The Best Mixed Garden Pickles Canning Recipe
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You clicked, so you must be looking for a mixed garden pickles canning recipe! Or came from my reel or stories when I was canning my last batch. Welcomeeeeee.
You know… when I started canning this mixed garden pickles canning recipe I thought I was onto something. Unchartered territory and whatnot. But, obviously pickled vegetables (and fruits) isn’t newwwww. So I figured there was some fancy name to what I was doing and, of course, there is. I just hadn’t heard of it.
Jardinière is a word I have no clue how to say, but it comes from the French word jardin meaning “garden” hence garden pickles, because I am not French. I dare not try to pronounce that, being raised by a serial mispronouncer mother after all. I would butcher it. I also did not learn a lick of French. I’ve pickled cucumbers, carrots, onions, zucchini, cauliflower, etc all separately, so why wasn’t I throwing it together?
I pickle these things to make a garden fresh pasta salad in the dead of winter, because sometimes it sounds real good, but leaving my house to buy produce that really isn’t that good doesn’t sound all that appeasing. That’s why I started canning garden pickles.
Whatever is ready in my garden, I dice up and pickle altogether in a simple pickling brine. When I’m ready to use it, I drain it, and toss it in a pasta salad. The pickling liquid also works well as the vinegar portion of my pasta salad dressing. Win-win.
Traditionally, jardiniere uses larges pieces of vegetables. I like them smaller for pasta salad, so instead of chopping them up AFTER canning, I chop them up before canning. I know, genius.
Best Fruits and Vegetables for Garden Pickles
- Carrots
- Celery
- Bell Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
- Onions
- Cauliflower
- Olives
- Cabbage
- Green Beans
- Radishes
I’m sure I missed some, but looking at my jars from the past years, I think those are the ingredients I’ve consistently used.
The most recent blend I made and shared pictures of is using my last head of cauliflower from the garden, carrots, celery, candy onion, bell peppers and cucumbers.
What do you use garden pickles for?
I’m glad you asked. Or didn’t ask. BUT, “how do you use this” is a question I get on every single preserving recipe I share. And it’s a valid question, because learning to preserve is one thing, but the bear nobody talks about is learning how to USE the food you preserve later one.
Because you can have all that pretty food on the shelf, look at it and appreciate it, but also be so stumped on how to even use it. I know it took me more learning to use the food I preserved than to actually learn how to preserve, thankfully because I’ve been canning with my Mom basically my whole life.
Preserving food and then using it takes some creativity, trial and error, and learning. Specifically this mixed garden pickles canning recipe is canned for my pantry to make pasta salad with. That’s really all I use it for. It is canned with pasta salad in mind during the off season when I can’t get it fresh out of the garden. Rather than buying expensive, out of season produce at the store, I can pop a jar and make a delicious pasta salad with this.
We eat seasonally here, but I also preserve seasonally, meaning I can enjoy produce out of season, but it’s still food I grew. Somedays food boredom can hit and the thought of opening another jar sounds like the worst possible thing, but once you get creative and comfortable using and creating new things with your home preserved foods, it becomes pretty fun!
To use this mixed garden pickles canning recipe, I recommend dumping the contents and draining it well. You can set aside some of the brine to use as the vinegar portion of you pasta salad if you do that. Toss the veggies into your salad and enjoy! I do adjust how much vinegar I add to the dressing since I’m adding pickled vegetables instead of fresh (more acid), but we really enjoy it and it’s sometimes really refreshing to have a summer barbecue side dish for dinner when the snow is flying in January.
Other ways I’ve used this is drained and just eaten as is for a snack, topping baked goat cheese for a tangy dip, and also as a salad topper when my lettuce is growing good.
One thing you will learn as you start preserving is what things you actually use. Not everyone loves every single recipe I share, and that’s normal. The things I can are for me and my family, and yours will be different. It takes a few years to learn what your staples will be and what you won’t really use. And this mixed garden pickles canning recipe may be a winner for you, or a loser. But sometimes it takes making a small batch to learn!
Let’s can this mixed garden pickles canning recipe!
Equipment You Might Want
- Veggie Chopper
- Wide Mouth Canning Jars
- Canning Lids & Screw Bands
- Water Bath Canner
- Steam Canner
- Jar Funnel
- Jar Lifter
Ingredients
The pickling brine makes about 8 pints of garden pickles… ish :D sorry I’m an incompetent recipe writer that doesn’t weigh nor measure my ingredients and just flies by the seat of her pants. Try it on for size… it’s fun.
