Dill Pickled Carrots
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It might have been borne of a need to grow your own food after growing up through the Great Depression, or because she had 7 children over 14 years and kids never stop eating, or maybe it was just because she has the gift, but my Memere always had the most bountiful garden.
Memere always shared her bounty, both fresh and canned; spicy spaghetti sauce, canned peaches, pears, jams, and pickles.
My favorite of all things was the couple of rogue carrots that snuck into the jar of dill pickles. The crunchy pickled carrots were always where it was at.
You could try to argue with me that the garlic is the best part of the actual pickles, but you’d be wrong. The pickled carrots are the king of the jar.
This recipe is dedicated to standing out; like a carrot in a jar of pickles.
Tips + Tricks
No. 1 –> I’m sure you’ll agree that the worst part about canning pickled carrots is that you have to wait to try them! My Memere says you’ve gotta wait 4-6 weeks before opening a jar. I’ve been crossing days off the calendar, but I only ever seem to make it 3-4 weeks! If you open the dill carrots too soon, the flavor will be flat and far too vinegary.
No. 2 –> Canning spicy dill pickled carrots isn’t hard at all. It just takes a little bit of planning and some time. It’s well worth it.
No. 3 –> You don’t have to add the red pepper flakes, but in my opinion, the spice just adds to the flavor flave of these carrots. Dill carrots are good, spicy dill carrots are better!
No. 4 –> Don’t like scrubbing or peeling carrots, do like my mom and Memere do – rinse them with the hose and then throw them into the washing machine on a cold rinse cycle. This tip is a use at your own risk situation – I love (and need) my washing machine too much to put carrots into it HAHA
No. 5 –> Peeling is a personal choice. If you choose to peel the carrots before canning, simply peel while you’re waiting for the water bath and brine to boil, I find a good scrub is good enough on fresh garden carrots.
No. 6 –> If you’ve got fresh dill, use that! It’s superior to dried dill. Simply triple the quantities. I didn’t have fresh dill handy when I made these pickled dill carrots for photos, but either way works wonderfully.
- water
- vinegar
- picking salt
- garlic
- pickling spice
- fresh or dried dill
- red pepper flakes
- carrots
- Prepare canning jars, lids, and rings, by washing them in hot soapy water and rinsing well. Place them on a baking sheet with a clean silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the oven at 225f to sterilize until ready to use. I prefer this method to the boiling water method, but if you prefer to boil your jars, feel free to use that method.
- Fill your canner with water – enough to cover your pint jars and turn on to medium-high heat. This will allow the canner to come to a rolling boil while we prep our ingredients for canning.
- In a large pot, add the brine ingredients. Bring your brine to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, slice the carrots to desired size and thickness, remembering the required height for your jars! Prep your ingredients for each jar. I like to use a prep container to hold the premeasured garlic, pickling spice, dill, and red pepper flakes. One for each jar.
- Take the jars out of the oven, and while hot, add the pre-measured spices to each jar. Carefully stuff the jars with cut carrots. Use a jar funnel and ladle to fill each jar with brine, leaving 1/2″ head-space.
- Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean cloth and cover with a lid before screwing on rings “finger-tight”. To do this, I screw the bands on until the jar starts to turn on the counter, then back off about a 1/8th of a turn.
- Using a jar lifter, place filled jars into boiling water bath. Wait until the water starts boiling again then start a 15-minute timer.
- After boiling for 15 minutes, remove the jars from the water bath with the jar lifters, and allow the jars to cool untouched for 24 hours. Once cooled, move the pickled carrots to a cool, dark storage spot.
- Allow the flavors to meld and mix and the carrots to rest for 3-4 weeks before sampling!
Required tools:
- Pint (16 oz) Mason jars, lids, and sealing bands
- Water bath canner or pressure canner
- Canning ladle
- Jar funnel
- Jar lifter
Preserving tips
- Carrots must be pressure canned UNLESS they are pickled carrots. The vinegar brine increases the acidity of the carrots making them safe for water bath canning.
- If you open the pickles and the brine is cloudy, fizzy, or smells off, toss the entire jar. Don’t play around with food safety when it comes to canning.
- To sterilize my jars, lids, and rings, I always wash them in extremely hot soapy water – then rinse, and place them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 225f until I’m ready to use them.
- I shared in my Peach Jam recipe my love for prep containers – I often use 8 oz prep containers to pre-portion the spiced for each jar. This streamlines my canning process. I simply add the portions I need for each jar to 8 oz prep containers, then pour the spices into each jar before I stuff with carrots and fill with brine. I usually fill enough for the number of jars that can fit in my canner at one time (7x500ml jars)
Love Dill? Try these recipes:
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📖 Printable Recipe
Spicy, or not, Dill Pickled Carrots
Ingredients
Brine:
- 6 cups water
- 6 cups white vinegar
- 1/4 cup pickling salt
In Each Jar:
- 1 garlic clove halved
- 1/2 tbsp picking spice
- 1 tsp dried dillweed
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes – optional
- Carrots as required
Instructions
- Prepare jars and lids by washing in hot soapy water and then place on silicone mat lined baking sheet in oven at 225f until ready to use.
