Pickled Watermelon Rind
It’s watermelon time! Watermelon is the fruit of summer. You have to try this pickled watermelon rind recipe! We all love a juicy watermelon. I wanted to share this southern favorite pickled watermelon rind recipe that has a little spice to it. I love that you can eat this part of the watermelon that is also filled with nutrients and you waste less food. Normally would be thrown in the garbage or compost pile. FREE Printable recipe card at the end of this post.
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How to make Pickled Watermelon Rind
I was amazed when I heard about pickled watermelon rinds. We like to eat a lot of pickled and fermented food around here. So, when I learned you can pickle it into a delicious, crunchy, tangy and a little spicy recipe I knew I had to share it. Everyone was pleasantly surprised how great the pickled watermelon rind was. We couldn’t put it down!
Watermelon
I bought a large watermelon for this recipe.
Grab a knife and a cutting board. Cut the watermelon into manageable pieces.
Separate the red watermelon from the rind. Place the cut up watermelon out in a big bowl for everyone to snack on.
Prep the rind
Leave a small amount of the red part on the rind. I like that it give it some color and a little extra juicy-ness.
Use a peeler and peel off the green outer skin off.
You can now throw out the skin or compost it. KEEP the rind.
Jars
Now is a good time to prepare your ball jars. I used 9 pint ball jars. It was just how many I had on hand. I like the pint jars because that way I can share it with family and friends. Wash them in hot soapy water to disinfect them. In this recipe I did not can them in a pressure canner. They are just meant to hang out in the fridge up to a few weeks. But they probably won’t last that long.
Cut the watermelon into bite size pieces and place them in all the jars. Leave about 1/2 inch head space.
Look! SO pretty!
Ingredients
Gather up the pickling ingredients. You need water, apple cider vinegar with lemon, sugar, salt, mixed pepper corns, red pepper flakes.
I used apple cider vinegar with lemon juice already in it. If you don’t have this kind, you can use regular apple cider vinegar and add 2 tbsp of lemon juice.
I also used mixed pepper corns instead of black pepper corns. I thought it gave it a nice color and taste.
Boil
Bring all the ingredients to a boil for a few minutes and stir with a wooden spoon until all the sugar and salt is dissolved. Take off heat. Let it cool for a few minutes then pour it into the jars with the rinds.
Try to get even amounts of pepper corns and pepper flakes into each jar when pouring. Then add lids to jars. Put in fridge for a few hours before eating. Tastes great after sitting for a few days too.
All done.
Enjoy!
Other uses for watermelon rind:
- add to coleslaw
- candy it
- smoothies
- stir fry
- jam
- juice it
Watch it on YouTube
Pickled Watermelon Rind
Equipment
- Ball Mason Jars (approx. 9-10 pint jars)
- Pot
- Peeler
- Knife
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- Cutting Board
- Bowl
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 Watermelon (large)
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups apple cider vinegar with lemon (if you don't have this kind of vinegar, use regular apple cider vinegar and add 2 tbsp lemon juice)
- 2.5 cups sugar
- 3 tbsp whole mixed pepper corns
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 6 tbsp salt
Instructions
- Cut watermelon. Separate the watermelon from the rind. Leave small amount of red on the rind.
- Peel the outer green off.
- Cut into bite size pieces.
- Wash to disinfect mason jars. Place watermelon rind chunks into jars. Leave a 1/2 inch head space.
- Add water, apple cider vinegar with lemon, sugar, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, salt into a pot. Bring to boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Remove from heat. Let cool slightly. Pour mixture into jars over the watermelon rind.
- Add lids to jars. Let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours to a few days before eating. Enjoy!
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Thank you for stopping by Life on Leetown!
This doesn’t sound too hard. I’d love to try it…I’ve never had pickled watermelon rind!
My juice doesn’t cover all the watermelon in the jars. Do I need to make another batch of juice or is it ok this way?
Hi, I would. It’s a good idea to make sure everything is covered with liquid when jarring. Or maybe try condensing some of your jars so you don’t have to make another batch if that’s easier. Thanks for trying the recipe.
How long would you pressure can it for if you did
Can you water bath this do that it is shelf stable?
Hi,
How long are the pickled watermelon rinds good for?
It took me searching a few different pages before finding your recipe that’s looks great! I rarely comment online but I want to compliment your page and Thank You for sharing this recipe! Thank you for not having an overwhelming abundance of pop-up ads!! It’s refreshing these days to actually get to read a recipe from Pinterest without tons of ads popping up and being able to view it using my entire screen. Also, your recipe is well written without any spelling or grammar errors… that I’ve noticed;)
Although, I do wish your recipe also included canning directions. I wish you the best of luck and you’ve gained a new follower!
Sincerely,
Alicia Mackey, Modesto, CA
Where did the name Life on Leetown originate from? Thanks for sharing recipe. Yummy
Like another person, after refrigerating can I take it out to store on shelf for later use? If not how would you pickled them for a linger shelf life?