The title of this post may have lead you to believe that this is the best pickled asparagus recipe. And that, my friends, would be a correct statement.
Though I'm not sure where the recipe originated, as many of these preserved and pickled foods go, I do know that I've been using it successfully for over five seasons now and am ever impressed by it's spicy deliciousness.
Yes, deliciousness is a word.
Okay, that was a lie. But who cares. You get my point. This recipe is FANTASTIC. Hence the title: the best pickled asparagus recipe.
And yes, as you may have guessed from the creamed asparagus soup recipe we made last week, it's still asparagus season around these parts. Asparagus, strawberries, lettuce, and spinach are the first beauties to show their faces this time of year. And as we anxiously anticipate the full-blown preservation season that we're heading into, it's nice to begin slowly with the preservation of asparagus.
Here's how we preserve other vegetables, like carrots and beets:
Though it's possible to freeze asparagus, my favorite asparagus consumption is as follows:
1. Eat it like a glutton from when it's in season
2. Pickle it
Maybe it's because I've been pregnant three times in the last four years that I love this recipe so much. After all (stereotypical-pregnant woman here) I love all things pickled when I'm pregnant. I also love warm baths, food rubs, and afternoon naps. Ahem. But regardless of the reason I love pickled asparagus, I know you'll love it too. And it's not too late to get some put up for your winter enjoyment!
The Best Pickled Asparagus Recipe
For more wonderful recipes check out our cooking community.
For each quart jar, you will need:
– 1 clove of garlic
– 1/2 teaspoon organic red pepper flakes
– 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
– 1 teaspoon organic dill
– 1 teaspoon organic dried oregano
– 1 teaspoon organic mustard seeds
– 1/2 teaspoon organic black peppercorns
– 10-20 spears of fresh & local asparagus, depending on spear size
Directions:
1. Wash and sterilize your mason jars. Line up on the counter like little ducks in a row.
2. Into each jar, put the garlic, red pepper flakes, sea salt, dill seeds, dried oregano, mustard seeds, and black peppercorns.
3. Wash the asparagus and cut the bottom of the stem off so that the asparagus fits into the quart jar. Gently stuff each quart jar with as many asparagus spears as it will hold.
4. You should now have quart jars shoved full of spices and asparagus spears – correct? Correct.
5. Heat up a vinegar brine to near boiling – 50% filtered water to 50% white vinegar. The amounts you'll need will vary depending on how many quart jars you're processing.
6. Once the vinegar brine is heated up, gently pour it into each asparagus filled quart jar, leaving 1/4″ head space at the top. Secure a sterilized lid and band onto each quart jar.
7. Process the asparagus for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. Gently remove and set on the counter to seal.
Stuart and I put up 25 pounds of asparagus in just under and hour and a half – not too bad for over 15 quarts of pickled asparagus! On top of the other pickled products we put up throughout the summer like green beans and cucumbers, that'll be plenty to see us through the winter.
Did I mention I love pickles? Oh, I did? Perfect. I just wanted to be clear.
I also love getting to see our canning room already filling up with spring goodness. It's been cleaned out and reorganized in preparation for this growing season and is ready to be filled to the gills with peaches, pears, cherries, apricots, relish, jams, pickles, and more!
Trust me – my energy is fleeting. By the end of August, I'll no doubt be cursing canning recipes. But for now, at the beginning of this wonderful season, I'll be thankful for the best pickled asparagus recipe known to man and the joy that it brings my little heart.
And my stomach.
And Amen.
The Best Pickled Asparagus Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon organic red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon organic dill
- 1 teaspoon organic dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon organic mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon organic black peppercorns
- 10-20 spears of fresh & local asparagus depending on spear size
Instructions
- Wash and sterilize your mason jars. Line up on the counter like little ducks in a row.
- Into each jar, put the garlic, red pepper flakes, sea salt, dill seeds, dried oregano, mustard seeds, and black peppercorns.
