Pickled Strawberries with Pink Peppercorn and Rose

Are you looking for a new way to use strawberries, or use up a bumper crop you aren’t sure what to do with? These beautiful and versatile Pickled Strawberries with Pink Peppercorn and Rose are quick and easy! This is also a no cook recipe, so there’s no need to heat up your kitchen! This could become your new favorite way to eat strawberries!

Strawberry Season-

I love the time of year when the Strawberries are crowding the roadside stands. It’s hard not to pull over each and every time and just buy them all up. If you are anything like me, before you know it you have flats of strawberries taking up all the counter space in the kitchen. Then you wonder how you got here, and what to do with them all. That’s what this recipe is for!

These little red beauties were meant for more than just dessert. When you pickle them, they can really become something special. 

What I Love About This Recipe

With just a basic brine and some spices and seasonings, you can not only save an overabundance of strawberries from rot, but you can transform them into something that has many uses! Extra strawberries don’t have to be frozen or made into jam (though that is great too). 

Wherever I can, I am always looking for ways to reduce waste in my kitchen, and quick pickling strawberries is just one more way to achieve that. For another idea to reduce kitchen waste, my recipe for roasted carrots with carrot top pesto is a great one!

The ease and simplicity of this recipe is unbelievable. It’s simply a matter of adding the brine ingredients to the jar, trimming the strawberries and adding them to the jar, and refrigerating them for 24 hours. 

This recipe for pickled strawberries is easily doubled or more. All you need is enough ingredients and more jars.

Pickling Strawberries

Did you know you can pickle more than just cucumbers and other vegetables? Pickled strawberries are pretty marvelous if I do say so myself. 

If you have done any pickling, then you know that you need water, vinegar, salt, sugar, and some spices or herbs of some sort. 

Ingredients for Pickled Strawberries

Strawberries

I prefer using smaller whole strawberries, but if you can’t find small ones, larger strawberries can be cut in half or quartered.

Be sure to cut the leaves off and remove the stem before pickling. If you have a roadside berry stand somewhere near you or you can grow or pick your own, those are the best kind! If you only have berries from your local grocery store this recipe will still be great though.

White Balsamic Vinegar

Because we are talking about fruit, I didn’t want to do anything too sour here. That’s why I used white balsamic vinegar, because it is one of the most mildly flavored vinegars I have ever encountered. I knew it would pickle while not dominating the whole thing. This is one ingredient you will not want to substitute in this brine. 

Other vinegars will just push the strawberry flavor right out of the picture, and that was not the end result I was going for. My recipe for White Balsamic and Basil Vinaigrette makes nice use of this vinegar as well.

Dried Rose Petals

I love using florals in cooking when I can, and I knew dried rose petals would be nice with the strawberries. I wasn’t wrong. Strawberry and rose are a simply magical flavor combination! 

You can also use dried rose buds if you don’t have petals. Just drop them whole right in the jar with the other brine ingredients. If you decide to use dried rose buds, measure out a tablespoon of them just as you would the petals.

Use the freshest dried rose petals you can find. If they sit too long they lose their potency. If you grow your own roses or know someone who does and the roses are not sprayed with any pesticides, by all means use them!

Whole Pink Peppercorns

The pink peppercorn is just fabulous, because they have a floral note of their own with a hint of citrus and they are not too spicy. 

Unlike a black peppercorns, you can bite right into a pink one thanks to their mild flavor. If you want a stronger flavor from the peppercorns, all you have to do is just add a few more.

You could use black peppercorns if you want, but be sure to use fewer of them, as the flavor is not the same as the pink variety.

No Boil Brine For Pickled Strawberries

If you have done any pickling, you know that you typically boil your brine prior to adding it and what you are pickling to the jars. In this case, the brine is not boiled.

Why isn’t the brine boiled?

I find that the hot brine tends to soften the strawberries just enough to affect the texture in a way that I don’t personally like. Technically, it’s not necessary to boil a brine when quick pickling. I just find that this recipe in particular yields a better result not boiling it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What To Do With Pickled Strawberries

These are great to eat right out of the jar! They make a nice addition to a salad, and they are really nice chopped up and spooned on top of grilled chicken, pork, or salmon. 

You can add them to cocktails, or just make a pickled strawberry cocktail. Also, try them on top of a vanilla cheesecake or some ice cream. They are nice as part of a cheese board or picnic basket. They are a great addition to my Vanilla Dutch Baby with Clementine Curd as well. 

If you want all the strawberry goodness, serve them along with my Easy Strawberry Basil Lemonade. You could even make pickled strawberry shortcake. The possibilities here are many and varied!

Once you have used up the strawberries, you can use the brine as the vinegar component in a salad dressing. It makes a nice strawberry flavored vinaigrette!

If you tried this pickled strawberry recipe, I’d love to hear how they turned out! Just leave a rating or comment below, or take a picture and tag me @thecoppertable on Instagram. You can also pin to a board on Pinterest or share with your friends on social media! If you have not signed up for my newsletter, you can do that below. I have all sorts of exclusive content just for newsletter subscribers, and I’d love for you to join. Happy Cooking!