Name: Easy Pickled Red Cabbage
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 125 min
Ingredients: ¼ medium red cabbage; ½ cup apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar (120 mL); ½ cup water (120 mL); 1 Tbsp sugar; 1 clove garlic (minced); 1 tsp salt; ¼ tsp ground black pepper

Easy Pickled Red Cabbage

By Sarah Bond, BS Nutrition, MS Sensory Science, Updated Oct 16, 2025

4.75 from 286 ratings

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2 hours 5 minutes

Serves 6 servings

223 Comments

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Skip boiling! This guide shows you how to bring delicious, tangy crunch to your meals with extra-easy quick-pickled red cabbage. It’s a total back-pocket recipe that feels like a cheat code: zero cooking, just big color and bigger flavor.

Serve it on these cauliflower tacos or these tofu shawarma wraps, or make a pickled appetizer spread with more pickled veggies!

A jar filled with pickled red cabbage, with a fork lifting some cabbage out. The jar sits on a white surface with a green tiled background. — Tangy, crunchy, and unapologetically purple, this quick pickled red cabbage is the **secret weapon you didn’t know your fridge was missing**.

I’ve tested this recipe dozens of times. We’ve tried salting, simmering, shredding different ways…you name it. But the magic combo for fast flavor and vibrant crunch? A no-boil, vinegar-heavy brine and thinly shredded cabbage.

Toss it on chickpea tacos, layer it in veggie wraps, or pile it high on black bean burgers. It’s the kind of bold, briny crunch that makes your whole plate pop.

A woman smiles while holding a jar of pickled red cabbage inside a home with green and white decor.

A jar of pickled red cabbage sits on a wooden surface in natural sunlight, with a fork lifting vibrant strands of the tangy, pickled red cabbage.

Reader rating

★★★★★

“This was delicious and so simple to make-thank you!” —Kath

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Key Ingredients

Jump to the recipe card for measurements and printable instructions!

Red cabbage: We tested mandolin vs knife and found both worked, but a mandolin slicer gives those satisfyingly delicate ribbons.
Apple cider vinegar: You can sub red wine vinegar, but you’ll lose a little sweetness.
Seasonings: I use sugar, garlic, salt, and pepper, but feel free to throw in your favorite dried herbs or spices!

Overhead view of ingredients for a recipe: a head of purple cabbage, sugar, salt and pepper, water, apple cider vinegar, and minced garlic in separate containers.

Multiple glass jars filled with sliced red onions and pickled red cabbage are arranged on a countertop. Text reads “Quick pickled red onions.”. — This pickled cabbage has been a reader fav for years.

A hand holds a jar labeled pickled red cabbage, use by: 3/28. A halved red cabbage and a plastic bag rest on the counter. — This pickled cabbage has been a reader fav for years.

Pickled red cabbage in a glass jar with a green background.

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Easy Pickled Red Cabbage

4.75 from 286 ratings

By: Sarah Bond

Prep: 5

Resting Time: 2

Total: 2 5

Servings: servings

Breaking down the basics of how to add delicious and tangy crunch to your life with this guide to easy Pickled Red Cabbage!

Ingredients

Instructions

Cut: Remove the core from the cabbage then shred with a mandolin slicer or knife.
Assemble: Add cabbage to a large glass jar or bowl, along with all other ingredients. Seal jar and shake, or simply stir bowl and cover.
Pickle: Set on the counter for at least 2 hours (up to 6), shaking/stirring occasionally. Store tightly sealed in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks. Serve over salads, wraps, tacos, or burgers!

Notes

To lid or not to lid? You’ll want some sort of jar with a lid if you want to store this in the fridge for future recipes. A glass jar is optimal as it’s less porous. Plastic jars can make for some off flavors once the vinegar has been sitting in it for a while.

Can you can it? Keep in mind, this isn’t canning, it’s quick pickling, so it will keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge with a sealed jar. Tight fitting lids will keep longer than loose lids or just a covering.

Shelf Life: Raw ingredients will lessen your shelf life. For example, raw garlic, while a delicious edition, guarantees that your final product won’t last longer than the 2-3 weeks. Try to store in the middle of the fridge, as storing it in the back will risk freezing and storing in the doors can lessen the shelf life.

Nutrition

Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.

did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!

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