- 6 cups 5% vinegar
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs salt
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 Tbs peppercorns
- 8 cloves garlic
- Mixed vegetables/fruits of choice (see list above for ideas)
Step 1: Prep
Start by washing your produce well. Process and chop up in the shape and size you want. I like to use my food chopper with the largest dicing screen and chop everything up. Again, make it the size and shape YOU want/need it to be.
Add all chopped pieces to a bowl and toss to mix.
In a stock pot, add vinegar, water, sugar, salt, bay leaves, peppercorns, and garlic. You can also add any herbs or spices you would enjoy as a flavor in your pickling brine. I like to add whole seeds and such and then strain the liquid as I add it to the jars so there’s no big pieces when I dump it later.
Bring the brine to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Cover and allow to gently simmer for about 15 minutes while you work to finish processing the vegetables
Step 2: Canning
Pack wide mouth pint or quart jars to 1/2 inch headspace. Tap bottom of jar on a towel to settle ingredients and pack them in as tightly as you can.
Ladle hot pickling brine into jars, straining the garlic and spices out as you go, to 1/2 inch headspace.
Remove any air bubbles and add more brine to maintain headspace.
Wipe jar rims and add lids and secure with a screw band according to lid manufacturer’s specifications.
Process pint jars for 10 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed.
Once processing time is complete, shut off heat, remove lid and allow jars to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the canner to a heat proof surface lined with a towel. Allow jars to cool for 18-24 hours undisturbed.
Step 3: Storage
After cooling, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Proper storage temperatures are 50-75F.
Shelf life is ’til you eat it. If the seal is good, the food is good. Aim to rotate canned foods out every 2 years or so for best flavor and nutritional value, but they will last far longer than that if need be.
To Use:
Drain liquid from jar and add veggie mix to a pasta salad. Use some of the brine for the dressing if desired!
Also great as is for snacking, tossing into a salad, or mixing with goat cheese for a protein packed and flavorful dip.
And now you have some delicious garden pickles on your shelf! I hope you enjoy my mixed garden pickles canning recipe.
Equipment
- Veggie ChopperWide Mouth Canning JarsCanning Lids & Screw BandsWater Bath CannerSteam CannerJar FunnelJar Lifter
Ingredients
- 6 cups 5% vinegar see list above for ideas
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs salt
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 Tbs peppercorns
- 8 cloves garlic
- your choice mix of vegetables
Instructions
- Step 1: Prep
- Start by washing your produce well. Process and chop up in the shape and size you want. I like to use my food chopper with the largest dicing screen and chop everything up. Again, make it the size and shape YOU want/need it to be.
- Add all chopped pieces to a bowl and toss to mix.
- In a stock pot, add vinegar, water, sugar, salt, bay leaves, peppercorns, and garlic. You can also add any herbs or spices you would enjoy as a flavor in your pickling brine. I like to add whole seeds and such and then strain the liquid as I add it to the jars so there’s no big pieces when I dump it later.
- Bring the brine to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Cover and allow to gently simmer for about 15 minutes while you work to finish processing the vegetables
- Step 2: Canning
- Pack wide mouth pint or quart jars to 1/2 inch headspace. Tap bottom of jar on a towel to settle ingredients and pack them in as tightly as you can.
- Ladle hot pickling brine into jars, straining the garlic and spices out as you go, to 1/2 inch headspace.
- Remove any air bubbles and add more brine to maintain headspace.
- Wipe jar rims and add lids and secure with a screw band according to lid manufacturer’s specifications.
- Process pint jars for 10 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed.
- Once processing time is complete, shut off heat, remove lid and allow jars to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the canner to a heat proof surface lined with a towel. Allow jars to cool for 18-24 hours undisturbed.
- Step 3: Storage
- After cooling, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Proper storage temperatures are 50-75F.
- Shelf life is ’til you eat it. If the seal is good, the food is good. Aim to rotate canned foods out every 2 years or so for best flavor and nutritional value, but they will last far longer than that if need be.
- To Use:
- Drain liquid from jar and add veggie mix to a pasta salad. Use some of the brine for the dressing if desired!
- Also great as is for snacking, tossing into a salad, or mixing with goat cheese for a protein packed and flavorful dip.
Be sure and check out all our other pickling recipes here!
Thank-you for the reciepe.