5+ Simple Recipes to Make Pickled Garlic (2024)

Making pickled garlic is a hassle-free process.

Here’s a quick and affordable way to pickle garlic:

• Select firm, blemish-free garlic bulbs for pickling.
• Peel garlic cloves quickly by shaking them between two metal bowls.
• Make a simple pickling brine with vinegar, water, and salt.
• Pack garlic into jars and pour the brine over them, ensuring no air bubbles.
• Store the jars in the refrigerator for up to four months.

Pickling garlic is a simple and cost-effective way to preserve and enjoy its flavor. Start by choosing good-quality garlic; fresh bulbs with tight skins are best for pickling. Once you’ve got your garlic, peel it effortlessly by giving the cloves a good shake between two metal bowls. This technique is not only efficient but also fast.

To create the pickled garlic, prepare a brine by combining water, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan—these ingredients are affordable and easy to find. Heat this mixture until it boils, then let it simmer. This step is straightforward and enhances the garlic’s flavor.

Pack your peeled cloves into jars, leaving a bit of space at the top. This space is essential to ensure proper pickling. Pour the hot brine over the cloves, taking care to release any trapped air by gently tapping the jars.

Finally, tighten the lids and place the jars in the refrigerator. There’s no need for complex canning equipment or a water bath, making this pickling method exceptionally accessible and economical. Your pickled garlic will be ready to elevate your dishes with its mellow, tangy flavor for several months without the bite of raw garlic.

Garlic not only tastes delicious when added to meals but has many health benefits to eating it, as well. Unfortunately, an unpeeled garlic bulb only has a shelf life of about five months. Learn how to make pickled garlic in a few simple steps and how to use pickled garlic in recipes.

Store garlic in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, and depending on which storage method you choose, garlic lasts from five months to one year. Peeled or chopped garlic has a shorter shelf life of only a few days.

Pickled garlic has a slightly different flavor than raw garlic. The process mellows out the sharp garlic bite without losing its essential character. Pickling garlic is yet another step in the garlic storing process, ensuring that you can enjoy garlic for several months.

How I Make Pickled Garlic

There are many different ways to preserve the extra garlic you grew or purchased at the store. It’s so simple to plant garlic from cloves that it is amazing that more people don’t do it.

The best way to store garlic depends on how you plan to use it later and how much you have on hand. Feel free to substitute minced garlic for garlic cloves in your favorite recipes, but for a real kick, pickled garlic is ideal.

Choose one or more of the different types of garlic to experiment with pickling to see which one you like best. There are many from which to choose.

If you will add it to your favorite recipes, it’s probably wise to freeze garlic. For other types of meals, you can pickle it or can it. Does peeled garlic go bad? Yes, unfortunately, garlic can spoil. That’s why it’s important to choose a good recipe for preservation.

Note that you can also choose to make granulated garlic vs fresh garlic. This process is simple and you can not only have fresh pickled garlic but garlic powder for yummy recipes.

Pickled garlic is relatively easy to make, and you can alter the final result by adding or omitting certain herbs and seasonings. We have included several pickling recipes to suit your needs, whether you are a novice or an expert in the kitchen.

We also added some tips on how to use your pickled garlic. How long is garlic good for after pickling? Pickled garlic usually lasts for three to four months in the refrigerator. Fresh garlic stored in the pantry has a shelf life of a couple of months.

Pickling is a great way to preserve all kinds of fruits and vegetables. It offers a different flavor than simply canning your produce. After you master garlic pickling, try a recipe for pickling jalapenos or pears. You might find that it’s your new favorite storage method.

How I Choose and Prepare Garlic for Pickling

Before you get started with the pickling process, make sure that the garlic you select is suitable for pickling. We’ll show you some tips for preparing the garlic by peeling and breaking it up into cloves. These steps are necessary if you have a large quantity of garlic. You don’t want to waste your day peeling all those cloves of garlic.

When choosing garlic, make sure that the bulbs are firm and tight. Do not use any garlic that is growing green shoots, has brown spots or blemishes, or feels soft to the touch.

