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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.
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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.
Tag @liveeatlearn if you make a batch!
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 minutes
Resting Time: 2 hours
Total: 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 6 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 

  • 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
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Instructions 

  • Cut: Remove the core from the cabbage then shred with a mandolin slicer or knife.
    A half head of red cabbage being sliced with a knife on a wooden cutting board.
  • 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.
    A glass jar filled with chopped purple cabbage and minced garlic, viewed from above, on a white surface.
  • 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!
    A plate of shredded pickled red cabbage sits on a ceramic dish with a fork, surrounded by jars and a cutting board with cabbage.

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

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 22kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.6g | Protein: 0.5g | Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 396mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3.3g | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 0mg

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!

Love Pickles?

Be sure to try our other pickling recipes! Similar to this pickled cabbage recipe, these are all quick pickle recipes (meaning they’re ready in just a few hours instead of a few weeks!)

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4.75 from 286 votes (231 ratings without comment)

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221 Comments

  1. Jennifer says:

    Sounds great! How much is a serving? Doesn’t say in recipe or nutrition.

    Reply
    1. Sarah Bond says:

      This recipe makes 6 servings 🙂

  2. Judy says:

    Can I process these in canner

    Reply
    1. Sarah Bond says:

      I haven’t tested this recipe for canning so I can’t say for sure–sorry about that!

  3. Kath says:

    5 stars
    This was delicious and so simple to make-thank you!

    Reply
    1. The Live Eat Learn Team says:

      So pumped you loved it, thanks Kath!

  4. Art Peterson says:

    5 stars
    I had a question on the pickled red cabbage. It said leave in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. Is that for full pickling? I assume the shelf life is longer that that, am I correct? Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    1. Sarah Bond says:

      2 to 3 weeks is about the shelf life that I’m comfortable keeping it at but in theory it could be kept for longer. Full pickling is actually a different process that involves fermentation. This is quick pickling because we “cheat” and use vinegar 🙂

  5. Princess says:

    Can you use the leftover brine to pickle more cabbage, or add it to a new brain and have you tried freezing it?

    Reply
    1. Sarah Bond says:

      Yes! It can be reused a few times! 😀

  6. Elena says:

    Can I use green cabbage? Does the sugar have to be used to make it pickled?

    Reply
    1. Sarah Bond says:

      Red cabbage is ideal for this one because it has a stronger flavor! And you can reduce or omit the sugar if needed 🙂

  7. Heather Bostwick says:

    Have you ever done romaine lettuce??!! It is so satisfying! I save my pickling liquid when my pickles are gone and add romaine until the liquid get to diluted and keep it in the fridge, my favorite thing for breakfast besides sauerkraut!!

    Reply
    1. The Live Eat Learn Team says:

      That sounds sooo good Heather!

  8. Alfonso says:

    Too good!!! I’m putting this one everything 🙂

    Reply
    1. The Live Eat Learn Team says:

      Love to hear this Alfonso!

  9. David says:

    Hello, I started pickling a small jar of red cabbage, I didn’t have apple cider vinegar but I had a white vinegar mix I added some apple cider and red wine to it.
    I cooked red cabbage a number of times but hated losing the colour I am sure this will be great.

    Reply
  10. Ellen says:

    Hi,
    This sounds delicious. I hope to make it soon. Is this “quick version” a prebiotic, or would that only be with the long preparation? Thank you!

    Reply
    1. Sarah Bond says:

      The quick version doesn’t have the same gut health properties as long pickling does because it doesn’t have the fermentation creating all that good bacteria!