Mexican pickled vegetables (Escabeche)

Discover the fiery taste of escabeche - a quick pickle recipe of Mexican pickled vegetables like jalapenos, carrots and fennel, the perfect taco topping. This Mexican recipe is vegan and gluten free!

It is a slightly spicy, flavorful and most importantly, easy quick pickle recipe that will pairs well with Mexican food like tacos. In fact, you probably know this recipe from your favorite Mexican restaurant!

To make this escabeche recipe, we make a simple vinegar mixture that we then bring to a boil, and pour on top of thinly sliced vegetables. We cover them with a lid, let them brine for an hour (or more, if you can wait that long!), and then your fridge pickles are ready to consume!

This easy quick pickled mixed vegetables recipe is more of a blueprint than a recipe you must follow to the letter. That means that you can follow my general principles for making the brine, and then use any vegetables or spices you like or have on hand.

I learned the recipe for escabeche, a Mexican quick pickled mixed vegetables, from Dahlia Snaiderman, a fellow Montreal cook of Mexican Jewish descent. Dahlia's Mexican family recipe for pickles became one of my favorite quick pickle recipes, one I make over and over again! To find out how I learned this recipe from Dahlia, head on to the Inspiration section below.

Make these easy Mexican pickles now, and liven up your Mexican recipes in minutes with this easy Mexican condiment.

What is Mexican escabeche?

Mexican Escabeche is a traditional type of pickle that originates from Mexico but has found love in kitchens across the globe.

The base of escabeche is a marinade or condiment, made by blending vinegar, salt, sugar, and a variety of aromatic herbs and spices, often including bay leaves, cloves, thyme, and oregano. 

The process of making escabeche involves quick-pickling vegetables, particularly carrots, jalapenos, and onions, although there are many variations that incorporate other vegetables as well.

The zest and crunch of the quick-pickled veggies paired with the tangy, acidic, sometimes spice-laden brine forms a delightful counterpart to rich meals.

Escabeche can also be used in preserving meats, poultry, or fish, adding a distinct flavor. It is also served as a side or garnish, particularly with Mexican dishes.

The taste and technique of making Mexican Escabeche make it more than just pickles; it is a beautiful amalgamation of flavors and textures that liven up any dish. 

What you need to make these Mexican quick pickled mixed vegetables

• Sugar: Used to add sweetness to the dish. Can be substituted with honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar.
• Salt: Used to enhance the flavors of the dish. Can be substituted with sea salt or kosher salt.
• White vinegar: Used to add acidity to the dish. Can be substituted with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
• Garlic: Used to add flavor to the dish. Can be substituted with garlic powder or minced garlic.
• Jalapeño: Used to add heat to the dish. Can be substituted with or serrano pepper, red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
• Carrots, cut into thin slices or shredded: Used to add texture and sweetness to the dish. Can be substituted with parsnips or sweet potatoes.
• Fennel: Used to add a licorice-like flavor to the dish. Can be substituted with celery or leeks.
• Onion, cut into thin half-moon slices: Used to add sweetness and depth of flavor to the dish. Can be substituted with shallots or scallions. 

EQUIPMENT

• Chef's Knife - I use my Global knife for everything. It's amazing, but to really make quick work of these pickles, I recommend you use a vegetable slicer (mandoline).
• Vegetable slicer optional - My favorite vegetable slice is by the Japanese brand Benriner. It never rusts, stays super sharp and is really easy to store.
• Wide-mouth Mason jars
• Mixing bowls
• Fermentation crock optional

Vegetable Slicer

My favorite vegetable slicer (also called a mandoline) is by Japanese brand Benriner. It never rusts or dulls, has many parts and is super easy to store safely.

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How to make Mexican escabeche

Slicing the Vegetables:

To begin, slice the onion, carrots, and fennel into thin slices. Aim for thin slices to allow the brine to have a greater and quicker effect on the vegetables. The thinner the slices, the more the brine can penetrate and infuse them with its flavors.

Preparing the Brine:

In a bowl, create a flavorful brine by dissolving the salt and sugar in the vinegar. Stir well until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved, ensuring a balanced and tangy brine.

Adding Flavor to the Brine:

To enhance the brine, add slices of jalapeños or serrano pepper. These spicy additions will give your pickles a delightful kick. Additionally, crush the garlic cloves and mix them into the brine. Stir the mixture to combine the flavors, infusing the brine with the aromatic essence of garlic.

Combining Vegetables with the Brine:

Now it's time to combine the sliced vegetables with the pickling liquid. Place the vegetables into the brine, ensuring they are fully submerged and coated in the flavorful mixture. This will allow the brine to penetrate the vegetables and initiate the pickling process, preserving their fresh taste and crisp texture.

Allowing for Marination:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to create a seal. Let the vegetables sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour, allowing the flavors to develop and mingle. For even more enhanced flavors, consider letting them marinate longer if possible.

Pack quick pickled vegetables in a jar and refrigerate for up to 6 months.

Storage

If you plan to store the pickles for continuous use, pack them into a mason jar and cover them with the brine.  These homemade Mexican pickles can be kept in the refrigerator for months, ready to be enjoyed whenever you desire a tangy and crunchy snack.

Note: Be warned, these quick pickled mixed vegetables are so delicious that they may not last long due to constant snacking!

