Irresistible Keto Spicy Pickle Relish Recipe: Tangy, Sweet & Perfectly Spicy!

This spicy pickle relish recipe is a perfect condiment that brings a delightful combination of tangy, sweet, and slightly spicy flavors to your keto-friendly meals. If you're looking for a way to use up those extra cucumbers from your garden or simply want to add a flavorful twist to your dishes, this recipe is for you. It's easy to make, stores well, and is completely customizable to your preferred level of sweetness and spice.

Why Make Keto Pickle Relish?

For those following a ketogenic diet, finding suitable condiments can be a challenge. Many store-bought relishes are loaded with sugar, making them unsuitable for a low-carb lifestyle. This keto pickle relish solves that problem by using keto-friendly sweeteners like erythritol, ensuring you can enjoy the tangy-sweet flavor without derailing your diet.

Also, making your own relish allows you to control the ingredients and avoid any unwanted additives or preservatives. This is especially beneficial for those with dietary restrictions or preferences.

Ingredients and Preparation

This recipe involves a few simple steps to transform fresh cucumbers and other ingredients into a delicious relish. Here’s a breakdown of the process:

Chop the Vegetables: Place the cucumber and onion in a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Be careful not to over-chop the cucumber and onion in the food processor or it can end up mushy.
Salt the Mixture: Pour the cucumber and onion mixture into a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Stir well and allow to stand for 1 hour.
Drain and Rinse: Drain the cucumber mixture in a colander; rinse with cold water and drain well.
Combine and Simmer: In a large pot, bring vinegar, sweetener, garlic, dill seed, mustard seed, celery seed, and turmeric to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the drained cucumber and onion mixture, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper, and return to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Sterilize Jars: Sterilize glass jars by washing them and then place in an oven at 120 °C for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven first.
Fill the Jars: Pour the hot relish into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Cool and Seal: Remove the jar and place it on top of a kitchen towel. Let it cool completely or for 24 hours on your countertop. It is ready at this point.

Detailed Recipe

Here's a more detailed version of the recipe, incorporating tips and variations to make it your own:

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

Ingredients:

9 cups of finely diced cucumbers
Finely diced onion
Bell peppers (combination of yellow, orange and red peppers for the eye appeal)
Jalapeno pepper
Salt
Vinegar
Erythritol (or other keto-friendly sweetener)
Garlic
Dill seed
Mustard seed
Celery seed
Turmeric

Instructions:

Prepare the Vegetables: Finely dice the cucumbers and onion. To preserve the crunchiness of the cucumber, coarsely chopping the cucumbers by hand rather than in a food processor to avoid an overly mushy result. Transfer them to a bowl. If you want more pickles in yours so cut out some of the peppers and added more cukes.
Salt and Drain: Sprinkle the diced vegetables with salt and let them sit for about an hour. This helps to draw out excess moisture, ensuring a crispier relish. After an hour, drain the mixture in a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain well.
Prepare the Pickling Liquid: Combine the erythritol, vinegar, ground turmeric, and Dijon mustard in a small saucepan. Add water to a large pot and bring to a boil, then take it off the heat. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Combine and Simmer: In a large pot, bring vinegar, sweetener, garlic, dill seed, mustard seed, celery seed and turmeric to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the drained cucumber and onion mixture, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper, and return to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Combine and Marinate: Pour the pickling liquid over the diced cucumbers and onions. Cover with cling film and let it sit for 2 hours.
Jarring and Sealing: Transfer the relish mixture to a large jar. Push down the veggies using a wooden spoon, leaving ½ an inch (1cm) of liquid above the relish. If the liquid is too much, discard the extra. Seal the jar with its lid.
Cooling: Remove the jar and place it on top of a kitchen towel. Let it cool completely or for 24 hours on your countertop. It is ready at this point.

Fermented Pickle Relish Variation

For those who enjoy fermented foods, this recipe can be adapted to create a naturally fermented pickle relish:

Chop the Cucumbers: Coarsely chop the cucumbers. Aim to have them all in uniform size so they fermented at an equal rate.
Combine Ingredients: Once cucumbers are finished toss them in a bowl with garlic, salt, dill and whey.
Jar and Ferment: Place into a clean jar. Sterilize glass jars by washing them and then place in an oven at 120 °C for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven first.
Ferment at Room Temperature: With the lid on, leave the jars to ferment at room temperature for 2 to 4 days until there are bubbles visibly rising through the pickle relish.

Serving Suggestions

This keto spicy pickle relish is incredibly versatile. Here are a few serving suggestions:

On Hot Dogs: Dress up those dogs with these three fun and easy relish recipes! Simply cut a slit down the length of the dog (about 3/4 of the depth). Hot dogs get a bad rap. Sure, there are some really gross varieties and brands out there, but a high-quality, all-beef frank is definitely a star at summer BBQs and cookouts. I love grilling up jumbo-size beef franks and substituting the hot dog for the bun.
With Keto Tartar Sauce: For a quick and easy keto tartar sauce recipe: Mix equal portions of mayonnaise and Garlic Lover’s Relish.
As a Topping: This tangy topping is great on keto fritters!
Other Keto Cucumber Recipes: Other fabulous recipe ideas to try are these Everything Bagel Cucumber Bites, Smashed Cucumber Salad, and this Cucumber Salsa with Fresh Tomatoes.

Storage Instructions

Canned Relish: Homemade pickles which have been canned properly with sterilized jars (be sure that a seal has been created) can be stored in the refrigerator, in the pantry, or in a cabinet for up to 1 year.
Opened Relish: As long as it is stored in the refrigerator it should last about a month.
Garlic Lover's Relish: The Garlic Lover's relish tastes best once the garlic has had time to marinate in the relish. To store, keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

Tips and Tricks

Adjust Sweetness and Spice: Feel free to adjust the amount of sweetener and jalapeno to suit your taste preferences.
Use Fresh Ingredients: Fresh, high-quality ingredients will result in the best flavor.
Sterilize Jars Properly: Ensure your jars are properly sterilized to prevent spoilage.
Experiment with Flavors: Test out those taste buds and mix-master your own unique flavor combination. The sky’s the limit… I’ve heard of fruity relish, minty relish, even bacon relish!

Nutritional Information

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs will not be included as it has a glycemic index of 0 (meaning it does not spike blood sugar) and it’s not metabolized. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

tags: #keto #pickle #relish #recipe