Spicy Green Tomato Pickles Canning Recipe

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Do you have some green tomatoes sitting around from your garden that fell off the vines? Maybe where you live the frost has already come and you have green tomatoes from pulling your harvest. Well, today we are going to show you how to make Green Tomato Pickles!

Do you have some green tomatoes sitting around from your garden that fell off the vines? Maybe where you live the frost has already come and you have green tomatoes from pulling your harvest. Well, today we are going to show you how to make Green Tomato Pickles! #greentomatopickles #tomatopickles #spicypickles

Spicy Green Tomato Pickles

Green tomatoes are great to use for pickling because they are firm and tend to be easier to cut and work with. With the addition of spices and hot peppers of your choosing, this recipe for pickling green tomatoes adds a little zest to traditional pickling methods.

Sometimes it’s hard to get all of your tomatoes to ripen by the time of the first frost. Luckily, tomatoes are one of the things that will ripen even after they are picked and brought inside.

However, if you don’t want to ripen your tomatoes, there are plenty of Green Tomato Recipes out there to use them in, including this one for Pickled Green Tomatoes!

This is a recipe for how to can Tomato Pickles which will make them shelf-stable until you open them. (Not a recipe for Refrigerator Pickles) These aren’t your typical dill pickles but they do make a delicious garnish and tasty addition to many different recipes.

green tomato pickles

Ingredients for Green Tomato Pickles

  • Green Tomatoes. This is a great way to use up all those garden leftovers at the end of the season! You can use full-size tomatoes or green cherry tomatoes depending on what you have!
  • Onion. Any kind of onion (yellow, white, or red onions) will work just fine in this recipe.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar. I buy mine by the gallon from Azure.
  • Water.
  • Sugar. Sugar helps to cut the acid in pickles. It can be left out if desired but keep in mind that your pickles will be more sour.
  • Pickling salt. You don’t have to use Pickling Salt if you don’t have any but it will make the brine a little more cloudy. I like using Pink Salt.
  • Turmeric. I usually but Turmeric by the pound because we tend to go through it quickly.
  • Mustard Seed.
  • Celery Seed.
  • Hot Peppers. These can be dried or fresh, although I recommend dried or using red pepper flakes if you want the spiciest flavor profile. These can also be left out entirely if you do not want spicy pickles.
  • Garlic Cloves. This is optional but you could also add in whole cloves of garlic for even more flavor!

Potato Salad

How to Use Green Tomato Pickles

Not sure how to enjoy these pickles once you make them? Here are some ideas!

  • Use them as a topping on your burgers.
  • Add to a sandwich for a spicy kick.
  • Dice up and add into homemade Potato Salad or Egg Salad.
  • Add them to a Charcuterie Tray.
  • Dice and use as a relish topping on hot dogs.
  • Dice into smaller pieces and use as a flavor booster in wraps or salads.

Uses for Green Tomatoes

FAQs About Pickled Green Tomatoes

What do pickled green tomatoes taste like?

Pickled green tomatoes taste like pickles! Since they are pickled at a firmer stage than a ripe tomato, the texture is similar to a regular cucumber pickle, however, obviously, the shape is a little bit different. Pickled green tomatoes are best when used in a dish, versus eaten plain, however, you can do what you want!

What to do with lots of green tomatoes?

Finding canning recipes such as this Pickled Green Tomatoes recipe is a great way to use lots of green tomatoes. You could also make a green tomato relish or chutney. You could even make a green tomato ketchup!

Can I freeze green tomatoes?

Yes! Just like a red tomato, green tomatoes can be frozen as well. Before freezing, you will need to decide if you plan on using them in recipes with the skin on (fried, stir fry, etc) or if you want to remove the skin by blanching. Here’s my blog post on Freezing Tomatoes.


green tomato pickles

Instructions for Making Green Tomato Pickles

Cut the brown ends off the tomatoes and slice into 1 inch wedges

green tomato pickles

Cut the onion into thin slices and combine with the tomatoes into a large glass bowl. Sprinkle the pickling salt over the tomatoes and onions and mix well.

Cover and allow the vegetables to sit in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove the vegetables and rinse. In a large pot combine the cider vinegar, water, turmeric, celery seed, mustard seed, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer over low heat.
green tomato pickles

Thinly slice the desired amount of hot peppers. (I used ½ a red bell pepper and 1 yellow hot pepper here.)

Start with clean, sterilized jars and begin filling them with a few slices of peppers. (How much you add to your jars will vary depending on how much ‘heat’ you’d like to add!) Pack the jars with the tomatoes and onions. Leave about a ½ inch headspace from the top of the jar.

Using a funnel, pour the hot vinegar and spice mixture into the jars. Check for air bubbles and try to release them by gently tapping the jars, or by using the end of a clean kitchen utensil. While you are doing this, begin to heat the water in your canner and bring it to a boil.

