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Easy homemade pickle relish has a sweet vinegar tang and a finely chopped texture. The dill and mustard seed brine is livened up with jalapeños and red pepper for a spicy kick. You can make it as fiery as you like and enjoy it on hamburgers, hot dogs and sandwiches, add some to a charcuterie board or use it as a garnish. It’s a condiment you’ll relish making and eating!
Why You’ll Love It
This finely chopped cucumber based relish blends sweet, spicy and savory flavors for a crunchy, tangy condiment. Why not make extra to gift to friends?
Sweet pickle tang: The brine has sweet pickle flavor with a clear vinegar edge.
Finely chopped texture: Small cucumber pieces add crunch to the pickle.
Gentle heat: A gentle warmth follows the sweet pickle taste for a well rounded flavor.
A versatile condiment: This relish goes with everything from burgers and hot dogs to deviled eggs, potato salad or a charcuterie board.
Suitable for different diets: It’s vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free.
If you like this pickle relish, you could also try pickled cauliflower, pickled green beans, homemade giardiniera or pickled rhubarb.
Spicy Relish Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Pickling cucumbers: These are small, firm cucumbers with thinner skins, fewer large seeds and less watery flesh than standard salad cucumbers. They add a little crunch to the relish. I always choose cucumbers that feel firm with no soft spots, wrinkled skin or yellow patches. Smaller cucumbers usually have a crisper texture and fewer large seeds, so get those if you can.
Yellow onion and garlic: Savory flavors to balance the sweeter brine.
Red bell pepper: Gives mild sweetness to soften the sharper onion flavor.
Pickling salt: Draws excess moisture from the vegetables during soaking.
Apple cider vinegar and distilled white vinegar: Together, they make a tangy brine with a fruitier note from the cider vinegar.
Sugar: Rounds off the acidity without making the pick overly sweet.
Mustard seed, dill, celery seed and turmeric: Season the brine with familiar pickle flavor and the turmeric adds warm color.
Jalapeño and crushed red pepper flakes: Add a mild heat.
How to Make Spicy Pickle Relish
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Chop the veggies: Pulse the cucumbers, onion, red bell pepper, garlic and jalapeño in batches in a food processor.
Salt and soak: Transfer the minced vegetables to a large bowl. Sprinkle with pickling salt, mix thoroughly and cover with ice water.
Drain thoroughly: Pour the vegetables into a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and press to remove liquid.
Make the brine: Combine both vinegars, sugar, mustard seed, dill, celery seed, turmeric and red pepper flakes in a nonreactive pot and bring to a gentle boil.
Cook the relish: Add the drained veggies. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften slightly.
Fill the jars: Spoon the hot relish into clean jars, wipe the rims, apply lids and cool completely.
Substitutions and Variations
Single vinegar choice: Use all apple cider vinegar or all distilled white vinegar. Choose vinegar labeled 5% acidity for pickling (I really like this one!)
More heat: Leave the seeds in the jalapeño or use extra crushed red pepper flakes to ramp up the heat level.
Less heat: Reduce or omit the jalapeno and red pepper flakes.
Sweeter relish: Increase the sugar to 1 ½ cups.
Regular cucumbers: Standard cucumbers can replace pickling cucumbers. But make sure you press them firmly after soaking because they release more water.
Serving Suggestions
On a charcuterie board: Add some to your next charcuterie board or cheese board.
As a garnish: Top fried deviled eggs with spicy pickle relish or stir some into a rotisserie chicken salad or tuna salad. Try it in a steak sandwich too or have some instead of tartar sauce in your next fish sandwich.
With a burger or hot dogs: Enjoy this sweet and spicy relish as a topping for a cheddar bacon stuffed burger. Or try some with these hot dog potato foil packs or with smoked brats in beer.
With cooked meats: Roasted chicken, lemon herb chicken patties, grilled chicken or baby back ribs would be really good with pickle relish.
How to Store
Store: Store sealed jars in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Freeze: Freezing isn’t recommended. Chopped cucumber can soften and release water after thawing.
Top Tips
Pulse in batches: Small batches help the food processor mince the vegetables evenly. Overcrowding can create mushy patches.
Press firmly after soaking: Excess water thins the brine. Cheesecloth can remove more liquid if a strainer isn’t enough.
Use pickling salt: Coarse salts vary in crystal size, so don’t substitute them by volume.
Check the vinegar label: Both vinegars should be labeled 5% acidity.
Choose a non reactive pot: Stainless steel or enameled cookware is suitable for the acidic brine.
Hot Pickle Relish FAQs
This recipe is for refrigerator storage only. For shelf-stable jars, you’d need to use a tested canning recipe with exact ingredient proportions, jar sizes and boiling water processing times. I recommend that you don’t add a water bath step to this recipe because changing the formula or processing method can affect food safety and it hasn’t been tested.
Salt draws out excess moisture. Thorough draining gives the relish a thicker consistency.
The vegetables may need firmer pressing after the soak. Cheesecloth can remove more liquid than a fine mesh strainer, so use that if you’ve got some.
Yes. Use a sharp knife and mince the vegetables. Aim for small uneven pieces. Stop chopping (or pulsing if using the food processor) when the vegetables are evenly minced.
An uncovered simmer allows excess liquid to cook off as the vegetables soften slightly.
Sweet and Spicy Pickle Relish Recipe
Pickle Relish
Equipment
- Fine Mesh Strainer or Cheesecloth
- Pot Large or Dutch Oven
- Jars with Lids 2 or 3 Pint Jars or 5 or 6 Half Pint Jars
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds pickling cucumbers, about 4 large cucumbers, roughly chopped
- 1 yellow onion, medium, roughly chopped
- 1 Cup red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 2 Cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and roughly chopped, optional for heat
- 2 Tablespoons pickling salt, or coarse sea salt
- ice water, enough to cover vegetables
For the Pickling Brine
- 1 Cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 Cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1 ½ Teaspoons dill weed, or dill seeds
- 1 Teaspoon celery seed
- ½ Teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ Teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
Instructions
- Add roughly chopped cucumbers to a food processor and pulse until slightly chunky, but do not puree. Continue in batches until cucumbers, onions, peppers, garlic, and jalapeno are evenly minced.
- Transfer the vegetables to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with salt and thoroughly mix to coat everything evenly.
- Cover with ice water just slightly above the vegetables and let sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
- Drain the vegetables through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Press firmly to remove as much liquid as possible.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, dill, celery seed, turmeric, and red pepper flakes.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat. Add the drained vegetables and stir well to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften slightly.
- Carefully ladle the relish into sterilized jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe rims clean and immediately cover with lids.
- Cool completely to room temperature and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
Press firmly after soaking: Excess water thins the brine. Cheesecloth can remove more liquid if a strainer isn’t enough.
Use pickling salt: Coarse salts vary in crystal size, so don’t substitute them by volume.
Check the vinegar label: Both vinegars should be labeled 5% acidity.
Choose a non reactive pot: Stainless steel or enameled cookware is suitable for the acidic brine.
Nutrition
Homemade pickle relish is a handy condiment to keep in the refrigerator when you like a sweet pickle flavor with a little warmth. The cucumber pieces still have some crunch and the fine chop makes the relish easy to spoon onto food or stir into other dishes. I prefer the slightly uneven homemade texture because it gives the relish more character than a smooth, syrupy jar from the store. You can use pickling cucumbers, regular cucumbers or even use your own garden produce.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
