Mexican Carrot Pickle Recipe

The Mexican pickle experiment is ready to eat, and I'm pleased to report that they were every bit as addictive as I dreamed: slightly spicy, slightly tangy, and crunchy! The tang comes from fermenting the pickles for at least week, so these have a different taste than those carrot pickles served alongside tacos because those carrot pickles get their tang from vinegar (acetic acid from the vinegar vs. lactic acid from wild fermentation). However, don't be scared to make these yourself because they are really simple.

Mexican Carrot Pickle Recipe
makes a pound of pickles


1 pound (16 ounces) of carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 3-inch sticks
1 or 2 jalapenos or serrano chiles, sliced crosswise into 1/8-inch rounds
8 garlic cloves, halved
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
3/8 ounce salt, do not use salt with iodine

Gently toss all ingredients in a bowl. Loosely cover and let sit on the counter for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. Transfer the carrot mixture and the resulting brine into a crock or pickle press and weigh it down. If there is not enough brine to cover the pickles, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt with one cup of water and pour enough of this brine over the to to submerge everything.

Keep the crock in a cool room. After a few days, you can start sampling the carrots to taste how the flavor is developing. I refrigerate my pickles once they have a strong tang, about one week. The longer you let the carrot mixture ferment, the stronger the flavors.

For more carrot pickle making pictures, click here.

Enjoy your pickles! You can adjust the seasonings quite a bit. I'm a ginger fiend, so next time I'm going to add grated ginger and some curry powder. Mmmm, curry pickles!