Ginger Pickled Carrots
I have three words for you… ginger pickled carrots! If your farmer’s market is flooded with gorgeous locally grown carrots right now like mine is then you have to try this delicious recipe! And if not, you still need to try this recipe. Yes, it’s that good.
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Table of contents
Why You’ll Want To Make Ginger Pickled Carrots
I have a confession. Canning intimidates me a little. So when Katie asked if I was interested in reviewing Rebecca’s cookbook, Not Your Mama’s Canning Book, I said, “suuuuure,” while covertly nodding my head noooooo.
The canning process is always a little scary for me but I decided to face my fears, jump in and make these ginger pickled carrots.
It was hard to choose a recipe to start with, but I was drawn to the ginger pickled carrots. Maybe because I had just bought a ton of carrots at the farmer’s market, but then I started thinking that they may be good on a charcuterie board or to top off Chicken Lettuce Wraps or in a homemade Banh Mi, and then I couldn’t start making these pickled carrots fast enough.
If you are a seasoned pro at canning then you’ll definitely want to first pick up a copy of this book, next make these carrots that we have today, and lastly, you should also check out our new recipe for simple Rhubarb Compote with Ginger and Cardamom. It’s another great recipe that can be canned!
Ultimately I realized that the process was familiar, pretty simple and with Rebecca’s awesome instructions not too scary. Just boil the vinegar, ginger, star anise, a few other seasonings and sugar until the sugar melts.
Then simmer the carrots in the brine for a quick 2 minutes and you’re off to the canning races! Afterwards, I was the proud owner of three gorgeous pints of bright orange pickled deliciousness!
So if you are on the fence, let me tell you, these carrots are worth getting over your canning fears and they can be used in a wide variety of recipes. Or you can eat them straight out of the jar because they are that good!
Ingredient Notes
Carrots
You will need 2 pounds of carrots that have been peeled. From there, get out your mandoline or cut by hand into 1/4-inch thick by 3-inch long matchsticks. We do not recommend buying pre-cut carrots as they do not have enough flavor.
Rice Wine Vinegar
For the acid in the brine, we use rice wine vinegar which is moderately acidic. Do not use seasoned rice wine vinegar as that has added sugar and sodium in it.
Seasonings
- fresh ginger root
- star anise
- granulated sugar
- crushed red pepper flakes
- garlic, peeled and minced
- kosher salt
How To Pickle Carrots
Step 1: Cut Carrots
Use a julienne blade on a mandoline or a vegetable peeler to cut the carrots into ¼-inch (6-mm) matchstick pieces about 3 inches (7.6 cm) in length.
Step 2: Make Brine
In a stainless steel or other non-reactive pot, combine the vinegar, water, ginger, star anise, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring just until the sugar is dissolved. Use a slotted spoon to remove the star anise from the boiling brine and divide them evenly between the jars.
Step 3: Cook Carrots In Brine and Place in Jars
Add the carrot sticks to the boiling brine. Bring the liquid back to a boil, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Immediately use tongs or a slotted spoon to divide the carrot sticks between the jars, also putting 3 strips of ginger in each jar, packing if necessary to fit them all in, leaving ½ inch (13 mm) of headspace. Use a ladle to pour the hot brine over the carrot sticks, being sure to cover them.
Step 4: Prep Jars For Processing
Insert a sterile chopstick or knife into the jars to release air bubbles and add more brine if necessary to maintain the ½ inch (13 mm) headspace. Moisten a paper towel with vinegar and wipe the rims of the jars. Center a lid over each jar and screw on the rings to fingertip tightness or fix the clamps in place.
Step 5: Process Jars of Carrots
Place the jars in a boiling water canner filled with boiling water to cover the jars by 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a full rolling boil and process for 10 minutes. Using canning tongs, carefully transfer the jars to a cooling rack or towel-lined counter to cool, undisturbed for 24 hours.
Step 6: Store
Wipe down the jars, remove the rings, and label them before storing them in a cool, dark place for up to a year.