- Fill water bath canner enough to cover jars and begin to heat.
- In a large pot, add brine ingredients – bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, slice carrots to desired size and prep ingredients for jars.
- Remove jars from oven and add spices, stuff with carrots, while hot, and fill with brine leaving 1/2" headspace. Wipe the rim of each jar before sealing with a hot lid. Screw bands on finger tight – I usually spin them until the jar starts to turn with the lid, then back off 1/8 or so of a turn.
- Carefully, using jar lifters, place filled jars into the boiling water bath canner and wait until the water bath returns to a boil before starting a 15-minute timer.
- Remove from water bath canner and cool untouched for 24 hours before moving to a cool, dark storage spot.
- Store for 3-4 weeks before sampling!
Recommended Equipment + Ingredients
Nutrition
PIN THIS SPICY PICKLED CARROTS RECIPE FOR LATER!
Is it OK to use sea salt and regular vinegar? And what are the pickling spices?
I couldn’t find the requested ingredients in my market
Thank you
HI Dee, I’m sure you can use sea salt, pickling salt is just more economical when you’re using large quantities, as in canning. You can definitely use regular vinegar, I prefer pickling vinegar because it’s got a bit more acid content in it and it gives a bit more tang. I found a small bag of pickling spices at my grocery store, they are very similar to this one I found on Amazon!
I would love to try this recipe but instead of the red pepper flakes add some jalapenos! I think it would add a nice heat and tangyness that would be a nice contrast. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
That sounds amazing, Billy! Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
What size jars for this recipe?
I used pint/ 500ml jars!
do you peel the carrots?
Tammy, I did not peel them – they were fresh garden carrots from my mom’s garden and her trick to getting them so clean is to throw them in the washing machine. Now, back in the day, Memere’s washing machine was a top load and it always worked fine. My mom has a front load and it still works great – this advice is totally buyer beware, though – I don’t think I could put carrots in my beloved washing machine! haha
did you use your pressure canner? or a regular hot water bath canner?
Hi Natalie, I water-bath canned these guys!
Hi Ally. I’m concerned I used a recipe for pint jars (500mls) , that asked for 1 Tbsp. Picking spice along with dill and garlic cloves. Yesterday. ….after the water bath , one jsr didn’t seal. …so for curiosity’s sake I tasted it! I couldn’t believe how strong it tasted. ..awful! LOL This isn’t your recipe. Just concerned that the recipe asked for way too much Pickling spice. What do you think? And if so….anything I can do about it? Thank you!
HI Roxanne! The pickles aren’t ready – that’s why they taste awful. Usually, you’d leave canned pickles for a few (4-6) weeks before sampling them. Fresh out of the crock they are NOT good at all! Don’t fret, nothing is wrong – just close up your jar and put it at the back of your fridge for a few weeks. Once they are ready the flavour changes so much! I’d love to hear a follow up <3
Hi There,
I am in search of a recipe to can sweet hot carrots. Yours is as close as I can find but the sweet isn’t there. I bought a jar of canned carrots at a local farm market and the ingredients are as listed: Vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, dill, jalapenos, chile peppers and pickling salt. Honestly, these carrots are to die for. I need to can them!! Please help 🙂
Hi Norma,
Those sound amazing! I will keep my eye out for something similar – but now I am tempted to recreate that recipe!
Oh please do! They taste out of this world!! Nice heat, some sweet and the carrots were crunchy, everything just worked!!
Do these last for a year once they are processed?
Hey Lindsay! Mine definitely do! They may be a little softer near the end of the year but they are still top notch! I served some from last canning season this christmas and they were still excellent!
Will these carrots have a crispy crunch or will they have a flimsy bite. I’ve never tried dilled carrots. I’m interested in trying out this spring.
Hi Rita, they’ve got a nice crunch! Nothing worse than a floppy pickle!
I would love to try this recipe but instead of the red pepper flakes add some jalapenos! I think it would add a nice heat and tangyness that would be a nice contrast. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
did you use your pressure canner? or a regular hot water bath canner?
Hi There,
I am in search of a recipe to can sweet hot carrots. Yours is as close as I can find but the sweet isn’t there. I bought a jar of canned carrots at a local farm market and the ingredients are as listed: Vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, dill, jalapenos, chile peppers and pickling salt. Honestly, these carrots are to die for. I need to can them!! Please help 🙂
I would love to try this recipe but instead of the red pepper flakes add some jalapenos! I think it would add a nice heat and tangyness that would be a nice contrast. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
did you use your pressure canner? or a regular hot water bath canner?
Hi There,
I am in search of a recipe to can sweet hot carrots. Yours is as close as I can find but the sweet isn’t there. I bought a jar of canned carrots at a local farm market and the ingredients are as listed: Vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, dill, jalapenos, chile peppers and pickling salt. Honestly, these carrots are to die for. I need to can them!! Please help 🙂
Hi! I’m anxious to try this recipe with the fridge full of fresh garden carrots I got from my in-laws. Could these be pressure cooked?
