Italian Pickled Vegetables (Giardiniera)

Made with fresh vegetables, vinegar, and spices, Italian Pickled Vegetables (Giardiniera) is the perfect crunchy topping for salads, sandwiches, antipasto platters and more!

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Italian Giardiniera, is a pickled vegetable medley that’s traditionally made with cauliflower, carrots, celery, pepperoncini peppers, red bell pepper, and pickling spices. 

You can buy jars of it at the store, however, homemade is easy to make and tastes so much better and fresher!  

While it is very similar, Italian Giardiniera is different from Chicago-Style Giardiniera (shown below).

The Italian version is brined in vinegar.  In contrast, Chicago-Style is brined in salted water to extract moisture (which keeps the veggies crunchy), then preserved in oil. 

The latter also has chopped hot peppers and olives.  Here is my Chicago-Style Hot Giardiniera recipe. (shown below)

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Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):

• Cauliflower
• Onion
• Celery
• Carrot
• Red bell pepper
• Garlic
• Vinegar
• Water
• Pickling/Canning salt
• Seasonings (coriander seeds, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, oregano, bay leaves)

How to serve Italian Pickled Vegetables?

Italian giardiniera is typically found on salads in Italian restaurants and on antipasto platters, however, it’s great for snacking right out of the jar!

The tanginess of the vinegary veggies really complements the richness of cheeses and meats like salami and prosciutto.

For a fun antipasto platter idea, add this Italian Giardiniera, crackers, Italian meats, cheeses, olives, a sliced baguette, and dried fruits to a large cutting board, table top, or serving tray.  

For a fun Bloody Mary garnish, skewer some of the veggies on a toothpick and lay across the top of the glass or on the top of the drink! 

How long is homemade giardiniera good for?

Using best practices, the giardiniera should last 1-2 months in the refrigerator.

My Quick Pickle Cookbook: 10 Easy Recipes + Bonus Pickling Guide (pictured below) is an eBook filled with 10 delicious pickle recipes all in one convenient location!  It includes a bonus pickling guide to help you get started!

Looking for more pickle recipes?  Here are some favorites: 

• Mexican Hot Carrots
• Pickled Hot Banana Peppers & Onions 
• Habanero Garlic Pickles
• Garlic Dill Pickles (pictured below)
• Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips

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NOTES: 

• Need pickle jars?  For this recipe, you’ll need either a couple 32 oz. jars or (3-4) 16 oz. jars.  Here are the two sizes that I use most often: 16 oz. jars HERE from Amazon and 32 oz. jars HERE from Amazon.
• I did not add pepperoncini peppers to the ingredient list, but feel free to add them to your jars.  Just remember, you may need an extra jar to account for the space they’ll take up.
• To add a little spice, I sometimes put a couple dried chile de arbol peppers in each container.

Italian Pickled Vegetables (Giardiniera)

Flavorful Eats

Made with fresh vegetables, vinegar, and spices, Italian Pickled Vegetables (Giardiniera) is the perfect crunchy topping for salads, sandwiches, antipasto platters and more!

5 from 8 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Marinate 2 days d

Total Time 2 days d 15 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6 cups

Equipment

• 3 16 oz. canning jars OR (2) 24 oz. canning jars

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 cups cauliflower florets approx. 1 small head
• 3/4 cup sliced carrot approx 1 large carrot
• 3/4 cup sliced celery
• 3/4 cup sliced red bell pepper
• 1/2 yellow onion sliced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar bottle should say 5% acidity
• 2 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp pickling/canning salt
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

 

• Divide vegetables and seasonings among the canning jars.
• In a sauce pan, bring water, vinegar, and salt to a boil, stir. When the salt has dissolved, pour the liquid over the vegetables in the jars.
• Once room temperature, place lid on and refrigerate. Let the pickling do its magic for about 2-3 days before eating. Enjoy!

Notes

Should last 1-2 months in the refrigerator.

Keyword Pickles, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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