- Wash the asparagus and cut the bottom of the stem off so that the asparagus fits into the quart jar. Gently stuff each quart jar with as many asparagus spears as it will hold.
- You should now have quart jars shoved full of spices and asparagus spears.
- Heat up a vinegar brine to near boiling - 50% filtered water to 50% white vinegar. The amounts you'll need will vary depending on how many quart jars you're processing.
- Once the vinegar brine is heated up, gently pour it into each asparagus filled quart jar, leaving 1/4" head space at the top. Secure a sterilized lid and band onto each quart jar.
- Process the asparagus for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. Gently remove and set on the counter to seal.
Where do you get your asparagus? Grocery store? Or are you lucky enough to have people who grow lots near you?
Tons of local farmers grow asparagus around here so we can always get it from a little roadside vendor.
I am turning a little green! It will be off to the grocery store for me:/ I am trying to decide if this recipe will be my first canning attempt ever.
All of our farmers will ship asparagus anywhere. You can order or and they ship it in large flat rate priority so you get it 2 or 3 days after it’s picked. I know it’s not fresh that day but it’s much better than from the store.
LeLonna, where can I order it?
These are delicious and especially good in a Bloody Mary. Give it a try!
Wild asparagus grows on the side of the road here in Northwest Iowa this time of year. It’s insane. My wife brings home pounds of it every couple days.
Farmers market
Is that dill seed or dill weed?
Or just use a sea salt brine and let it sit on the counter for three days. Seal tightly and refrigerate. Lasts for months in the fridge and I do my pickles the same way. No heating to destroy enzymes. And salt is far preferable for pickling than vinegar. I still have sauerkraut in my fridge from last Sept and it is perfect.
I love preserving this way too Denise but I tend to run out of fridge space (even with a spare!) if I put all my vegetables and pickles up this way. I try and do a bit of both!
I do a lot of fermenting too, but also don’t have enough fridge space to store. I need a cave ha ha
Could you send me your recipe?
Denise, tell me about the sea salt brine please!
Denise….
I want to can sauerkraut
Could/would you share you recipe.
I have NEVER attempted sauerkraut
But I LOVE it!!!
I just want to know if a water bath canner can be replace by boiling water on the stove in a pot for 15 minutes
Thanks
As long as the water goes up to the neck of the jar. I have put a small wash cloth under it so that it doesn’t hit against the bottom of the pot while processing.
I came across this recipe this morning-after my daughter gave me a big bag of asparagus she bought at a local farm. I have 4 jars on the stove now. Thank you for this! My first canning of the season-doesn’t really start for me for a few more weeks when the strawberries are ready.
Any suggestions for finding organic white distilled vinegar? Thanks.
Health food stores usually carry it!
Wondering if this recipe is very hot. I see it has red pepper flakes. I am hoping it has some kick
Just finished my asparagus using your recipe! Brought back asparagus from Mexico in a duffel bag! I carried it in the plane We were home in 4 hours. Put it in refrigerator and canned them yesterday, got 10 quarts. They are so beautiful! My question- how long before we can taste them? Can’t wait!!
I’ve never tried pickled asparagus. I LOVE fresh asparagus, but I’m intrigued with this recipe. Actually, the post name and the photos sold me. 🙂
You’ve gotta try! It’s SO GOOD!
I tried your recipe for the “Best Pickled Asparagus” some months ago. After about a month, I opened one of the pints, and I wasn’t too impressed. However, after about 4 months, I tried the asparagus again, and it is so awesome! I’m glad I found the recipe again as I just bought several lbs. of fresh asparagus and I’m putting up several pints this weekend. Letting it “pickle” for the 4 months really made a difference in the taste. Thank you for sharing the recipe! Happy canning!
We love all things pickled, too! When I pickle asparagus, my spears get wrinkly and I’m left with a lot of space at the bottom of the jar after the water bath (even though they are cut to the size of the jar before canning). Any suggestions on how to prevent these two things? They still taste yummy.
Asparagus needs to be blanched(dipped in the brine, or even boiling water for 15 seconds or so). I find a lot of recipes miss this step. It is important for pickling beans as well.