To separate the cloves from the bulb, put them on a cutting board, root side down, and set the palm of your hand over the head and press down firmly to break apart the cloves.

Place the cloves into a large metal bowl and invert another metal bowl over the top. Grasp the bowls by creating a seal between the two and shake them vigorously for about a minute to remove the peels.

Blanching My Garlic to Remove Skins for Pickling

Blanching is a great way to remove stubborn skins that did not come off during preparation. This method takes less than a minute.

Fill a large bowl with cold water. Boil a saucepan of water and carefully drop in the fresh garlic cloves. Boil them for 30 seconds and then use a slotted spoon to move them to the bowl of ice water. Use your hands to separate the peels from the cloves in the water.

My Basic Pickled Garlic Recipe Without a Water Bath

Here is a basic pickled garlic recipe to get you started without using a water bath canner. Once you’ve mastered this, add additional herbs and seasonings to alter the flavor to your taste. Dill, thyme, coriander, black peppercorns, and mustard seeds are all great additions to pickled garlic.

Combine vinegar, water, and canning salt in a large pan and bring to a boil before reducing the heat to a simmer. Pack the garlic into the canning jars, leaving a half-inch of headspace. Add a bay leaf and a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes to each jar.

Ladle the brine over the garlic, and remove any air bubbles. Place lids on the jars and tighten until they are fingertip-tight. Store in the refrigerator for up to four months.

How I Make Pickled Garlic Cloves with Red Wine Vinegar

When it comes to pickling garlic cloves, you can use most types of vinegar, including white vinegar, white wine vinegar, and cider vinegar. For this recipe, learn how to make pickled garlic cloves using red wine vinegar.

Place the pint jars into the water bath canner and bring to a bare simmer. Pour the wine vinegar, water, and salt into a pot on high heat and bring to a boil.

Remove the Mason jars from the hot water and pack them with the garlic cloves, leaving a half-inch of headspace. Ladle the vinegar mixture over the top of the whole cloves, and use a knife to push out any air bubbles.

Place the lids on the jars and set them into the boiling water bath for a processing time of ten minutes. Remove jars carefully and set aside to cool. Let the garlic rest for two days before enjoying and store for up to one year.

Try this mixture of vinegar and spices for a new pickled okra recipe or use carrots or onions. Pickling is an ideal preservation process for most veggies as it is so versatile.

Making My Korean Style Pickled Garlic

If you enjoy some spice in your food, you will enjoy this salty, crunchy, and spicy version of pickled garlic. They’re great for slicing and flavoring noodle and rice dishes with a little kick.

Pack the garlic cloves into a Mason jar, leaving a half-inch of headspace between the garlic and the jar rim. Combine wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in a pan and bring it to a boil before simmering for ten minutes.

Allow the brine sauce to cool before pouring it over the garlic until the cloves are covered. Seal the jars and store at room temperature for three weeks. Refrigerate after opening.

Using My Pickled Garlic

Once you’ve learned the best way to pickle garlic cloves, you probably want to know how to use them. While you can pretty much add pickled garlic to any dish that you would add fresh garlic to, one of our favorites is pickled garlic and cream cheese spread.

Combine all ingredients in a processor and blend until smooth with a little texture. Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to three days. Spread it on crackers or use as a dip for veggies.

Depending on the recipe that requires garlic as an ingredient, it can be helpful to know how much minced garlic is in one clove or more. Whether pickled or frozen, add some garlic to your favorite dishes. It provides a pop of additional flavor and is beneficial for heart health.

Pickling garlic cloves is a relatively easy task to accomplish when you’ve got the right ingredients and steps to take. Pop open a jar and toss those flavorful cloves of garlic into a salad or add to your favorite appetizer. However you decide to use pickled garlic, you can now enjoy the many benefits they have to offer you for months to come.

We hope you liked learning how to make pickled garlic with these methods, and we’d love it if you’d share our pickled garlic recipes with your friends and family on Pinterest and Facebook.