This pikliz recipe is made with shredded cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, and fiery Scotch Bonnets in a simple brine, the perfect crunchy-spicy condiment!
Pikliz Recipe
If you are a lover of spicy food, Haitian Pikliz is a recipe you need in your recipe collection.
It's perfect for spicing up sandwiches and grilled meats, and can even be served as a simple side dish.
It's also very easy to make, and you can spice it up as much as you'd like.
What is Pikliz?
Pikliz is a Haitian condiment of pickled cabbage with carrot, bell peppers and fiery Scotch bonnet peppers. It is often served with traditional Haitian dishes to balance out fatty meats, or as a complimentary spicy crunch factor.
It's a must for Haitian cuisine, with a wonderful balance of crispy-crunchy vegetables, tartness from the vinegar, and a vigorous spicy kick from the hot peppers.
It's great with Haitian food, but you can enjoy this on many, many dishes. I think this is a recipe you're going to love.
Let's talk about how to make pikliz, shall we?
Haitian Pikliz Ingredients
- PIKLIZ VEGETABLES
- Cabbage. Shredded or thinly sliced.
- Bell Pepper. I'm using red bell pepper for color.
- Carrot.
- Scotch Bonnets. Scotch bonnet peppers are quite fiery, with a heat equal to the habanero pepper, about 300,000 Scoville Heat Units.
- Onion. Shallot is good, too.
- Garlic.
- FOR THE PIKLIZ BRINE
- White Vinegar. I use distilled white vinegar, or use apple cider vinegar for more sweet-tart.
- Lime Juice.
- Salt.
How to Make Pikliz - the Recipe Method
Shred or Chop the Vegetables. Mix the pikliz vegetables - cabbage, carrot, bell pepper, sliced Scotch bonnet peppers, onion, and garlic - in a large bowl.
Jar Them Up. Transfer the vegetables to a large Ball jar.
Make the Pikliz Brine. Whisk together the brine ingredients - vinegar, lime juice, salt, and optional black pepper - then pour it into the jar. Be sure to completely cover the vegetables with the brine.
Let the Flavors Develop. Secure the lid and refrigerate for 3 days or longer to let the flavors mingle.
Boom! Done! Your pikliz is ready to serve. Easy enough to make, isn't it? This is fantastic on grilled meats, or as a spicy slaw for your sandwiches, sausages, and burgers.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Scotch Bonnets. If you're unable to find these peppers, use habanero peppers, which are very similar in heat and flavor. Consider other hot peppers as well, or use milder peppers for a less fiery version.
- Other Vegetables. Add other vegetables to your preference for flavor variations, like other hot peppers, cucumber, asparagus and others.
- Seasonings and Herbs. Make this pikliz your own by adding your favorite herbs and seasonings, like fresh basil or thyme, cumin seeds, whole peppercorns, cloves, lemon, or others. Pikliz is very customizable.
Serving Pikliz
Serve Pikliz with fried foods to balance out the greasiness. It is great piled on to grilled meats and sandwiches for a nice spicy crunch factor. Try it on your next shrimp po' boy sandwich!
Try it with your favorite rice and beans recipe, like Jamaican rice and peas. I love it on smoked pulled pork, and on fish tacos.
Storage
Store your pikliz in the refrigerator, properly sealed. Because it is pickled, it will last a month or longer. Vinegar is a preservative as well as a flavoring agent.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy the pikliz!. Let me know if you make it, and if you enjoyed it. Might be your new favorite condiment!
Tools Used For This Recipe
Amazon Affiliate links, my friends!
Ball Jars - Makes pickling easy, with large enough jars to accommodate a good sized batch of vegetables or peppers.
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Pikliz Recipe (Spicy Haitian Pickled Slaw)
Ingredients
PIKLIZ VEGETABLES
- 1.5 cups shredded or thinly sliced cabbage
- 1 medium red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 medium carrot grated (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2-4 Scotch Bonnet peppers sliced (use habanero as a sub)
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
FOR THE PICKLING BRINE
- 1.5 cups white vinegar use apple cider vinegar for more sweet-tart
- Juice from 1/2 large lime
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Black pepper to taste optional
Instructions
- Mix the pikliz vegetables - cabbage, carrot, bell pepper, Scotch bonnet peppers, onion, and garlic - in a large bowl.
- Transfer the vegetables to a large Ball jar.
- Whisk together the brine ingredients - vinegar, lime juice, salt, and optional black pepper - then pour it into the jar. Be sure to completely cover the vegetables with the brine.
