Making Olive Brine Pickled Vegetables is an extremely easy pickling process that allows you to repurpose olive brine after all of the olives have been eaten, as well as to deal with little pieces of fresh vegetables that haven’t been used. All you need to do is to cut the vegetables into small, bite size pieces, place in a jar and cover with olive brine. Refrigerate for a couple of days and you have an awesome, healthy little snack. If you want the vegetables to have a spicy kick, add a couple of sliced hot chile peppers.
As you can see, there is nothing to this process. In the recipe, I’ve listed the vegetables shown in the pictures, and in the Kitchen Notes you’ll find other vegetables you could use. And if you buy Costco size jars of olives like we do, you’ll always have olive brine.
Olive Brine Pickled Vegetables
These are the easiest pickled vegetables you'll ever make. These pickled vegetables are salty, with an olive flavor, and stay crispy for 2 weeks, but, I'm sure they won't last that long.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 2 cups olive brine*
- Several small pieces of at least three of the following
- cucumber
- zucchini
- yellow summer squash
- carrot
- onion
- 2 hot chile peppers, sliced
- broccoli stems
- cauliflower
- Radish (Daikon is our favorite)
- garlic
- fennel
- Sweet peppers (bell pepper)
Cut the vegetables into small, bite size pieces.
For 2 cups of brine, you should have about 2-3 cups of chopped vegetables.
Transfer the vegetables to a clean jar with a non-metal lid.
Pour the brine over the vegetables. Tap the bottom of the jar to remove air bubbles. Add enough brine to cover all of the vegetables.
Close the lid and transfer to the refrigerator. Let set for 2 days before eating.
Olive Brine – The brine from a jar of pimento stuffed green olives is my favorite, but just about any olive brine works. If you have at least 1 cup of brine, you can make at least a small batch these pickled vegetables.
Vegetables – Any crispy, raw vegetable works. However, raw red beets will cause everything to turn red, but, if that’s o.k. with you then go for it. I’ve never tried beets so I can’t honestly say how they work.
How long will it last? – The vegetables stay crispy and last for about 2 weeks. You can make a second batch during that time using the same brine once the first batch is gone; however, the second batch will be less salty with less of an olive flavor, but still tasty. After two weeks, then it’s time to toss the brine.
If you have been reading my recipes for a while, you know that I repurpose olive brine quite often in a variety of recipes. These pickled vegetables are made when I’m completely out of olives and left with a good amount of brine. However, sometimes I’ll just steal some of the brine before the olives are gone and use in other ways. Below are some of the recipes in which you’ll find olive brine as an ingredient.
I was thinking that this was a wonderful way to repurpose not only the yummy olive brine, but also the glass jars that I can’t bear to toss after their contents (jams, sauces, etc,) are finished. Then I saw the note to use glass jars with ‘non-metal’ lids. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen one of those. If the lid on the olive jar is metal, why can’t you reuse it for the vegetables?
Denise, You are absolutely right. Olive brine doesn’t have vinegar therefore, metallic lids are fine. Sometimes I brine vegetables, especially carrots in dill pickle brine which does have vinegar, so I guess I have just made it a habit of using non-metallic liDods. Like you I repurpose jars all of the time. My husband is constantly asking “Don’t you think you have enough jars?” LOL Hope you enjoy the vegetables. Cheers, MJ
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I’m going to try this with kalamata olive brine! It might not turn out as pretty as yours, but I’m guessing it will be pretty tasty 🙂 And the hard boiled egg idea is great as well.
Fantastic! Please let me know how you liked and also, what vegetables you used. Thanks!! Looking forward to your feedback.
I just love this! It recycles the brine and gives a wonderfully colourful and healthy snack. I have to try it!
Thanks Lisa! It’s quite good, especially if you love olives.
This looks so interesting! I’ve never tried pickling using olive brine before – it seems like a great way to add some different flavors to a pickling brine. Thanks so much for sharing this! Definitely interested in trying this at home!
Thanks Billie! If you have any summer squash, chop it up and put it in olive brine for a couple of days. Oh man…it’s SO good! Hope you enjoy!
I love this! And thanks for linking up at Friday Frenzy Link Party! I hope you link up again next week 🙂 PINNED!
Thank YOU and you are most welcome!
I am certainly going to use this method to put to use all those left over veggies. thanks for sharing
Thanks Darlin!
Super easy and super delicious. This is a great idea MJ! Can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Bobbi!
Such a great idea! I love ways of reducing waste so and this is perfect instead of just dumping it down the drain!
Thanks Amy!
I have heard of this olive brine not long ago and was meaning to try it, but then forgot it again, so many recipes I want to make… 🙂 Thank you for the reminder! The glass of veggies looks delicious and like any true Romanian I love pickled vegetables. 🙂
Thanks Adina! Yes, it’s so simple and the idea has been around for quite awhile. Because we go through so many olives it’s pretty common here as well as pickling in leftover pickle brine. I love onions pickled in pickle brine.