We have asparagus coming out of
our ears each year, so glad to have this recipe! I canned 12 quart jars yesterday in no time flat! Very exciting for us! How long before they can be eaten? Thanks again! 🙂
You can eat it right away, if you’d like!
If I bought pint & half jars could I use those without too much math changes? 🙂
Can I use pint & half jars without changing the math & cook times?
The box my pint and half jars said to process the same as quarts
4 months or longer is best
I live in duluth Minnesota and sometimes we find wild asparagus but never in volume. Farmers market hasn’t been very impressive in duluth either. Can i just buy my asparagus at Sam’s in bulk and pickle those?
I can grow bananas, lemons and mangoes and everything else in the world. But, here in south Florida asparagus has trouble. This, peaches and quality nuts are the only things I pine after. My 2 lonely plants have produced occasional shoots for my wife and I to eat, but nothing even close to the volume where I could consider canning. I am so jealous.
How long does the pickled asparagus have to sit before you can eat it? A week? Six weeks?
I usually give it a month!
Hi Shaye.
Could you please clarify the difference between sea salt, pickling salt and kosher salt. If people are using sea/table/ salt I can see why the Asparagus would be salty tasting. Pickling salt is course, so there isn’t as much on a teaspoon vs table salt.
Thanks in advance for clarification.
I just finished canning 3 quarts of these. The 1/4 tsp of sea salt seems like quite a small amount? Every other canning recipe calls for quite a bit more.
When yu drop jars in water bath do you start timing it immediately or wait for it to come to a boil?
Wait for it to come to a boil 🙂
How long to let it pickle b4 eating????
Or did I miss something?
Was wondering if the asparagus stay crisp when they are done? I want to try it, but when I discussed it with a friend she said to try it only if they stay crisp after pickling. Thanks for any response you provide.
The secret to canning crispy is to put the veggies in an ice water bath before jarring. Lots of ice cubes.
I have my pickled asparagus in the hot water bath now, this recipe sounds so good. Thank you!
Morning Shaye
This recipe looks delicious. I do a lot of pickling and have always used pickling salt. Can that be used in place of Sea Salt? Would the amts need to be changed? Also can you put the mustard seed and salt into the brine instead of the individual jars? Asking these questions because I will be doing about 120 jars. Could really use your help. You need to post this recipe for bulk canning? Thanks for any help you could give.
This looks so great! I have yet to try pickled asparagus, but I’ve gathered a couple different recipes for it so I can give it a shot the next time I decide to pickle my own veggies! I have tried onions, pickles and eggs but I have yet to go for asparagus. I am definitely going to give it a shot! Thank you for sharing!
Tried pickled asparagus in Bloody Mary’s at a bar this is my first attempt at pickling anything.
I made this last spring and everyone who tried the asparagus loved it. Planning on making a larger batch this weekend now that availability and price is good. By the way deliciousness is a word.
I just made these on friday, how long should they sit before you eat them? a couple weeks?
Looks wonderful…do the spears stay crunchy with this method?
Thank you!
I made 12x quarts of pickled asparagus tonight, following this recipe exactly. I had one jar that did not seal properly, so I decided to sample a spear or two before reprocessing. I’m hopeful they’ll develop well in a month or two, but my initial thought was the oregano was overpowering and potentially out of place. I think I’d cut the amount or omit next time and double the garlic.
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I think these will make a lovely addition to the basket of homemade treats I’m preparing for my neighbors and friends for the holidays.
This is the 3rd year we are using this recipe and everyone who tries them just raves about them! Just put up 12 quarts last night with our first big batch of pickings from the garden. We omit the oregano (our family just does not like oregano in anything) and doubled the garlic cloves and added 1/4 tsp turmeric to each jar. TOTAL deliciousness!! 😉
I tried it and for whatever reason it looks as if the asparagus stalks are shriveled like if they were overcooked. They look nothing like fresh asparagus at all.
