Easy Customizable Pickling Spice Recipe

Use this simple pickling spice recipe as a quick way to upgrade any homemade pickle with a flavor that’s truly your own. This easy, customizable recipe works for everything from classic cucumber pickles to vibrant pickled beets and onions. With a balance of warm spices, tangy notes, and a touch of sweetness, it brings a delicious complexity that store bought blends just can’t match.

Some links in this article are affiliate links and if you click on them I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Pickling all kinds of produce is one of my favorite ways to preserve vegetables, whether it’s a jar-by-jar cucumber pickle, a refrigerator beet pickle or fermented mixed vegetables. And while the combo of vinegar and garlic for classic pickles, or salt and water for fermented pickles provides the dominate flavors, adding a homemade spice for pickling can add depth and complexity to the finished pickle.

What is pickling spice?

Pickling spice is the term for a combination of seeds and whole spices that are mixed together to use when pickling produce. The whole seasonings withstand any processing and the different spices add a lot of wonderful flavor to pickled foods.

What spices are in pickling spice?

At it’s core, a good pickling spice is made up of mustard seeds, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes (or dried chilies), one or more “sweet spices” like cinnamon or allspice, and any other spices you want, like crushed bay leaves or dill seeds.

You can certainly buy pickling spice (I’ve bought it in bulk from a store with bins like WinCo or this basic blend) but then you’re stuck with whatever the brand chooses to use. And if you look at the ingredients, almost every store bought offering is different – most have too many ingredients, in my opinion, and often include something I prefer not to use, like fennel – or even sometimes a “sulfiting agent.”

This is the main reason to quickly mix together a pickling spice, so that it will be made up of the flavors that you prefer in pickles – and to even customize further for particular vegetables.

• Making cucumber dill pickles? Add dill seed and allspice to the basic seeds and spices.
• Don’t care for cloves? Leave them out!
• Want to make gingery beets? Add in dried ginger pieces.

With this simple pickling spice recipe in your arsenal, you’ll be able to create uniquely flavored pickles based on what YOU like – and what you may have on hand (saving you a bit of money). Whether you’re a fan of bold and spicy or prefer something milder and aromatic, this mix can be easily adapted to suit your personal taste and what’s in your pantry.

Recipe Ingredients

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

The basic ingredients that I always include are:

• Mustard seeds – either brown or yellow.
• Whole black peppercorns
• Red pepper flakes – or you can use whole, dried chilies (though I find it harder to disperse whole chilies evenly into jars when using).
• Dried bay leaves
• Cinnamon sticks, crushed

Optional spices and seeds:

• Dill seeds (I add this mainly for dill pickles or dilly beans.)
• Allspice berries (This adds nice flavor to pickled beets.)
• Whole cloves (I prefer pickled foods without this spice.)
• Not pictured: Coriander seeds, dried ginger root, fennel seeds, juniper berries

TIP: Sometimes you’ll see store bought ingredients that include powdered spices like ginger or turmeric. I would advise not to use these as the powder adds a cloudy aspect to pickles (and turmeric specifically adds a yellow hue to the produce).

Make This Pickling Spice Recipe

Storage

While it may seem expensive to buy all the seeds and spices if you don’t have them all, they will last for years and it’s much less expensive to buy in bulk than in small spice-jar containers.

The pickling spice you mix together will also last for years in an airtight container on a pantry shelf.

Recipes to Use Pickling Spice With

• Easy Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles (And Why It’s Better Than Canning)
• Easy Pickled Beets for Canning or Refrigerator, Jar-by-Jar
• Spicy Garlic Canned Pickled Beans – The Best! (I don’t typically add the spice to this recipe, but it would be a great way to make it your own.)

I hope you enjoy this pickling spice recipe – if you make it, be sure to leave a rating and review so I know how you liked it!

Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn’t change your price. Click here to read our full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.