Slices of tangy, savory, umami-packed pickled garlic in miso brine are an incredible addition to salads, sandwiches, soups, stews, and more!
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Honestly, I can't believe it has taken me this long to pickle some garlic! I LOVE making quick pickles, like my pickled shallots, pickled onions and jalapeños, pickled carrots, pickled radishes, and pickled chillies.
Almost all of my pickle recipes contain garlic, and I love fishing out those garlic pieces to add a burst of flavor to all kinds of dishes. So why not just create a dedicated jar of pickled garlic?
This pickled garlic has such amazing flavors from miso, coriander seeds, a touch of sweetness, and crushed red pepper. You can play around with the seasonings, if you like, but I do love this particular combination with the savory garlic!
Use pickled garlic slices to add some garlicky, tangy flavor to sandwiches or wraps. Or, stir them in at the very end when making soup, stew, or chili for a fresh, super garlicky flavor!
💖 Why You'll Love Pickled Garlic
- quick and easy to make
- tangy, garlicky, and slightly spicy
- versatile! Add to sandwiches, wraps, soups, stews, tacos, etc. Anywhere you need some tangy garlic flavor.
✓ Ingredients and Substitutions
- garlic - The only time-consuming part of making pickled garlic is peeling all of those cloves. Some grocery stores sell whole cloves of peeled garlic, and for this recipe, that would be a HUGE time-saver!
- vinegar - You can use apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice vinegar to make this pickled garlic.
- sugar and salt - Adds flavor and helps preserve the garlic.
- spices - Crushed pepper and whole coriander seeds add so much flavor! You can use other spices, like mustard seeds, black peppercorns, etc.
- miso - Adds saltiness and umami to the pickles.
🔪 How to Make Pickled Garlic
Peel the garlic cloves, and slice them into thin pieces or matchsticks. Or, buy pre-peeled cloves and save yourself a lot of time. See note on how to peel a lot of garlic more quickly.
Add the garlic, vinegar, water, salt, sugar, coriander, crushed pepper, and miso to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove the pan from the heat. Let the pickled garlic cool in the pan.
Then, use a spoon to transfer the garlic and spices from the pan into the jar. Top off the jar with the liquid from the pan.
Pop your pickled into the refrigerator. You can use your quick pickled garlic now, but it tastes even better if you can wait another hour. Or better yet, a few hours! But I don't blame you if you want to use it immediately!
💡 How to Quickly Peel a LOT of Garlic
Slice about ⅛" off the bottom of each head of garlic (the side where you can see the roots), then place the cloves on a cutting board. Use the bottom of a heavy bowl to smash the cloves a little bit, then transfer them into a lidded bowl. Cover, and shake vigorously, and the peels will come off. It still takes some time, but it's a lot less tedious this way!
🫙 Important Storage Directions
Like my other pickle recipes, this is a quick pickle, also called a refrigerator pickle. They are called that because they are not shelf stable.
Pickled garlic will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
This is a quicker, easier pickling method. Quick pickles must be stored in the fridge, but they don't require sterilizing jars, and many recipes don't need any boiling whatsoever!
The salt helps preserve the garlic, so I don't recommend omitting or reducing it, as it will impact how long your pickled garlic will keep. You can reduce or omit the sugar, if needed.
📖 Recipe
Quick Pickled Garlic 🧄
Equipment
- Pint Jar - or similar-sized jar with an airtight lid
Ingredients
- 2 heads garlic peeled
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar or white, rice wine, or red wine vinegar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or more for spicier
- 2 teaspoons miso
Instructions
- Peel the garlic cloves, and slice them into thin pieces or matchsticks. Or, buy pre-peeled cloves and save yourself a lot of time. See note on how to peel a lot of garlic quickly.
- Add the garlic, vinegar, water, salt, sugar, coriander, crushed pepper, and miso to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove the pan from the heat. Let the pickled garlic cool in the pan.
- Then, use a spoon to transfer the garlic and spices from the pan into the jar. Top off with the liquid from the pan.
- Pop the pickles into the refrigerator. You can use your quick pickled garlic now, but it tastes even better if you can wait another hour. Or better yet, a few hours! But I don't blame you if you want to use it immediately!
Got a question? Tried this recipe? Leave a reply!