Variations

• More veggies - you can add cauliflower, red onions and radishes for more traditional Mexican pickled vegetables options.
• Add more spices, like bay leaves, Mexican oregano, and fennel seeds.

Serving Suggestions

Mexican escabeche is traditionally used as a topping on tacos. They will go with all Mexican dishes, like my favorite Mexican gluten free cornbread. 

I love to use these quick pickles in salads.

They also go very well with simply prepared fish, like my pan-fried sockeye salmon.

Inspiration for this recipe

As her knife moved deftly, stabbing and slicing where no human hands have gone before, I held my breath in anticipation. Excitement tinged with fear reverberated through my body, and my hands even began to shake a little bit, distorting the image in the camera I was holding. I was scared for the others, and worried about what would happen to me next. I never knew how exhilarating making Mexican quick-pickled vegetables could be.

Upon first blush, Dahlia looks like a typical North American girl. Though her hair was darker than normal for these Ango-German parts, falling in tight curls down her back, I admit I never thought twice about her heritage.  She was a fellow foodie and a writer, and that was reason enough for me to ask her to come over on a cloudy Saturday and cook from a basket of beautiful products from Montreal-based Lufa Farms.

In the days following, Dahlia devised a game-plan and a recipe for our food basket. Young, organic fennel would join small local carrots and onions in a quick pickle.

A plate of seared kale will welcome the pickles in a kale salad, and gladly soak up some cranberry vinaigrette.

We would then sear sausages on a cast-iron grill pan and place them atop of steaming, freshly made polenta. A drizzle of buttery hot sauce will crown the dish. And though I would not get to enjoy the sausage, I knew that the rest of the dish would be entirely to my liking.

As our cooking date crept closer, I grew more excited by the day.

But nothing could have prepared me for the surprise of watching Dahlia handle herself in the kitchen. Not only was she confident and knowledgeable about food, but her motivation and energy made me dizzy.

Yet the biggest joy was seeing her craft. She chopped one vegetable after another and reduced our prep ingredients pile to neatly stacked mounds. She made her favorite Mexican hot sauce in minutes, and it was both explosive and subtle at the same time. And through it all, her movements were graceful and precise, the easy dance of an experienced cook.

There is a simple truth that all cooks know, but rarely share so as not to discourage those who are still in their early days of learning: one of the best things in life is sharing a kitchen with those who know what they're doing.

And when I watched Dahlia move around my kitchen, making these quick pickled fall vegetables, I admit my heart did a little dance. This was culinary love at first sight.

Then she started telling of her family’s history. Their harrowing escape from persecution in Russia to Mexico in the previous century. The strangeness of their new life in the hot, arid dessert where Judaism was nothing more than a passing rumor.

Their fervent insistence on following the Jewish traditions and religious customs that have marked their lives in Europe, no matter how strange it made them seem to their neighbors. Their eventual immigration to Canada, and the fusion of Mexican and Jewish food and customs that their lives have now become.

And as I looked at a photograph of the grandiose, sugar-coated challah Dahlia’s aunt still bakes in her Toronto kitchen, I realized that I had found a friend while making quick-pickled Mexican vegetables (escabeche).

FAQs

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Recipe

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Mexican quick pickles (escabeche)

Ksenia Prints

Discover the fiery taste of escabeche - a quick pickle recipe of Mexican pickled vegetables like jalapenos, carrots and fennel, the perfect taco topping.

This Mexican recipe is vegan and gluten free! It is a slightly spicy, flavorful and most importantly, easy quick pickle recipe that will pairs well with Mexican food like tacos.

5 from 43 votes

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Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Pickling time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Condiment, Pickles

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican

Servings 4 servings

Calories 172 kcal

Equipment

• Chef's Knife
• Vegetable slicer optional
• Wide-mouth Mason jars
• Mixing bowls
• Fermentation crock optional

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ⅔ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• ½ large jalapeño pepper julienned and seeded
• 3 carrots sliced thinly or shredded
• 1 bulb fennel sliced thinly
• 1 onion sliced thinly

Instructions

 

• Slice onion, carrots, and fennel into thin slices - as thin as you can, so that the brine has a greater effect more quickly.
• Prepare the brine by dissolving the salt and sugar in the vinegar.
• Add the jalapeno or serrano pepper slices into the brine along with the crushed garlic. Stir.
• Add the sliced vegetables to the brine.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temp for at least 1 hour, and longer if possible. If keeping the pickles in the fridge for continuous use, pack them into a jar and cover with brine. They will keep for months, if you can wait that long (ours were almost gone in less than a week of constant snacking).

Notes

These quick-pickled fall vegetables are a Mexican Jewish recipe that is punchy, seasonal, and a cinch to make. 

For hot peppers, use jalapeños, serrano peppers, red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.

You can add cauliflower, red onions and radishes for more traditional Mexican pickled vegetables options.

You can add more spices to the brine, like bay leaves, Mexican oregano, and fennel seeds.

Eat them as they are, or generously pile them on tacos, salads and sandwiches. They love a nice vinaigrette, or a good veggie burger.

Nutrition

Serving: 4tablespoonsCalories: 172kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 1gFat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.04gSodium: 615mgPotassium: 296mgFiber: 2gSugar: 37gVitamin A: 136IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg

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