These old-fashioned Pickled Green Tomatoes are sweet, sour, crunchy, and a great way to use up those green tomatoes that just won’t ripen before winter.
Put them on salads, nachos, holiday charcuterie boards or eat them out of the jar like I do!
Well folks, we had a hard frost here in Michigan and my tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes! I had found this tip on Instagram about tickling the buds on your tomato plants to produce more tomatoes. Well it worked! At any given time, I had 50+ cherry tomatoes on one plant!
The only problem is I had a lot of green tomatoes on the vine and I know they won’t ripen before winter. If you’re in the same boat this year, you have to try my family’s pickled green tomatoes recipe.
If you love quick pickling, try my Quick Pickled Jalapenos and Quick Pickled Carrots.
Ingredients in Pickled Green Tomatoes
Here’s everything you will need to make this recipe and a few important notes too. Keep reading!
- Green Tomatoes: This recipe works with any type of tomato. I chose grape tomatoes but have also done this with Roma tomatoes, beef steak, and heirlooms. You just have to cut them into 1 inch chunks before packing into your jar.
- White Vinegar: Grab yourself a bottle of 5% acidity white vinegar.
- Water
- Sugar: I prefer cane sugar for it’s quality when pickling but granulated sugar works as well.
- Salt
- Herbs and Spices: For the cherry tomatoes I used fresh basil (because that also got fried by the frost), sliced garlic, and crushed peppercorns. I also like to used mustard seed, red pepper flakes, coriander, thyme, and even oregano when pickling tomatoes.
How to Make Pickled Green Tomatoes
1. Pack jars with tomatoes, herbs, and spices. Prick the whole cherry tomatoes then pack them into a 16 ounce jar with the fresh sprigs of basil, garlic, and peppercorns.
2. Brine. Heat together vinegar, water, sugar, and salt on the stovetop until dissolved and it just comes to a boil. Pour it over the jarred tomatoes, screw on the lid tightly, and wait one hour before refrigerating.
3. Wait. This is the hardest part! But, because of the tough tomato skins they need 4 to 5 days to pickle and soften.
Storing Information
This is a quick pickle recipe so it does need to be stored in the refrigerator. They’ll last a minimum of 3 months if stored in a jar with an airtight lid. Freezing and storing at room temperature (shelf stable) is not recommended.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
More Pickled Recipes To Try
Pickled Green Tomatoes
EQUIPMENT
- small saucepan - 1.5 qt
- 1 glass jar - 16 ounce wide mouth, with an airtight lid
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ½ cups green cherry tomatoes - washed and pricked down the center with a toothpick
- 3 sprigs basil - fresh
- 2 cloves garlic - sliced
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar - 5% acidity
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar - or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- To a 16 ounce jar add green tomatoes, sprigs of fresh basil, garlic, and whole peppercorns. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan add white vinegar, water, cane sugar, and kosher salt. Heat over medium to low heat until the sugar and salt has fully dissolved.
- Remove from heat and immediately pour over the tomatoes.
- Tightly screw on the lid and allow to cool for 1 hour before refrigerating.
- Refrigerate for 4 to 5 days prior to eating.
RECIPE NOTES
STORING INFORMATION
- Refrigerated, in an airtight glass jar, for up to 3 months.
- Storing at room temperature and freezing is not recommended.
NOTE
- If you’re using larger tomatoes like romas or beef steaks, you’ll want to cut them into 1 inch pieces.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
