Quick Middle Eastern Turnip Pickles Without Sugar
Are you looking for a tasty addition to a variety of recipes including chicken dishes, beef dishes, and even salad? Then look no further! Turnip Pickles Recipe is the perfectly right choice, especially if you love to add Lebanese and Mediterranean touch to your dining table!
Perfectly Crunchy Turnip Pickles!
Tangy, and perfectly crunchy, this easy recipe is made with turnips and beets. Believe me, once you try them, you’ll ask to eat these pink pickled turnips every time! So let’s give this Turnip Pickles Recipe a try today!
Best Ways to Serve Pink Pickled Turnips
Like olive oil and baba ganoush, pickled turnips are the staple of Middle Eastern kitchens, especially the Lebanese one. Lebanese people have these pink pickles on every dining table.
Middle Eastern restaurants serve crunchy pickles with a variety of dishes like Foul Mudammas, Falafel, grilled meat, roast chicken, and many other recipes.
Lebanese pickles are so versatile! While cucumber pickles pair well with chicken Shawarma, turnip pickles pair perfectly with falafel and beef Shawarma.
Vibrant Pink Pickled Turnips!
Serve these Pink Pickled Turnips alongside chicken dishes like Dry Chicken Tikka, Air Fryer Bone in Chicken Thighs, or with Crispy Air Fryer Rotisserie Style Chicken. Yummy!
These Pickled Turnips are also perfect with beef dishes like Beef Kafta kabobs, or Air Fryer Lamb Chops.
Enjoy these Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips with Kubba and sandwiches especially with falafel wraps! Try them with Steak and Cheese Pita Recipe, Kubba Mosul, or Samosa from Scratch. You with never regret!
Ingredients
To make this tangy Turnip Pickles Recipe, you will need:
- Turnips: You will need about two large turnips. Peel the turnips, wash them, and cut them into 1/2-inch thickness.
- Beet: You will also need a small beet. Peel the beet, wash it, and cut it into 1/2-inch thickness. The beet gives a wonderful pink color to these Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips.
- Purified water: In this recipe, I use purified water. However, if you use tap water, then boil it first with the salt before stirring in the vinegar. Let it cool before you add the turnips and beets.
- White vinegar: Add white vinegar to pink pickled turnips. It’s an essential ingredient when making pickles, it gives a yummy sour taste.
- Kosher salt: In this recipe, I use Kosher salt. You can also use sea salt or canning salt.
- Black peppercorns: Black peppercorns will add a flavor to pickled turnips with beets. You have the choice to add it or not.
- Red chili flakes: It’s optional to add red chili flakes when making this pickled turnips recipe. Chili flakes give your turnips a hot flavor.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Pickled Turnips?
First, peel, wash, and cut your beets and white turnips into 1/2-inch thickness, about the size of French fries.
Next, heat water, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Stir until salt is dissolved.
After that, place beets and turnips into a large jar with a tight-fitting. It’s optional to add peppercorns and chili flakes on top.
Then, pour the liquid into the container and ensure that the turnips and beets are submerged. Now, close the jar very tightly.
Finally, let it cool, and then store the jar in the refrigerator for about five days.
Pickled turnips will be ready within five days. You can store them in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.
Crunchy Goodness!
Substitutions
Vinegar: White vinegar is perfect for this recipe. However, you can use apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar. You can also make a mix of these types of vinegar to boost the vinegary taste by adding a little amount of each.
Beet: You can use a golden beet instead of the red beet to get delicious yellow pickles. If you don’t have a beet on hand, then try to substitute it with carrots. You can also omit the beet if you don’t want to color your turnips.
Turnips: If you are not a big fan of turnips, you can pickle cabbage, eggplant, red onions, etc. Try my Quick Pickled Red Onions Without Sugar recipe.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Turnips are a delicious root vegetable which are celeriac, parsnips, rutabagas, and carrots. They are similar to turnips in taste and texture.
Yes, you can! However, the beet doesn’t only add color to pickles but also adds a slight sweetness to them.
Technically, yes! However, pickling is all vinegar and salt, not sweetness. You can add one tablespoon sugar to balance the acidity of the vinegar.
You can eat them after 5 days.
When the pickled turnips start to smell acidic or develop mold, then they are no longer safe to eat.
Fresh Ingredients for a Perfect Recipe!
Variations
- Garlic: Add 2 garlic cloves to get a pretty pungent flavor.
- Aromatic: Add 1 to 3 bay leaves to get a hearty aromatic smell and an authentic middle eastern taste. You can also try this Turnip Pickles Recipe with other fresh herbs like oregano, thyme, mint, or dill.
- Spicy: Another great way to add a little heat of these Lebanese turnip pickles is to add ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes instead of red chili flakes or jalapeno. It’s all about your personal preference.
Equipment
Use KAMOTA Mason Jars 16 OZ to pickle turnips with beets.
Storage
- During fermentation process, keep Middle Eastern turnip pickles in a cool dark place until you want to eat them. They last for one month outside the refrigerator.
- Once opened, you should store pickled turnips in the refrigerator. They will last for up to six weeks. Make sure that you close the lid tightly each time you grab some pink pickled turnips.
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Top Tips
- To make Turnip Pickles Recipe, pickle fresh firm turnips immediately after purchasing them.
- Try to not preserve in a humid place. In humid conditions, turnips become soft quickly and lose their firm texture, so when pickling them, you will not get crunchy Pickled Turnips.
- Pickled beets can be eaten, but they don’t have the same crispy texture as turnips. They’re less crunchy, and chewier. You can try my yummy Pickled Beets (No Sugar) Quick Pickled Beets recipe.
- Don’t use table salt because it has some additives which will affect the pickling process and the taste as well.
Elevate the Taste of your Dish!
Food Safety
- Once the pickles jar is open, you should store the pickled turnips glass jar in the refrigerator and not at room temperature.
- Make sure that you close the jar very tightly each time you grab some pink pickled turnips to prevent air penetration.
- When the pickled turnips start to smell acidic or develop mold, then they are no longer safe to eat.
- When the brine becomes cloudy or discolored, then it’s best to discard it.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Tangy and Crisp Pickles!
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Turnip Pickles Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups Purified Water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Kosher salt sea salt or canning salt
- 1 lb. turnips (about two large turnips) peeled, washed, and cut into ½ inch thickness
- 1 small beet peeled, washed, and cut into ½ inch thickness
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns optional
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes optional
Instructions
- Peel, wash, and cut beets and turnips into ½ inch thickness, about the size of French fries.
- Heat water, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Stir until salt is dissolved.
- Place beets and turnips into a large jar with a tight fitting. Add peppercorns and chili flakes on top (optional).
- Pour the liquid into the container and ensure that the turnips and beets are submerged. Close the jar very tightly.
- Let it cool, and then store the jar in the refrigerator for about five days.
- Pickled turnips will be ready within five days. You can store them in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.
