Homemade Sweet Pickle Relish {Crunchy, Tangy, and Probiotic}

Crafted from garden-fresh cucumbers, red pepper, and onion, our naturally fermented sweet pickle relish is the ideal topping for burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, or any dish you desire. What sets this relish apart is our unique fermentation technique—honey is introduced after the fermentation process, preserving its sweetness while creating a rich, probiotic-packed flavor. It’s an easy, foolproof way to venture into cucumber fermentation, free from harmful additives.

When cucumber season arrives, and you’ve already made your fair share of pickles, consider this recipe as a fantastic solution to make the most of your cucumber bounty.

This recipe offers simplicity and consistent outcomes, making it an excellent starting point for anyone new to cucumber fermentation.

A spoonful of the finished relish added to a hot dog or mixed into a pasta or potato salad recipe, not only adds a depth of flavor but contains enzymes and probiotics to help nourish your gut microbiome. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Pretty much, all storebought relish is pickled with hot vinegar and contains preservatives and nasty ingredients that you probably don’t want to consume.

I really wanted to have a sweet pickle relish without all the typical ingredients so I adapted the recipe for fermentation for a variety of reasons.

Fermented vegetables are naturally preserved. During fermentation, naturally occurring bacteria create lactic acid. This lactic acid acts as a safe and natural preservative, aids in digestion, and delivers a flavor-popping tang.

By making your own, you can control what goes in it and avoid nasty chemicals. No thank you to high fructose corn syrup, aluminum sulfate, polysorbate 80, artificial flavors, and artificial colors. 

Check out this label for a popular brand of pickle relish:

You control the final sweetness by adding honey at the end of fermentation. If we add sugar at the beginning of fermentation, we are just providing more food for the bacteria.

This not only makes for an over-active ferment but that sweetness is gone by the end of fermentation. The bacteria consume those sugars and make lactic acid. Adding it to taste at the end results in perfect, lip-smacking results. 

You won’t find this relish to be overly salty. I love my brine-fermented vegetables, but they tend to be extra salty, especially pickles. 

In this recipe, the prepared vegetables are fermented in their own brine much like sauerkraut. Instead of creating a brine with salt and added water (like most fermented vegetables), the brine is created when added salt pulls the water out of the cucumber cells.

This helps to cut down on the amount of salt used and results in a less salty finished product. 

Not only is this relish deep in flavor, but it is rich in probiotics, deep in flavor. Naturally fermented foods contain prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes that are important to consume on a regular basis to maintain a healthy gut. The more ways that we can effortlessly add fermented foods to our diet, the better our health. 

Now, be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make your own relish.

Key Ingredients

Local, fresh-picked vegetables always give you the best results. With fermentation, successful results depend upon the inherent bacteria naturally found on vegetables.

As you move past the pick date, the population of the bacteria that causes rot goes up and the number of the bacteria responsible for fermentation decreases. So, aim for as fresh as possible.

Typical ingredients in a pickle relish recipe are cucumbers, sweet pepper, and onion. I find that a ratio of about ½ cucumbers to ½ other ingredients works well. 

Cucumbers. Ideally, use one of the best cucumbers for pickling such as Kirby, Persian, or English.  I use a “snacking” cucumber picked small before seeds have formed or the skin has thickened. Since we dice the cucumbers and add other vegetables, this recipe is not as particular about what cucumber you use as it is when fermenting cucumber pickle spears.

Red pepper. A diced red pepper adds color and texture. If you want heat, add in some hot pepper.

Red onion. I like the color and flavor of red onion, but any variety of onion will work. 

Spices. In this recipe, I used coriander and mustard seeds. Other options are celery seed, red pepper flakes (or my favorite, gochugaru—Korean red pepper—for a subtle heat), and turmeric. 

Honey. Since, during the fermentation process, the bacteria consume the sugars in the ingredients, the “sweet” in this relish (honey) is added at the end of fermentation. I haven’t tried other sweeteners. I like that honey contains enzymes and bacteria that support the environment of a naturally fermented product. 

Play around with the ingredients in this recipe and make it your own. Sweet corn would be a fun addition.

In Pictures: How to Make Sweet Pickle Relish

First, place your bowl on the scale. Either zero out your scale or write down the tare (weight) of your bowl. Then, chop your cucumbers, pepper, and onions. Add prepared ingredients to your bowl. 

Determine how much salt to add by multiplying the total weight of ingredients by 0.03 for a 3% salt concentration. Add the correct amount of salt, mix well, and leave to sit for 1-2 hours during which time the salt will pull water out of your chopped vegetables to create a brine.

Pack the cucumber relish mixture into your jar leaving 1-2 inches of headspace. Seal the jar using a fermentation weight and airlock of your choosing. 

Leave it to ferment on your counter and away from direct sunlight. Start tasting on day 5, stopping fermentation when the desired crunch and acidity are achieved. 

When fermented to your liking, remove the fermentation airlock and weight. Use a sieve to drain off the brine.

Place relish in a bowl and stir in a few tablespoons of honey, tasting as you go. I like just a hint of sweetness, others prefer more. Return to jar and stash in your fridge to enjoy and use at a moment’s notice. 

How to Serve & Use

Sweet pickle relish is a versatile condiment that can add a burst of flavor to a wide range of dishes. Here are some suggestions for how to serve and use sweet pickle relish:

Potato Salad or Coleslaw. Mix sweet pickle relish into your salad recipe for a delightful sweet and tangy twist. It adds depth of flavor and a pleasant crunch.

Deviled Eggs. Add a spoonful of sweet pickle relish to the filling of deviled eggs to create a slightly sweet filling.

Salad Dressing. Combe sweet pickle relish with olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and herbs. 

Cheese and Charcuterie Board. Include sweet pickle relish as a condiment on cheese and charcuterie boards to balance the richness of the cheeses and cured meats.

Grilled Cheese. Add a spoonful of sweet pickle relish to your grilled cheese sandwich for a sweet and savory twist on this classic comfort food. Now, that sounds delish!

Feel free to get creative and experiment with sweet pickle relish in your favorite recipes. Its sweet and tangy flavor can enhance a wide variety of dishes.

Sweet Pickle Relish Recipe

Frequently Asked Questions

Happy Pickling!

Ready to embark on your sweet pickle relish adventure?

Share your experience with us in the comments below! We’d love to hear about your creative twists, flavor variations, and any questions you may have.