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, tastes better, and has a better texture!
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.
Ingredients needed (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- Cauliflower
- Yellow onion
- Celery
- Carrot
- Red bell pepper
- Garlic
- White vinegar
- Water
- Pickling/Canning salt
- Seasonings (coriander seeds, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, oregano, bay leaves)
How to serve giardiniera
- Italian giardiniera can be found on salads in Italian restaurants, however, it’s also great for snacking right out of the jar!
- The tanginess of the vinegary veggies really complement the richness of cheese & salami on antipasto platters.
- Skewer some of the veggies on a toothpick for a fun Bloody Mary garnish!
Here’s a sample menu for an antipasto platter with Italian Giardiniera:
- A variety of crackers, French bread, focaccia bread, or a sliced baguette.
- Italian meats like prosciutto, salami, mortadella, or capicola.
- Italian cheeses like fresh mozzarella, provolone, fontina, Parmesan, or gorgonzola.
- Marinated olives
- Dried and fresh fruits like grapes, dried apricots, or berries.
- Fresh vegetables like celery, carrots, cucumber.
- Jams, mustards, or Balsamic vinegar.
My Quick Pickle Cookbook: 10 Easy Recipes + Bonus Pickling Guide (pictured below) is an eBook filled with 10 delicious pickle recipes! 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
- Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips
NOTES:
- 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.
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Italian Pickled Vegetables (Giardiniera)
Equipment
- 3 16 oz. canning jars OR (2) 24 oz. canning jars
- sauce pan
Ingredients
- 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 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 1/4 cup water
- 2 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar bottle should say 5% acidity
- 2 tablespoons pickling/canning salt
Instructions
- Divide the vegetables (cauliflower, carrot, celery, red bell pepper, onion, garlic) and seasonings (coriander seeds, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, dried oregano, bay leaves) among the canning jars.
- In a sauce pan, bring water, vinegar, and pickling/canning salt to a boil, stir. When the salt has dissolved, pour the liquid over the vegetables in the jars (I like to transfer the liquid to a measuring cup for easy pouring).
- Set on counter to cool. Once room temperature, place lids on and refrigerate. Let the pickling do its magic for about 2-3 days before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
- Using best practices, the giardiniera should last 1-2 months in the refrigerator.
- If desired, add sliced jalapeno to make it spicy.
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥
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Where and when do you put the bay leaves in?. Is it one bay leaf to each jar?
If you’re using one large jar, you’ll add everything to the jar, if you’re using 2 jars, you’ll divide everything equally to each jar. Enjoy!
Delicious make it and take for lunch every day
Love it!
My daughter loves these with cauliflower only. So delicious. It is a perfect pickle. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Espectacular
So delicious!
Love it. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious!!! Made several times now and also shared with friends. The only thing I changed was to add 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes to each jar. Fantastic way to get more veggies in.
I love that! If you like spicy, you should check out the Habanero Garlic Pickles in the “Pickles” section of the blog. They’re my favorite! :)
I canned this in a water bath. The vegetables shrunk. I don’t know why. I’m sure it’ll still be good but I’m at awe on why they shrunk during processing
I only do refrigerator pickles, so I’m sorry I have no experience with canning. I hope they turn out well for you!
How many days do you leave in the fridge for the pickling to happen?
Hi Liz. They should be good to eat after they have sat in the fridge for 2-3 days. Enjoy!
Great recipe, I haven’t tried it yet but I will be. Can this recipe be used for canning? I’m getting a list of recipes for when our garden is ready for harvesting.
Thank you, Linda! I developed this recipe for quick/refrigerator pickles, so I cannot attest to the canning method. I can’t wait to start harvesting from my own garden, so I know how excited you must me too!
What is a good amount of time to let it ‘ferment’ before consuming? And how long is it good for? Thanks!
Hi Shelley! This is a “quick pickle”, otherwise known as a refrigerator pickle, so it does not ferment. I like to let them sit in the fridge for 2 days before eating them. As for how long it is good for, I’ve had a jar in the fridge for over a month and it was still great!