Sweet corn is at the height of the season right now. Not only do I love it slathered with butter as a side dish, or in Mexican Corn Dip, I absolutely LOVE it pickled.
Pickled Corn may seem a bit strange but when fresh corn is combined with red onion, a few jalapeƱo slices, fresh cilantro, and zesty pickle brine, well, you’ve got something that’s totally irresistible!
Pickled Corn is so delicious with anything cooked on the grill. It’s also great as an addition to soups and salads. Actually, you can just let your imagination run wild with this dish!
What You Need To Make This Recipe
- Fresh Corn
- JalapeƱos
- Red Onion
- Cilantro
- Limes
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt
- Dried Red Chilies (chili flakes)
This recipe is super easy to make. It’s a “quick pickle” method that produces amazing flavor for simple ingredients.
How To Make Pickled Corn
- Cut the corn off of the cob. Slice the red onion, jalapeƱos and chop the cilantro.
- Add the corn, onion, jalapeƱos, cilantro, red chili flakes, pepper and lime juice to a bowl. Mix to combine.
- Place ingredients in a quart size jar.
- In a small pot, bring vinegar, salt, sugar and Ā¾ cup water to a boil.
- Pour over corn. (Add water to cover, if needed.)
- Seal jar. Let cool, then store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
What Is Quick Pickling?
Quick pickled vegetables are also known as refrigerator pickles. They are fresh veggies like my Cucumber and Onion Refrigerator Pickles that are pickled in a vinegar, water, and salt (sometimes sugar, too) solution and stored in the refrigerator. They don’t require canning and sealing. This is a great method to use when you want all the flavor of pickles but don’t want to go to the trouble of traditional canning.
Substitutions For This Recipe
If you are not a fan of cilantro, feel free to substitute parsley. You can also alter the amount of heat by putting in half of the suggested amount of jalapeƱo pepper.
Serve Pickled Corn With These Recipes:
- Sheet Pan Hamburger Steak With Mushrooms And Onions
- Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Chicken
- Sweet Heat BBQ Chicken
- Herb Butter Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
- Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Beef
- Slow Cooker White Bean and Ham Soup
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and a rating. I always love hearing from you! Also, don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 seeded thinly sliced jalapeƱo
- Ā¼ thinly sliced medium red onion
- 2 cups fresh raw corn kernels (from about 2 ears)
- Ā¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems
- Ā¼ cup fresh lime juice
- Ā¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- Ā½ cup white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Mix first 7 ingredients in a bowl.
- Place ingredients in a quart size jar.
- In a small pot bring vinegar, salt, sugar and Ā¾ cup water to a boil.
- Pour over corn. (Add water to cover, if needed.)
- Seal jar. Let cool; chill. Will keep up to 1 month.
Notes
Whatās For Dinner?
5 Easy Delicious Meal Plans + Secrets To Getting Dinner On The Table!
Have you? Can you can it, water bath for shelf life?
Hey there Rebecca!
I have not personally done the full pickling process with a water bath and everything, honestly a jar of this pickled corn doesn’t last longer than a week in my house. If you end up trying this please let me know how it goes, I am very curious. Thank you for your interest in this recipe, and for your rating, I hope you have a great rest of your day!
~Donya
Any suggestions for a substitute for the cilantro so thereās still a green colored ingredient? Iām one of those people that has that gene and canāt stand the taste of cilantro. Tastes like soap š Thank you!
Hey there Dana!
Thanks so much for reaching out, thatās a great question! Parsley would work really well as a substitute in this recipe; it will obviously change the flavor from the original recipe, but Iām guessing thatās what youāre going for. I really hope you enjoy this recipe, let me know how it turns out! Thanks for your support!
~Donya
Can you use can of niblets corn?
Thanks
Brenda
Hey Brenda!
Thatās a great question! I normally use fresh corn, but you can absolutely substitute canned corn. I hope you enjoy this recipe, let me know how it turns out!
~Donya
Does this have to kept in the refrigerator?
Hey Michelle!
Thanks so much for your rating, and that is a great question! You should keep this refrigerated once its been used or opened. I hope this helps, let me know how it goes!
~Donya
I want to split into two 16 oz jars. RE: adding water to cover – is this boiling water or just room temp or…? Thanks!
PS My dad was drooling when I showed him this recipe. He is from Muskogee Oklahoma! š
Hello Christy,
Great question! You can use boiling or room temp water at this stage, it is just to cover the corn completely if the pickling liquid was not enough. I really hope both you and your dad enjoy the recipe, and thank you for the great rating!
~Donya
I don’t understand why this is not process in water bath canner for safely
Beverly, this recipe is for “quick pickling” and not canning. The corn relish is kept in the refrigerator so it does not need to be processed and sealed. I hope this clears thing up. Food safety is ALWAYS foremost in my mind and I would never share a recipe that would harm people.
~Donya
Could this be adapted to a water bath so I can have it pickling on the shelf? I have 48 dozen corn to process lol! Would love to know if I could water bath to store on the shelf thanks!
Hey there Jodi!
I must confess that canning is not my area of expertise, that’s usually why I always go for the no-canning recipes. That being said, I assume this recipe would can well, my advice would be to combine this recipe with your favorite recipe for water-bath canned pickled onions. You could use the ingredients and flavors of this dish with the method of the pickled onion recipe. I hope this is helpful, let me know how everything turns out, I’d be very interested!
~Donya
I made this pickled corn and it is amazing! All my favorites in one jar. My brine is not clear though. Itās milky. Iām assuming from the milk in the corn. But your pics show it clear.
Hey there Sharon!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, I’m so happy to hear that you gave it a try! If the liquid in your jar is looking milkier than the image, there’s no need to worry. It’s likely that you just got some extra juicy corn and the juices from the corn are spilling into the brine, it should still taste just as delicious! Thank you so much for your support, if you ever have any questions about a recipe, please don’t hesitate to ask!
~Donya
Help!Do you cook the corn first! ?
Hey there! Thanks for the question. Nope, you do not cook the corn first. Just cut it off the cob and go for it!. Let me know how you like it.
XO,
~Donya
Please state the name of the dried chilies for this recipe.
Hey Dora,
I use a dried red chili. I usually find them at my local farmers market but you could just use a pinch of dried red pepper flakes. Let me know how it turns out!
XO,
~Donya
Sounds amazing!
Thanks Talya! I hope you give it a try and let me know what you think.
xo,
~Donya
This recipe has my name all over it too! So many flavors- sweet, spicy, sour. Love the combo of ingredients!
Thanks for stopping by Christin! You are right about all the flavors. I hope you make it and let me know what you think.
xo,
~Donya