Spicy escabeche, a delicious Mexican pickled vegetables recipe, uses the powder of quick pickling liquid to soften carrots, jalapenos, and onions and merge flavors for an easy and spicy condiment.
Serve quick-pickled carrots, onions, and jalapeno pepper with refried black beans, Mexican bulgur bowls, walnut lentil taco meat, tofu chorizo taco salad, or your favorite taco recipes.
If you've visited Mexican restaurants with bowls of pickled veggies on the table, here's a little secret - they are super simple to make at home. The pickling brine, a simple combination of rice vinegar, maple syrup, and salt, softens veggies in about an hour.
Quick pickling isn't the meticulous process of sealing mason jars and following specific food safety measures. Raw vegetable marinating is closer to what we accomplish with this recipe.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
Carrots. Use standard orange carrots or select a mix of colors if you have a garden or make discoveries in your local farmer's market.
Onions. I recommend white or yellow onions for this recipe. If you've made my pickled red onions (and you should), you know that red onions will seep their color throughout the dish.
Rice Vinegar. A mellow white vinegar, like rice vinegar (rice wine vinegar), won't overpower the flavor. The best substitutes are white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
Oregano. Use dried oregano, Mexican oregano, or chopped fresh oregano leaves. I used regular oregano because it's accessible where I live. Mexican oregano has a stronger flavor, so cut the amount in half if you use it. Use 2 tablespoons of fresh oregano.
Jalapenos. Adjust the number of jalapenos depending on how much spice you like. I usually cut the stem off and use a small knife to clean out some of the flesh, then shake out a few seeds before slicing the pepper into rings.
Maple syrup. I prefer using a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or date paste. As a substitute, use 2 tablespoons of date or coconut sugar. Be sure to thoroughly dissolve the sugar in the pickling solution before adding it to the vegetables.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
Recipe Variations
In addition to carrots and onions, firm veggies like jicama, cauliflower, or radishes make great additions to homemade escabeche. Softer vegetables like mushrooms or cucumbers can also be used, but they will get very soft after you store them over time.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep the vegetables and add them to a medium bowl.
Mix the vinegar, maple syrup, and salt in a small dish or jar. Add it to the veggies along with the oregano and mix well.
Pro Tips
- For best results, rest the quick pickles for an hour or longer.
- Thinly sliced carrots pickle quicker. Use a sharp knife or mandoline for thin slices.
Denise's Tip
Escabeche lasts a week or longer, so it's perfect for making ahead!
Serving Suggestions
Mexican pickled veggies ramp the flavor of simple dishes like tofu scramble, refried pinto beans tostadas, or barbecue chickpea wraps. Use it to make quick bean salads using canned beans and chopped cilantro. My personal favorite is adding it to top a big Mexican pizza with whole wheat pizza crust, refried beans, and cashew queso. Yummy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Mexican pickled vegetables (escabeche) can be stored in the refrigerator for a week in an airtight container or mason jar.
Mexican oregano has a different flavor profile than regular Greek-style oregano. Mexican oregano has notes of citrus with hints of anise. Regular oregano is peppery, slightly sweet, and bitter. Mexican oregano is more pungent, so you may want to make adjustments if you swap one for the other.
Quick-pickled vegetables use vinegar in the pickle brine, which preserves the vegetables, adds flavor, and retains crunch. Fermented foods rely on a chemical reaction of water, salt, and the natural sugars of the ingredients to create a sour flavor.
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Spicy Escabeche (Mexican Pickled Vegetables)
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Ingredients
- 5 medium carrots - peeled and sliced thin
- 1 -2 medium jalapenos - sliced thin, shake out the seeds to reduce the heat if desired
- 1 medium onion - thinly sliced, see note 1
- 1 clove garlic - minced or pressed
- ½ cup rice vinegar - see note 2
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oregano - see note 3
Instructions
- Place all the vegetables in a medium bowl.
- Combine the vinegar, maple syrup, and salt in a small bowl.
- Add the vinegar mix and oregano to the vegetables and mix everything thoroughly.
- Allow to pickle for at least one hour.
- Makes about 3 cups.
Notes
- White or yellow onions work best for this recipe. Pickled red onions taste great, but the color can bleed into the brine and other veggies.
- Rice or rice wine vinegar has a nice mellow flavor. Swap with white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
- This recipe uses regular oregano. Mexican has a different and stronger flavor, so use 2 teaspoons. You can also substitute with 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped oregano leaves.
- Nutritional information is based on 6 servings of ½ cup each.
- Store Mexican pickled vegetables in an airtight container or covered bowl for a week in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Eric
Can't wait to try it. My first time with these ingredients.
EK
Denise
I think you'll really like this - it is so wonderful on wraps and tacos too! 🙂
Betsy Fields
I'm tring to find a recipe for mushrooms in this kind of hot escabeche. Can I just add mushrooms to this recipe? I used to buy canned Herdez' Champinones in Escabeche , but they are not available anymore, so I'd like to try to replicate it.