These authentic Mexican pickled carrots (Zanahorias en Escabeche) with jalapenos, sliced carrots, garlic and white vinegar are spicy, tangy and so good as a side for tacos, tortas and other Mexican dishes.
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Pin ItThese really are the best pickled carrots to eat with authentic Mexican food! They add a freshness and tang that goes perfectly with pretty much any Mexican staple.
Side Note: If you want something that works perfectly with Asian food, make sure to make this pickled carrot recipe: https://nurturedhomes.com/pickled-carrots
Mexican Pickled Carrot Ingredients
- Carrots: Whole, stem-on carrots are best for pickled carrots. They’ll be the most flavorful and the freshest.
- Mexican Spices: Fresh bay leaf, whole black peppercorns and Mexican oregano.
- Vinegar of choice: Plain old white vinegar is my preferred vinegar for Mexican pickled carrots, as it will make a clean and crisp pickling brine, letting the carrots and jalapenos shine.
- Fresh Jalapenos: Seriously, try to buy as fresh of jalapeno peppers as possible (no wrinkle skinned peppers!). Garden-fresh is even better. Remember, the fresher they are, the spicier they’ll be, and to make this recipe authentic the pickled carrots need to be spicy.
- Salt: Kosher or pickling salt.
If you love sweet pickled eggs, you’ll also love this beet pickled egg recipe.
Pickled Egg Recipes
Beet Pickled Eggs
How to Make Mexican Pickled Carrots
- Pack the Jars. Put the carrots, jalapeños, and garlic into jars.
- Make the Mexican Pickling Brine. Bring the water, vinegar, oil, salt, bay leaves, oregano, and peppercorns to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Pour Brine and Let Pickle. Pour your hot brine over the carrots and other vegetable, seal, and cool. Store in your refrigerator and make sure to refrigerate at least 72 hours before eating.
Mexican Pickled Carrot Uses
- As a snack: Seriously! These make the best spicy snack. Just add some of the pickled carrots to a bowl and snack away.
- With Mexican Food: An authentic side dish that is good with any Mexican meal, and provides a refreshing acidic palette cleanser for more heavy Mexican food.
- With grilled meats: These pickled carrots are good with any grilled meat, but my favorite are with steak and grilled chicken thighs (yum!).
- With eggs: Either on top of a fried egg, with huevos rancheros or mixed into scrambled eggs.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItP.S. If you want to try more pickled carrot variations, also try these beet juice pickled carrots and these whole pickled carrots.
Pickled Carrot Recipes
Beet Juice Pickled Carrots
Pickled Carrot Recipes
Whole Pickled Carrots
Mexican Pickled Carrots (Zanahorias en Escabeche)
Equipment
- 2 medium 16oz mason jars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1/3 cup jalapenos, sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 1 ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cup white vinegar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 1 tbsp salt
Instructions
- To make the brine, add the vinegar, water, oil, salt, sugar, bay leaves, oregano and black peppercorns to a pot.
- Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Remove from the heat.
- Pack the carrots, garlic, and jalapeno into two 16oz jars.
- Pour the hot brine over the carrots, leaving 1/2″ of headspace.
- Close each jar with a nonreactive lid.
- Gently rotate to move the seasoning around.
- Allow to cool to room temperature then refrigerate until needed.
- Allow the carrots to pickle for at least 72 hours before eating, preferably around 1-2 weeks for better flavor
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
