Yesterday between cooking and baking, I squeezed in a small batch sweet spicy refrigerator pickled green bean recipe. Sometimes my eyes are too big for my stomach when grocery shopping, and I end up with loads of fresh produce. So what happens to those fresh veggies when I don’t have the time or energy to cook? Pickling of course!
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I like the option of small batches instead of making a big production out of pickling. It hardly takes any time at all to prepare one or two jars of veggies.
My previous post Small Batch Spicy Sweet Refrigerator Pickled Veggie Recipe is inspired from a Southern Living Magazine recipe. The one below is very similar, reducing the amount of sugar and salt.
Small Batch Sweet Spicy Refrigerator Pickled Green Bean Recipe
- 1/2 pound fresh green beans
- 1 jalapeño pepper sliced
- 2 lemon slices
- 1 clove garlic sliced
- 1 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Pack green beans in a 1 pint heat proof jar, adding the sliced garlic clove, lemon slices and jalapeño slices.
- Bring to a boil – the rice vinegar, granulated sugar and kosher salt. Stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves.
- Pour the hot vinegar mixture over green beans or veggies in the jar. Let stand for about one hour or until completely cool.
- Seal jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe notes For Sweet Spicy Refrigerator Pickled Green Bean Recipe
The hot vinegar will heat the green beans enough to release their juices causing them to shrink up a bit. That’s why packing the green beans in the jar is important.
I usually include four or five jalapeño slices per jar. Note, you may want to remove all the jalapeño seeds depending on the desired level of spiciness.
The 12 ounce package of green beans I had wasn’t quite enough for two 16 ounce jars, so I added left overs from the first jar to some fresh asparagus. Green beans and asparagus won’t mind hanging out together, right? I’ll be testing them in a few days just to see.
Creating all kinds of pickled combinations is what makes small batches fun to make and serve.
To make the jars look pretty for the photo shoot I saved the shorter green beans and asparagus for the center of the jar. This also makes packing the jars a little easier.
I can’t wait to make more small batches this summer. Need ideas for pickling? Try different combinations with some of the following.
- jicama
- heirloom carrots
- green tomatoes
- peppers
- okra
- cucumber
- beets
- purple onions
Be sure to follow Thistle Key Lane on Pinterest, where the boards are up to date with seasonal inspiration you are going to love!
I’ll be back in the kitchen today working on a new cookie recipe, and yes it involves chocolate. Yum!
Cheers!
©Sweet Spicy Refrigerator Pickled Green Bean Recipe post first appeared on Thistle Key Lane™.
SMALL BATCH SWEET SPICY REFRIGERATOR PICKLED GREEN BEAN RECIPE
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound fresh green beans
- 1 jalapeño pepper sliced
- 2 lemon slices
- 1 clove garlic sliced
- 1 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Pack green beans in a 1 pint heat proof jar, adding the sliced garlic clove, lemon slices and jalapeño slices.
- Bring to a boil - the rice vinegar, granulated sugar and kosher salt. Stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves.
- Pour the hot vinegar mixture over green beans or veggies in the jar. Let stand for about one hour or until completely cool.
- Seal jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes
Recipe notes: The hot vinegar will heat the vegetables enough to release their juices and the veggies will shrink up a bit. That's why packing the green beans in the jar is important. I usually include four or five jalapeño slices per jar. Note, you may want to remove all the jalapeño seeds depending on the desired level of spiciness.