What a great idea, from now on I will save my brine from the olives.
Thanks so much Gerlinde!
That is such a good idea. I’ve never thought to do anything with it except pour it down the sink which does seem so wasteful. One of my sons loves to drink the brine water – that’s something I could never do. Your pickles are so bright and colourful xx
Thanks Charlie! I’m with your son…I used to drink as well. 🙂 Olive brine and pickle brine both are so easy to reuse for this purpose. I hope you give it a try.
Nice idea, never had thought of brining my veg on olive oil. Sounds so Mediterranean, this must be really good with crust breads like ciabatta
Thanks Raymund! But read carefully – it’s olive BRINE, not olive oil. I’m not sure how one would marinate in olive oil. Maybe a confit, but not a cold marinade.
Bill is the olive eater around here, so this is a good excuse to buy a jar for him to snack on. I’d love to add these to an appetizer platter—so easy!
There would be great on an appetizer platter! I’ve been putting them out as an appetizer for just the two of us. Thanks Liz!
What a great idea! Makes me want to go buy some olives and eat them all!
Thanks Debra!
Beautiful pickles, MJ! And delicious too, I’m certain! I always pickle only chilli in leftover brine, time to change and experiment with other vegetables too. If I use the brine from olives stuffed with jalapeños (our weekly buy), the vegetables will become spicy without any additional chile…. I’m all motivated now! Time to open a new jar!
Thank you so much for inspiration and for the kind link to my blog!
Thanks so much Sissi! I knew you would like these. Now you just need to keep your SO from drinking all of the brine. 🙂 Great idea to use brine from jalapenos stuffed olives! My chile plants are still producing so I’m adding them to everything. Hope you enjoy! Have a wonderful week Darlin!
I can’t believe the colors stayed so vibrant. I haven’t used vegetables in olive or pickle brine but I do put hard boiled eggs in the leftover brine. In a couple of days they are perfectly pickled and keep a good while. I will have to try the veggies too. Hope mine look as appetizing as yours.
It’s amazing how vibrant they do stay. And crispy too. Hard boiled eggs? Now that is something I’d like to try. I know Bobby would love it since he LOVES HB eggs, so I’m going to try that next time. Thanks for the idea and the comment! XOXOX
The vibrant color is always what appeals to me the most — a nice bit of punch beside sandwiches of any kind. 🙂
Thanks Judy! The color is amazing isn’t it? It keeps the vegetables so fresh and crunchy. I made a smoked chicken salad with them yesterday and it was so good.
I love using Vlasic kosher pickle brine. It is great for pickling veggies but I love drinking the brine, especially in the summer. I have even used the low salt variety and it is good too. Salt is really the element that give the pickle its crunchy snap though.
I have often used a Japanese pickle press for making pickles too. It works great and the pickles come out very crunchy.
When I was a kid I use to drink pickle brine all of the time, but I think it pickled my throat because not I can’t handle it. 🙂 It’s good stuff though and I love putting onion in pickle brine. I’ll have to check into that Japanese pickle press. I’ve never heard of it. Thanks!!
You are a GENIUS!!!! I always feel guilty when I dump the juice from the olive jar or can. I love pickled veggies. This is sooooo easy too. AND I am going to share this information which is going to make me a popular person with some people. Wow, what an amazing idea. Thank you!
It’s amazing the ideas we can come up with when we really don’t want to waste something. And yes, not only do repurpose the brine, it’s SO EASY to do. Thanks!!!
Oh wow! I’m always looking for ways to use up every scrap of food. I hate being wasteful and often am. Usually because I overbought…. veggies. This is a grand recipe and one I will use.
I know what you mean. We have a compost but I would still rather use it, than throw it in the compost bin. Thanks Deb! Hope you’re surviving the fires out there.
Well I don’t think it can get much easier than that ;d so funny, I’ve been craving pickled veg like crazy lately?! (just devoured a large jar of pickled fire roasted red peppers). We eat olives like apples in this house — I’m overdo to try this delicious experiment!
We go through a lot of olives ourselves, thus the Costco size jars. 🙂 It’s such a great way to use all that brine and you’ll love how the olive flavor penetrates the vegetable. It even makes raw zucchini taste delicious. 🙂
I have to try this when I finish that huge jar of olives. A fantastic idea, MJ.
Thanks Angie! Hope you like it. It’s good stuff!
Now why didn’t I think of that? 🙂
I know! So simple right?
Genius. Pure genius. So simple and easy, too. Did I say this is genius? 🙂
Yah…you did! 🙂 Thanks so much John!!!!! Sometimes it’s those simple ideas that escape us. 🙂
Love this idea! I do it with pickle juice! Which reminds me I need to do this soon!
Thanks Abbe! When I do have pickle juice I use it, but we eat more olives than pickles and I just love how the olive flavor penetrates the vegetables.