The jars are cooling right now so i have a couple days to wait to see how they came out but if it’s mushy and gross, it’s a waste of time and good asparagus.
Is this how it’s supposed to be? Did i mess up?
Mine looked shriveled at first too, but after a couple weeks they plumped back up.
What is the best place to store these jars?
there is no mention of how many quarts it makes. maybe the number is always circumstantial? . but I’ve never done this process so that needs to be explained if so. I don’t want to begin unless I’m given some kind of guideline on how many jars. thanks for any help.
I use up to 6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoons red chilie peppers
And also 4 whole red chilie peppers
They do get spicey over time vut great for adult drinks. Just my variation. Everything else is the same.
I don’t know if this is a stupid question but I’m curious do I already have my bath water boiling when I put the jars in or just warm it up and then bring it to a boil
It becomes so salty, it’s not good. Or, healthy, for that matter.
Going to try this, I put up 50 quarts of plain asparagus,,,can’t wait, but o will use homemade vinegar, mango, strawberry, orange, nettle
I just processed 15 pounds for freezing yesterday and I’m going to get 10 more pounds or so and line up some jars…Thanks for this, the ingredients are very similar to how I do pickles. I have a local farmer with an acre in asparagus cutting daily right now.
I followed steps and I just pulled them out of water. They are sitting on my counter and I don’t hear pooping sounds and I still see air at the top. Is this normal?
I picked wild asparagus growing on the ditch banks. Tried your recipe for pickled asparagus & it was delicious!
WE made 14 bundles into 5, quart jars, on Saturday…The asparagus was freshly picked that morning so there was little of woody ends to discard but after cutting it to length for the jars we still had plenty of stem parts left for 2 dinners… We made it exactly as described and If I remember, I’ll post a second comment in about 6 weeks when we open the first jar…The recipe was very easy to use… Thank you.
First time asparagus pickler. Followed the recipe exactly and also did an equal number of quarts using an old family recipe. We just cracked open a jar of each this evening (4+ weeks after pickling) and find the oregano in this batch extremely overpowering and off putting. I wish I would have read the comments before plowing ahead, but am also hopeful with more time to process the flavor will change.
Getting ready to try this, always can up 75 quarts of plain asparagus, want something a little different, recipe looks good
I absolutely love this recipe!! I waited the 4 months before opening a jar and it is THE Best pickled asparagus. I had put up 7lbs but that’s not going to last long, I can’t wait to make some more. I love that it has only 1/4 tsp salt and not too salty and I can eat all I want!
I intend to do this before supply gets low, but I have one question. Does anyone know a good way to keep the garlic from turning blue/green. I know it is only aesthetic, but the aqua garlic gets to me.
Thanks,
Pat
My first attempt at canning anything ever! Bought pickled asparagus at a recent cocktail party. Was $8.00 per jar at open air market! So found this recipe on line and made my own (more asparagus in my jars and less money to make)! Pretty simple process! Just hope the final product will be good!
Have you ever tested the pH of the final product?
Wow, my first 3 quart jars are finally in my “water bath” (large stock pot with metal trivet on the base) after a big effort. First, picking the asparagus from our 2 dedicated asparagus beds here in Melbourne, Australia. Then sorting them into fat, medium and thin (no judgement!!) sizes, going to the shops as I had no mustard seeds, doing the brine, washing and sterilising the jars, putting asparagus spears into jars, then making more brine as I didn’t do enough. The jar of ‘thin’ spears was not a Mason jar, just a recycled jar and it wasn’t packed quite as tightly as the others and i noticed that they are wanting to float up past the point of the brine. My glass weights are too big to go into the jar, which is a bit annoying, but we will eat these first, I think. I have used fresh oregano from the garden, my own garlic, Australian native pepper which I also grow so I am super excited to try this. Thanks for the recipe, Elliott homestead. I am calling them “Pandemic Pickles” as we are still in lockdown here.
Hi I just tried this recipe and I can’t see anywhere that it says how long they must sit before they’re ready to eat.