish or dip, etc.
• 2, (8 oz) or 4, (4 oz) jars

Nutrition

Calories: 45kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 0.2g, Saturated Fat: 0.1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04g, Sodium: 1755mg, Potassium: 360mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 116IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 104mg, Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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