Pickled Green Tomato Salad
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Don’t let unripe tomatoes go to waste — this pickled green tomato salad makes a flavor-packed side dish or bread topping, and it’s the perfect way to use up all those green tomatoes that never ripened by autumn.
Serve these delicious and flavor packed pickled green tomato salad as a side dish or as a topping for your breads. The best recipe to use all those unripe tomatoes which do not get ripe by autumn.
Recently, a friend was watching one of my gardening videos and heard me complaining about the unripe tomatoes. So, she sent me a recipe for using those unripe tomatoes in our garden.
I am glad that she did at the right time. We immediately harvested the green tomatoes and I made this delicious pickled green tomato salad. This salad has become our new favorite, therefore this recipe needs to be on my blog.
Table of Contents
Why Pickle Green Tomatoes?
Not much grows during the winter months, so pickling is a great option. This salad is a perfect side dish to any meal, straight out of the pickle jar. Pickling was once the only way families sustained themselves through the colder months — a way to eat healthy, vitamin-rich food before refrigeration and globalization made produce available year-round. Done properly, pickles are shelf stable for up to a year.
Families traditionally pickled their excess summer produce using different methods to get through winter. It’s also a good way to avoid wasting anything already growing in the garden — including unripe green tomatoes.
Tools you may need
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- Sterilized Glass Mason Jars
- Mixing Bowl
- Kitchen Towel
- Wooden Chopping Board
- Large Pot
- Knives
How to Make Pickled Green Tomato Salad?
Ingredients List
- 1 kg green unripe tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 hot fresh red chilies
- 2 medium onions
- A few garlic cloves
- 1.5 tbsp salt, 2 tbsp sugar
- 50 ml vinegar
- 1 tsp mustard powder
Cooking Instructions
Prep the Vegetables:
Wash the tomatoes and cut them into halves or quarters. Chop the onions and add them to the tomatoes in a big bowl.
Salt and Sugar:
Add the sugar and salt to the cut vegetables and mix well.
Add the Blend:
Blend the garlic, red peppers and parsley leaves together, then mix into the vegetables. Stir and let everything sit for about 2 hours — the salt will draw out juice from the vegetables as they sit.
Fill the Jars:
Spoon the vegetables and their liquid into sterilized, dry glass jars, distributing everything evenly. Add the mustard powder or any other spices now, then pour in about 25–30 ml of vinegar per jar and close tightly.
Process the Jars:
Line a pot with a thick kitchen towel and place the filled jars inside. Pour water into the pot and boil for 30 minutes from when it starts boiling, then turn off the heat and leave the jars in the hot water for a further 15 minutes.
Cool and Cure:
Place the jars upside down overnight on a wooden board or tea towel. Let the salad marinate for about 2 weeks before enjoying.
Serving Suggestions
This pickled green tomato salad tastes great on sourdough bread toast, or served alongside raclette, rösti, or just about anything — the sweet and sour flavor pairs well with most dishes. It’s tasty enough to eat almost like a snack on its own.
Tips for Pickled Green Tomato Salad
Use sterilized, dry jars: this helps the salad keep properly once sealed.
Distribute evenly: spoon the vegetables and liquid evenly between jars for consistent flavor.
Be patient: the salad needs about 2 weeks to marinate properly before it’s ready to enjoy.
How Long Can You Store Pickled Green Tomato Salad?
Thanks to the cooking and canning process, this salad will easily keep for a year in the pantry — best stored somewhere cool, like a cellar. Once opened, refrigerate the jar and use it up quickly. The color of the salad will change a little as it ages, which is completely normal.
Ways to Vary This Salad
Once you’ve made the base recipe, there’s room to play:
Different peppers: swap the red bell pepper and chilies for whatever peppers you have on hand, adjusting the heat to taste.
Fresh herbs: try dill or cilantro in place of parsley for a different flavor note.
Extra spice: a pinch of mustard seeds or celery seed alongside the mustard powder adds more depth.
Why Pickling Is Worth It
Pickling was traditionally how families preserved vitamin-rich, healthy food through the winter months, before refrigeration made fresh produce available year-round. Making this salad is also a simple way to use up unripe green tomatoes rather than letting them go to waste at the end of the season.
Recipe Card
Pickled Green Tomato Salad
- Total Time: 210
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A tangy, flavor-packed way to use up unripe green tomatoes at the end of the season — perfect as a side dish or bread topping, and shelf-stable for up to a year.
Ingredients
- 1 kg green unripe tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 hot fresh red chilies
- 2 medium onions
- A few garlic cloves
- 1½ tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 50 ml vinegar
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- A bunch of parsley leaves (optional)
Instructions
-
Prep the Vegetables:
Wash the tomatoes and cut them into halves or quarters. Chop the onions and add them to the tomatoes in a big bowl.
-
Salt and Sugar:
Add the sugar and salt to the cut vegetables and mix well.
-
Add the Blend:
Blend the garlic, red peppers and parsley leaves together, then mix into the vegetables. Stir and let everything sit for about 2 hours — the salt will draw out juice from the vegetables as they sit.
-
Fill the Jars:
Spoon the vegetables and their liquid into sterilized, dry glass jars, distributing everything evenly. Add the mustard powder or any other spices now, then pour in about 25–30 ml of vinegar per jar and close tightly.
-
Process the Jars:
Line a pot with a thick kitchen towel and place the filled jars inside. Pour water into the pot and boil for 30 minutes from when it starts boiling, then turn off the heat and leave the jars in the hot water for a further 15 minutes.
-
Cool and Cure:
Place the jars upside down overnight on a wooden board or tea towel. Let the salad marinate for about 2 weeks before enjoying.
Notes
Let the salad marinate for about 2 weeks before eating for the best flavor. Properly canned jars keep for up to a year in a cool pantry; refrigerate after opening and use quickly.
- Prep Time: 180
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Side Dishes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10
- Calories: 30
- Fat: 2
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