Pickled red cabbage adds color, flavor, and crunch to any salad, bowl, wrap, or taco! This is an easy preparation (no sterilization, canning, or fermentation) that will allow you to enjoy nutritious red cabbage in a wide variety of ways.

I’ve wholeheartedly embraced the simple, rewarding process of quick pickling.

I started with the essential quick pickled red onions, then moved on to cucumber slices and carrot ribbons. Keeping a jar of tangy, briny vegetables in the fridge has become one of my most valuable kitchen secrets.

I’m a longtime champion of cabbage and think it’s a very under-appreciated crucifer! It was only a matter of time, then, before I tried pickling it. Now that I have, I want to incorporate its bright, beautiful color and crunch into every dish I make.

A quick primer on quick pickles

When I first thought about making homemade pickles, I pictured a daunting canning bath, tongs, and sterilized jars—all the specialized equipment needed for long-term preservation.

Thankfully, quick pickles—or refrigerator pickles—are a world apart. You can skip the water bath and sterilization. The magic is simple: just pour a hot or cold pickling liquid over your vegetables and let them marinate. This fast method gives them a bright, tangy, and salty flavor without the lengthy procedure.

Since they don’t go through a water bath, quick pickles need to be kept cold in the fridge. But honestly, a batch of versatile pickled vegetables, like my favorite pickled red cabbage, rarely lasts for two full weeks. It’s so delicious and useful that I usually finish a jar within a week.

Quick pickled cabbage vs sauerkraut

I love both pickled cabbage and sauerkraut, and while they share that delicious tangy, salty flavor, they aren’t quite the same thing.

Sauerkraut is unique because it’s been lacto-fermented—a natural process, spanning days to weeks, wherein bacteria convert the cabbage’s sugar into lactic acid. That fermentation gives sauerkraut a distinct, “funky” depth that quick pickled cabbage, while tart, just doesn’t have.

For me, the real win of quick pickled cabbage is its convenience. It’s a lot faster than lacto-fermentation, and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor right away.

Why red cabbage?

While both green and red cabbage are incredibly healthy vegetables, the red variety has an extra visual appeal that I can’t resist.

Red cabbage gets its stunning pigment from natural compounds, called anthocyanins. Anthocyanins offer a little nutritional boost, but honestly, it’s the electric color that makes me love red cabbage for this particular use.

If you’re curious about whether you can use green cabbage in this recipe instead of red, the answer is yes, absolutely. But if red cabbage is easy to find, I encourage you to choose it. The color is a treat for the eyes, and that visual pleasure will enrich any dish that you add it to.

Using hot brine

I generally tell people that using a hot brine isn’t necessary for quick pickling—the acid and salt do the real work. However, for this quick pickled cabbage recipe, I actually recommend it.

The job of heat is to tenderize, which is incredibly helpful for a naturally tough vegetable like cabbage. The initial warmth softens the vegetable right from the start, and it will only become more tender as it sits in the fridge.

While you can skip a hot brine for softer vegetables, like cucumber slices, my home experiments showed a clear result: the cabbage made with hot brine was more tender and pleasant to eat. The cold brine version came out with a texture I can only describe as “squeaky.”

Your pickles won’t be ruined if you use a cold brine, but I think you’ll love the final texture much more if you opt for the hot method.

Similarly, I allow the pickled red cabbage to sit for a full hour at room temperature before transferring it to the fridge. With other quick pickled vegetables, I make that transfer as soon as the brine has been added to the jar, but red cabbage benefits from some marinating time before you cool it.

My favorite meal suggestions

To date, my favorite thing to do with pickled red cabbage is to add it to homemade tacos. One of the combinations I love most is a simple one: rice, black beans, avocado slices, and the pickled red cabbage. No fuss and no frills, but nourishing and so good.

Beyond this, quick pickled cabbage is an excellent topper for tofu scramble and a wonderful final touch for avocado toast. It’s a nice, final addition to grain bowls. Once you make a batch, you’ll quickly find more and more ways to use that vibrant crunch.

Happy pickling!

xo