Expert Tips for Canning Carrots and Other Vegetables
If this is your first time canning vegetables, welcome to the club! Don’t fret if you’re a little nervous to try canning for the first time, I was too. To make sure these pickled carrots turn out perfectly every time, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
1. Don’t use chipped jars—chipped or cracked jars might introduce bacteria into your canned goods, which isn’t good for you! Plus, chipped jars might lead to leakages.
2. Sterilize your jars before canning—sterilizing your canning equipment before making these ginger pickled carrots is crucial. Again, you don’t want any bacteria or mold spores making their way into your canned goods. Use stainless-steel appliances if possible, and thoroughly clean the glass jars before starting the canning process.
3. Get rid of air bubbles—you can dislodge any air bubbles in the jars by inserting a knife or sterile chopstick into each and wiggling it around.
4. Boil the jars for roughly 10 minutes—when canning vegetables, do not try and take any shortcuts. The canned vegetables need lots of time and heat to properly kill all the bacteria and pickle properly. After you’ve boiled the pickled carrots for 10 minutes, you’ll need to let them rest on a towel for 24 hours.
5. Check for an indentation in the lid—after these ginger pickled carrots have rested on the countertop for 24 hours, check to make sure there’s an indentation in the lid. This will indicate whether or not the jars sealed properly.
More Pickling, Sauces, and Condiment Recipes to Try
- Pickled Beets are a favorite summertime side dish to make.
- Maple Pickled Onions are a great topper for burgers and to add to cheese boards.
- This recipe for Roasted Delicata Squash Salad with Warm Pickled Onion Dressing is an outside-the-box recipe.
- This Basil Pesto is a great way to preserve the basil harvest. Store jars of it in the freezer all winter long.
- This Peach Maple Barbecue Sauce is finger-licking good!
Carrot Recipe Love
- If you are a big fan of carrots try this recipe for Mashed Carrots and Parsnips.
- This Roasted Carrots and Onions recipe is great for meal prep.
- Our Roasted Baby Carrots are an easy side for a holiday meal or a weeknight dinner.
- These Maple Glazed Carrots are sweet and savory and not syrupy like some recipes.
- Our recipe for Carrot Salad with Lemony Dressing is a burst of bright flavor.
- This Carrot Ginger Soup with Oregano Croutons is clean eating at its best.
- Have you tried this recipe for Maple Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting yet? It’s one of our all time favorite desserts.
- These recipes for Carrot Cake Waffles or Morning Glory Muffins are two ways to get in your carrots at breakfast!
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintGinger Pickled Carrots Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3 pints 1x
Description
I have three words for you… ginger pickled carrots! If your farmer’s market is flooded with gorgeous locally grown carrots right now like mine is this Fall then you have to try this delicious vegetarian canning recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (908 g) of peeled carrots
- 2 cups (475 ml) unseasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) water
- 9 long strips (about 3- to 4-inch [7.6- to 10-cm] each) of peeled, fresh ginger root
- 3 whole star anise
- 3/4 cup (144 g) raw or granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (5 g) crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Use a julienne blade on a mandoline or a vegetable peeler to cut the carrots into ¼-inch (6-mm) matchstick pieces about 3 inches (7.6 cm) in length.
- In a stainless steel or other non-reactive pot, combine the vinegar, water, ginger, star anise, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring just until the sugar is dissolved. Use a slotted spoon to remove the star anise from the boiling brine and divide them evenly between the jars.
- Add the carrot sticks to the boiling brine. Bring the liquid back to a boil, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Immediately use tongs or a slotted spoon to divide the carrot sticks between the jars, also putting 3 strips of ginger in each jar, packing if necessary to fit them all in, leaving ½ inch (13 mm) of headspace. Use a ladle to pour the hot brine over the carrot sticks, being sure to cover them.
- Insert a sterile chopstick or knife into the jars to release air bubbles and add more brine if necessary to maintain the ½ inch (13 mm) headspace. Moisten a paper towel with vinegar and wipe the rims of the jars. Center a lid over each jar and screw on the rings to fingertip tightness or fix the clamps in place.
