Have you ever wondered how to reuse pickle juice instead of pouring it down the drain? Here are quite a few uses for that pickle juice!
11 Ways to Reuse Pickle Juice
1. Marinade: combine juice with chopped fresh herbs and some olive oil for a tasty meat marinade. After all, pickle juice is basically vinegar combined with spices and herbs.
2. BBQ Sauce Booster: Add a little pickle juice to your favorite bottled barbecue sauce for a tangy, tasty kick.
3. Pickled Veggies: Make your own pickled veggies. Cut carrots into sticks, snip the ends off of fresh green beans, and cut cauliflower into flowerets. Celery sticks, broccoli flowerets, and sliced cucumbers are just a few more ideas. Place them into the pickle jar of juice and back into the refrigerator.
4. Onions: Slice onions into rings and marinate them in pickle juice. Use on turkey and ham sandwiches!
5. Potato, macaroni or tuna salad: Add some pickle juice to your favorite tuna salad, potato salad or macaroni salad for added flavor.
6. Enhance Gravy: Add a bit of pickle juice to the Crockpot or Dutch oven when making pot roast or braised meat. This will add a great flavor to your gravy!
7. Deviled Eggs: Add pickle juice with the mayonnaise in your deviled eggs. Marinate them to make pickled eggs.
8. Corned Beef: Make your own corned beef by saving 2-3 jars of pickle juice and covering a beef brisket with it. Bake as directed.
9. Tartar Sauce: if you make your own tartar sauce, this is the perfect addition!
10. Brine: You would need to save quite a bit, but pickle juice makes a great brine for chicken.
11. Drink It: I’ve read that you can drink pickle juice, but don’t overdo it. You can very quickly reach your full day’s supply of sodium intake without even realizing it.
Do you reuse your pickle juice? Tell us how!
Try my recipe for homemade Claussen pickles!
Amanda Davis
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Anonymous says
I buy broccoli slaw at the grocery store (or you can make your own) and make pickled broccoli slaw – fabulous!! I strain the seeds and garlic bits out of the pickle juice first then put the jar full of broccoli slaw (it'll reduce so you can fill it to the top – just don't pack it in tight). Then pour the pickle juice back in. Wait a week or so and presto – broccoli pickled slaw!
SuperShorty says
I went to a camp when I was younger and they served frozen pickle juice at the snack shop.
Sue Horne says
I love the tips and ideas that have been posted here.
Our house loves to have chicken marinated in pickle juice. We then can grill it, fry it, or broil it. It is to die for!!
Sue in NC
REC(ession)IPES says
We don’t often have pickles in the house, but now I want to go get some to try some of these terrific ideas! Nice post!
The Littlest Gator says
Amanda, I am the editor on a new site called the budget artists, I do the FOOD channel. This week I featured your Thrifty thurs. piece!
Brittany (He Cooks She Cooks) says
Great post! I don’t eat pickles much, but I can appreciate the idea of reusing things in the kitchen. I just started a feature on my site called “What is that and why is it in your freezer/fridge/pantry” where I do the same thing. Good on ya!
Anonymous says
Here in the south it is often a flavor for snow cones. You can freeze it in to ice cube trays with a toothpick to hold it with at home. I love the caulifower idea. That might be a good way to get kids to actually eat it without complaining!
Val says
Excellent ideas! I've been clinging to a jar of sweet fire pickle juice & it sounds perfect for some of your ideas.
Thank you for sharing!! ;o}
Lyvvie says
I use pickle juice as a salad dressing base and will strain it to use as sushi vinegar. Best if it’s the bread and butter for sushi rice but if not, just as a bit of sugar.
I will try pickling some quail’s eggs in it though.
Suzy says
Great ideas, I usse some of those already, but love the one about pickling carrots and broccoli…
Thanks for sharing!
Cheri Sicard says
Great tips. I ha never thought about it. I use the oil from oil packed sun dried tomatoes and artichokes, but never though of pickle juice. Thanks Amanda.
I have two Thrifty Thursday Posts this week. First at Cheri’s Fabulous Foods we have tips for eating on the cheap while traveling. And at the FabulousLiving blog we have great ideas for making designer Easter Eggs without an egg coloring kits. I just use ordinary household items to get what I humbly think are great results.
Anonymous says
I strain the juice and put it in a spray bottle, then I mist potato chips with it.
Anonymous says
I never have any left! My husband and younger son fight over who gets to drink it!
Just the Right Size says
Three words: Dirty Pickle Martini!!!
Carrie says
I use the juice in potato salads and macaroni salads to add moisture. It adds salt and a more tangy flavor.
Diana says
What great ideas! I eat tons of pickles. I use the juice in tuna salad too, and sometimes if my stomach is upset I drink a little of the juice and it settles it.
5 Star Foodie says
Wow, these are great ideas to use the pickled juice! Very creative!
Druid says
My husband likes to pickle hard boiled eggs in the juice.
Alisa - Frugal Foodie says
I love the idea to use it in tuna or pasta salads. We never actually open the pickles when we have bought them in the past, but this my give me reason too :)
HappyTummy says
brilliant post! we don’t buy pickles very often at all, but we DO buy jarred jalepenos…and we use the juice when we make tuna salad.