- Secure the lid and refrigerate for 3 days or longer to let the flavors mingle.
Nutrition Information
Dylan says
I wanted to make something Hatian for my neighbor, who is from Haiti, that I swap dishes with. This was a great baseline. I didn't nail the salt to acidity ratio the first time, but j got better. I made a double batch and used some peach ghosts, bohemian goats, scotch bonnets, golden habanero, and primatalli's. It came out great with a heck of a lot of bite to it. This will be a condiment I keep on hand from now on. Thanks for the help!
Mike H. says
You are very welcome, Dylan. Glad I could be helpful!
Janice says
Hello Mike,
This was a wonderful recipe. I used 50% brine from fermented carrots and 50% cider vinegar as, 100% vinegar too tart for me. I am new to this and cannot find out how to sterilize plastic mason jar lids. I did put them in boiling water for 10mins and I am having a problem screwing them on to the mason jars so I am wondering if I should not have boiled them. Searched the internet and could find nothing about plastick lids. I also boiled the plastic airlock parts and they all melted basically into strange shapes? I have ruined a few things making sure everything was sterilized. The only think I did not sterilize was me but, I did consider a hazmat suit when making recipes with ghost and scorpion peppers LOL. Sorry to ramble but just wondered what you think of plastic mason jar lids. Should I put them in boiling water and can I rub some oil or something on the screw part so I can get them on and off the jars? Once I do get them on, I cannot open them.
Thanks Janice
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Janice. Right, it's not a good idea to boil plastic lids for that reason. You can use the metallic Ball jar lids, which work well.
Janice says
Thanks Mike. I have just found out that not all wide mouthed mason jars are 'exactly' the same in size.
Mike Hultquist says
Sure thing! Yes, I have some wide and some not-so-wide. We like the wider ones, especially for Patty's kombucha.
Janice says
This was way too vinegar tasting for me. I used apple cider vinegar. Can I pour out 1/2 the vinegar and add distilled water. ? Or what can I do to tone it down?
Thanks Janice
Mike Hultquist says
Janice, yes, you can pour off vinegar and add water, or make another batch without vinegar and combine.
Beth says
Just made this, but used the bottom half of a reaper diced up as small as I could (my sb and habs are not ripe yet). It is delicious. Great easy recipe!
Mike Hultquist says
Boom! That's some nice heat, Beth! I love it! Glad you're enjoying it!
eric p says
yummy! I bought broccoli slaw, 2 habaneros, brine mostly as directed. great on tacos.
Mike H. says
Love it. Thank you for sharing!
Kurt M says
Been making pikliz for over 15 years when I moved to south Florida. There were no recipes on the net at the time, so I reverse engineered it from a batch that I got at a Caribbean store in Deerfield Beach. Basically the same, except no red bell pepper (but I like the idea for color) and I use at least 12 Scotch Bonnet/Habaneros for a 2 quart batch. We use it in place of sauerkraut on hot dogs. Just did some dogs last week for International Hot Dog Day. Running low, so it is on my to-do list. Just pulled a dozen orange datils from our pepper plants, so I will give it a try with those.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome, Kurt! I think this will be fantastic with datil peppers. Enjoy! Thanks for sharing.
Lorna Wiens says
Can I process this in a hot water bath to keep it longer?
Mike Hultquist says
You should be able to, though I've never tried it. You'll need to make sure the acidity is high enough - shoot for pH of 3.5 or lower for home water bath preserving. You could make sure it's all covered in brine.
Lorna says
I did increased the lime and salt amount. It looks so pretty with all the different colours. Thank you. I will let you know how it turns out.
Margaret says
Good stuffs
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks!
Connie Davis says
OK this was a total win with my husband. Had all the factors he enjoys......pickled, crunch, & spicy heat
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Glad to hear it, Connie! I love it.
Dave says
Best I’ve ever had used jalapeños
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome!
Bill says
I'm thinkin' this would go well on a banh mi sandwich!
Mike Hultquist says
Yes!! Perfection right there, Bill.
Jérémie says
Hey Mike, nice recipe! very similar to mine. Love pikliz and haitian dishes!
I recommand you to use it in Poul Ak Nwa (Haitian chicken with cashews) which is also made with Ti Malis sauce, a magnificent and very mustardy hot sauce ...that I also recommend, if you do not know it!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Jérémie! Thanks for the suggestions! I love it! Very nice.