Wipe the rims clean and securely attach the lids. Return the jars to a boiling hot water bath canner for 15 minutes for pints or 20 minutes for quarts.

green tomato pickles

Makes 2 1-quart jars or 4 pints. With all pickles, it’s best to wait at least 6 weeks or so before you decide to indulge. Otherwise, they may not have that pickley taste.

Need to print this recipe for Spicy Green Tomato Pickles? Grab it below!

Spicy Green Tomato Pickles

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Green Tomato Pickles
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 2 quarts

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds green tomatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 4 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons pickling salt
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 or 2 hot peppers

Instructions

  1. Cut the brown ends off the tomatoes and slice into 1 inch wedges
  2. Cut the onion into thin slices and combine with the tomatoes into a large glass bowl. Sprinkle the pickling salt over the tomatoes and onions and mix well.
  3. Cover and allow the vegetables to sit in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
  4. Remove the vegetables and rinse. In a large pot combine the cider vinegar, water, turmeric, celery seed, mustard seed, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer over low heat.
  5. Thinly slice the desired amount of hot peppers. (I used ½ a red bell pepper and 1 yellow hot pepper)
  6. Start with clean, sterilized jars and begin filling them with a few slices of the peppers. (How much you add to your jars will vary depending on how much ‘heat’ you’d like to add!) Pack the jars with the tomatoes and onions. Leave about a ½ inch from the top of the jar.
  7. Using a funnel, pour the hot vinegar and spice mixture into the jars. Check for air bubbles and try to release them by gently tapping the jars, or by using the end of a clean kitchen utensil. Wipe the rims clean and securely attach the lids. Return the jars to a hot water bath for 15 minutes for pints or 20 minutes for quarts.

Recipe Notes

Makes 2 1-quart jars or 4 pints. With all pickles, it's best to wait at least 6 weeks or so before you decide to indulge. Otherwise, they may not have that pickly taste.

Pickled Beans

More Canning Recipes:

Make sure you check out all the free Canning and Preserving Recipes we have on Little House Living!


What’s next? If you have more green tomatoes lying around, check out these Simple and Delicious Uses for Green Tomatoes.

I recommend a Presto Pressure Canner and the book Putting Food By for all your canning projects!

Have you ever made green tomato pickles? What does your family think of them?


merissabio

This Spicy Green Pickle Recipe was originally posted on Little House Living in September 2013. It has been updated as of September 2022.

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33 Comments

  1. Hess look amazing! We’ve always made green tomato relish with our green tomatoes – it’s a family favorite – but I’m gonna have to branch out and try these! 🙂

  2. HI, The last couple of things I tried to pin to Pintrest would not take. They said the image was too small. Not sure what that means, but I don’t have trouble with any other sites. Just a heads up. Have a great day!

  3. Hi Merissa – last weekend I decided to make a huge canning run of end-of-the-season tomatoes from our local farm, but when I got there all they had were green tomatoes (the very last of the season tomatoes). After some frumping around I bought them anyway with no idea what to do with them. That afternoon I found your recipe for Spicy Green Tomato Pickles and it was just perfect! I love how you give the ingredients for 2 quarts, that made it easily scalable since I had about 30 pounds to process. They are beautiful and I can’t wait to share them with our family. Thank you so much for sharing this great way to use the whole harvest!

  4. Now THIS sounds like something that would be right up my husband’s alley….he loves anything spicy! Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Merry Monday! 🙂

  5. These look delicious. My family loves pickled green tomatoes, especially with fried catfish. I haven’t made them, but now I want to. Thanks!

  6. I’ve never been able to make cucumber pickles, they always come out tasting awful, but maybe I could make these! Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop, I’m pinning! (Love your blog too, I haven’t come across it before!)

  7. I am in the middle of making the brine for these pickles. Are the 3 Tbsp of pickling salt added to the brine?
    Thanks

  8. Do you mix the tomatoes with the brine and simmer or just the liquid mixture is brought to a simmer and poured over the tomatoes in the jar?

    1. Try Mrs. Wages Xtra Crisp Granules. They are life savers. Only a 1/4 teaspoon to a quart. Drop on top before pouring in brine. I wouldn’t can any vegetables of this type without it. Tomatoes, Pickles, Jalepenos or any other type of pepper. It’s hard to find now, but try Ace Hardware. It’s cost is usually around $5 for a container.

  9. Are these sweet? I’m looking to replicate hot canned green tomatoes my mom made back in the 60’s. They were not sweet but Im not sure that precludes the use of some sugar.

  10. I am out of celery seeds, however I do have celery salt. Can the celery salt be substituted and if so, how much would I cut down the pickling salt?

  11. I made these tonight. I’ve never made pickled tomatoes. They look yummy. Can’t wait to share with my kids.

  12. THIS sounds Dlish could u slice the tomato and fry it like green fried toma toes that only

    Way i I.ate. Them Meat

  13. Grandy’s used to have a great fried catfish dinner and they would serve spicy green tomatoes as a relish. It was so southern and sooo good.