- Place the jars in a boiling water canner filled with boiling water to cover the jars by 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a full rolling boil and process for 10 minutes. Using canning tongs, carefully transfer the jars to a cooling rack or towel-lined counter to cool, undisturbed for 24 hours.
- Wipe down the jars, remove the rings and label before storing in a cool, dark place for up to a year.
Notes
Be sure to use unseasoned rice vinegar rather than seasoned rice vinegar. Seasoned rice vinegar has sugar and salt added already. We prefer to control the amount and type of sugar and salt we add to our carrots.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: Canning
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 54
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 76 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
i would love to try some new canning recipes!
There are some very fun recipes in this cookbook!
Ooh I’ve canned lots of pickles, but never ginger pickles before – this will be a fun new one to try!
Awesome! The ginger with the star anise is such a yummy combination!
I definitely want to try this recipe. Do you think I can replace the sugar with honey or 100% pure maple syrup!
I don’t see why you couldn’t sub out the sugar, but it will probably change the consistency and flavor. And you’ll probably need less honey or maple syrup. If you try it, let me know how it turns out! Honey and ginger are a great combo!
I would love to have this book! We do a lot of canning here
You will love this book if you do a lot of canning! The Big Payoff recipes are really awesome!!
Boy do i need this! i am a beginner canner!
It’s an awesome book for all levels of canners. I am fairly new to canning too and had a great time making these carrots. Good luck with your canning adventures!!
My favourite things to can are condiments, and tomatoes. I’ve just bought a pressure canner and want to branch out to soups and sauces. Those pickled carrots are definitely a must try!
Ohhh, I would love to hear how your experience goes with your new pressure canner!! That’s next level canning that I haven’t tried yet:) I’m sure these carrots will become a favorite!
This recipe looks great! I’m a fairly experienced canner (have a peck of Roma tomatoes on my counter as I write getting ready to turn into diced tomatoes for the winter), but the cookbook looks like something I will add to my collection. Love the Big Payoff idea!
You won’t be disappointed! The Big Payoff section is really special. So nice to have delicious go-to recipes right at your fingertips.
I love to garden and grow my own food. It’s always satisfying to put some of that great produce in jars….I’ll definitely be canning those beautiful carrots.
They really are pretty and delicious too! There is definitely a feeling of accomplishment when you look at all of the beautiful jars of yumminess you have made. Have fun!!
I have been making pickles the past two years and would love to expand my canning repetoire – this book looks awesome
It really is an awesome book! Full of unique and yummy recipes. It’s the perfect book to expand your canning horizons.
I am definitely going to try this recipe. Canning is my jam. See what I did there? Ha! I am canning salsa, chili sauce, and pear this weekend. I get a little obsessed this time of year.
Ha! You would love Rebecca’s cookbook! You are an “obsessive canner”;) Sounds like you’re going to have a weekend full of canning fun. Love it!
I made it my goal last summer to tackle my fear of canning…and now I can’t get enough of it! I usually stick to jams, but I’d be up for expanding!
Good for you Barbara! I can in bits and spurts:) This was a really fun recipe and very different from anything I had done before. I’m so glad that I tried something different. ~ Stephanie
Love that she provides recipes too! These ginger pickled carrots sound so good! Aren’t they pretty too in the canning jars?!
The Big Payoff recipes are really awesome! It’s a really fun cookbook. And the carrots are delicious and pretty. Thanks Taylor! ~ Stephanie
These carrots look amazing! I can think of so many ways to use them!
Thanks Marye! They are really good and go with so many different dishes! ~ Stephanie
I was an obsessive canner several years ago (pre motherhood) but I’m far more selective now. I think I’ll give these carrots a try as our CSA has The Best Carrots and we have loads of them.
You won’t be disappointed! They are awesome. Enjoy! ~ Stephanie
I generally can jams, so I a interested now in branching out a bit.
It’s so worth it!! These carrots are so good and can be used in many different ways!! ~ Stephanie