Zuni Café’s Zucchini Pickles Recipe (2024)

Leave most of the sugar out.

We left out the sugar and used a tablespoon of honey instead, came out very good!

This made enough liquid to fill 3 pint jars, not just two. So I sliced some carrots, celery, radishes, and jalapeño and simmered them a few minutes in the extra brine with added kosher salt, and filled a 3rd jar.Also, with the zucchini/onion mixture I filled the jars just with the vegetables first and then poured the brine over them directly into the jars. A canning funnel was helpful. I think this is easier and less messy than combining everything first.

Note to other reviewers: reducing the sugar will also reduce the amount of time they will keep in the fridge.

Per University of California (https://ucanr.edu/sites/fresnonutrition/files/14351.pdf) it is the vinegar which is the preservative in pickles rather than the sugar. The purpose of the sugar is to balance the tartness of the vinegar.

Delicious! Made exactly as written. I could imagine reducing sugar by 1/3, but still enjoyed them immensely. Husband, an avid zucchini-avoider, loved them. Great on the Zuni Cafe burger and just as a snack.

These are great and easy. Sometimes I add a tsp of celery seed; it makes it more like bread and butter pickles which I also love. Excellent gift-back to the porch fairies who leave you cookies. (and zucchini)

Outstanding - I used half apple cider/half white vinegar and cumin seeds instead of mustard. Best refrigerator pickle recipe I've ever made. Warning: if you don't like bread and butter pickles, you won't like these.

Instead of mustard seed (what I had on hand was too old) I used picking spice. Also cut off about 1/4 end of each zucchini so that I could lay the large 3/4 zucchini sideways in my cuisinart and slice it; then cut those ends as chips with slicer blade. It was nice to have a small jar of chips. Thank you Zuni.

I've made these several times and love them. Cut back on the sugar a bit, sure, but they are meant to be sweet and sour. My mandolin must have different calibration, because zuke at 1/16 inches just falls apart; I now use 1/8.

I make this as per recipe. I just use one medium zuc and one large onion. Comes out about right for 2-16 Oz canning jars. These are so amazing on burgers. We really love them on “ultimate vegi burgers” in this cookbook. It goes incredibly well with a ham sandwich also. Lots of zing! And they look beautiful. They are a staple in the fridge now.

These pickles are delicious. As an alternative, I make pickles that have 3T sugar and 3T kosher salt, white vinegar, mustard seeds, fresh dill, and fresh garlic. They are advertised as keeping for 1-2 weeks but actually keep for months. I pickle zucchini, fennel, cauliflower, onions, shallots, carrots and Kirbys. So I am not sure what the amount of sugar has to do with how long they keep if everything else is in balance.

Love these pickles. I used to make them all the time. Thanks for the reminder. Will try with less sugar.

These are really good and a perfect way to use up the extra zukes from the garden.I cut the sugar to 2/3 a cup and that was perfect for us

I am picky about homemade pickles but really liked these. I followed the recipe as written and will do the same next time I make them. I put them on pulled pork sandwiches.

great for a variety of garnishes, not just burgers

Sugar unnecessary. Maybe just a little bit. This was delicious. Zucchini will never be met with Meh again.

I highly recommend these pickles, especially in sandwiches (grilled cheese, corned beef, etc.). I make (and have made) lots of pickles and never thought zucchini varieties were worth the work. This recipe changed my mind and I can't wait to make them again next year.

These pickles are very good. The latest dish I used them in was chicken salad, but we eat them out of the jar too.

These pickles are delicious! As another commented, there was extra brine after filling the 2 pint jars. I combined the leftover brine with some olive oil and Greek yogurt and turned it into a tasty salad dressing.

Add tsp celery seedReduce sugar

This fills two of the straight lined Weck jars. It is fabulous

OMG so, so good! I did not add any sugar and they were delicious!

In response to the comment about reducing the sugar affecting how long they will keep--this isn't actually true. The vinegar is the preservative, not the sugar. The sugar is just for taste. This recipe has 2 cups of undiluted cider vinegar in it--these pickles will keep just fine in the fridge even without sugar. Many pickle recipes have no sugar and most dilute the vinegar used with water on a 1-to-1 basis. But given that the vinegar is undiluted, some sugar might be necessary.

courgettes instead of zucchinis, but otherwise made to a t. they're still crunchy after 24 hours and very refreshing. thumbs up! next time i may change some of the apple vinegar to rice vinegar and leave some of the sugar out

These are SO delicious. I make them as gifts for friends and they also rave about them. I made them first when faced with a glut of zucchini from my CSA, and I keep making them. They store well in the fridge, but no one can resist them on burgers, fish, cheese, other meats...

Do you think I could leave out the onion as we are not keen on raw/pickled onion?

These pickles are delicious. As an alternative, I make pickles that have 3T sugar and 3T kosher salt, white vinegar, mustard seeds, fresh dill, and fresh garlic. They are advertised as keeping for 1-2 weeks but actually keep for months. I pickle zucchini, fennel, cauliflower, onions, shallots, carrots and Kirbys. So I am not sure what the amount of sugar has to do with how long they keep if everything else is in balance.

Think we’ll grow zucchini again next summer.

Made these a couple of months ago and just tasted them- they are excellent! Wish I had made more. Great with breakfast.