I don’t think you can because it would make the carrots too mushy, BUT you can use your pressure canner as a water bath canner – use a lid from a normal pot and fill the canner till the water is 1 inch over the jars!
hI aLLY, I’M PLANNING ON USING YOUR RECIPE TODAY. cOULD i USE FRESH DILL AS i HAVE tons? aND IF SO, WOULD i JUST PUT A SPRIG IN EACH JAR, OR WOULD IT BE BETTER IF i CHOPPED IT? pS. i HAVE NO IDEA WHY i CAN’T CHANGE FROM ALL CAPS… i’M NOT YELLING. lol
Yes! If you have fresh dill, definitely use fresh. Just triple the quantity of dry dill. 🙂
Hi AllY
I used your recipe about 3 w ago. I played around with the spices and i added cauliflowEr, mushrooms, a few sliCes of Jalepeno and ref bell pepper. I can not wait to try them
Looking forward to hearing the results!
Hi Ally
what elevation are you at? it affects the canning process and i want to make sure i do this recipe correctly. thanks
I am under 3000ft. 🙂
@Ally, hi there approximately how many pounds of carrots for 10 pint jars
It depends on the size of the carrots and how they are sliced. I would say 10-12 lbs would be a good starting point.
MAking them for the second time!
So good right?! I’m waiting for my mom to call me and tell me she’s got too many carrots from the garden!
Just tried these today. First time canning too. Every jar sealed. I can’t wait to try them!
Awesome! Did you catch the canning bug? I’ve got it! LOL
Do you use pickle crisp or is it unnecessary with the pickling spices? Can’t wait to try these. Thank you.
Hey Victoria! I’ve never used pickle crisp and they’ve always been super delish and just the right amount of texture. Enjoy!
@Ally,I’ll be making this batch for the first time, can I halve quantities with good results ?
Yes, you bet! A half batch will work just as well as a whole batch! Just ensure you have enough brine to fill the jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace!
How many jars do I need to use for this recipe?
It varies a lot depending on the number of carrots you’re able to stuff in the jars! I often sterilize 4-5. There may be extra brine, but it’s always better to either sterilize more jars or toss a bit of brine than to not have enough brine!
Hello there! We made these on 3/1 and opened a jar today (3/28) to test out – we ate the whole jar between 4 of us! I have two troubleshooting questions.
They have a delicious flavor, but are also QUITE vinegary. Am I correct in thinking that the vinegar can not be reduced? It was okay for most of us but my husband was very turned off by the vinegar (and he usually loves tangy pickles lol). Do they get less vinegary somehow as they are stored long term?
Also, they are not crunchy or crisp at all. They’re the consistency of soft steamed carrots, or just very slightly harder than store bought canned sliced carrots. Not falling apart by any means, but no crunch.
I used my pressure canner as a water bath canner (but without securing the lid!) and it took FOREVER to start boiling, so the jars stayed in the heat for a long time just waiting for the water to boil. Could that be why they are so soft? 🤔
Thank you so much for your time! This was my first try at water bath canning and this recipe made it less intimidating!
Hey Alex, glad to hear you tried this recipe!
Here are my thoughts:
1. they are quite vinegary – but in order to be safe, the brine needs to be equal: water to vinegar. Over time the vinegar does settle down, but it will not completely disappear, you can actually add a bit of sugar to the brine to mask some of the sweetness without affecting the ph of the brine!
2. They may be a little soft if your pressure canner wasn’t already at a rolling boil when you added your jars. With water bath canning, the water is boiling when the jars are lowered in. I double-checked the recipe, and while I mention adding the jars to the boiling water bath in the body of the post, it’s not super clear in the recipe card, I will edit that right away! These ones, even though they are a little soft are still totally edible.
If you’re looking for ways to get rid of them to mask the sourness, they can be chopped up and added to salads or slaws.
Your recipe for Dill Pickled Carrots looks great.
Can we add pieces of cauliflower without changing the recipe ingredients?
Yes! that should be fine!
Can I do the pickled carrots without using the water bath
I don’t recommend it. Canning them using the water bath is the only way to make sure they are safe and shelf stable.
Love this recipe, I am about to make some more! I took a big jar to my daughters for Canadian Thanksgiving and everyone loved them. So tasty! Thanks for the great recipe.
I have to admit that this Canadian needs to get her butt outside and harvest her carrots to make dill carrots! I have been so so busy this year that I haven’t even gotten my carrots out of the ground! This is the kick in the butt I need!
I just pickled 18 pints of carrots using your recipe. I followed it exactly except I used fresh dill. I hope this does not cause a problem. I like the bold spices and the vinegar ratio is correct. I always use 1/8 tsp of pickle crisp per pint. I’m looking forward to using these pickles for new years cheese and cracker platters. Thanks❤️
Ahh love to hear it! Happy New Year <3