Spicy Pickled Swiss Chard Stems
By Amanda Paa – Updated March 1, 2025
These swiss chard quick pickles are an easy and delicious way to use them! Just like any refrigerator pickle, you'll make a quick brine and pour into over the the top of the swiss chard stems, then refrigerate. The pickled stems get some kick from sriracha that's stirred into the brine, and spices! I especially love to make these with rainbow chard because the vibrant colors are so pretty.
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One thing I’m constantly striving to incorporate into my kitchen is less waste and preserving more vegetables before they end up in the trash. I love making a batch of no-peel tomato jam each summer, and of course we love eating chard for the big leafy greens, but did you know you could quick pickle those beautifully vivid rainbow stems? It’s true!
Recently I was braising some rainbow chard leaves in coconut milk as part of this quick and delicious Coconut Curry Ground Turkey dish, and I was determined to save the stems from the garbage and turn them into something tasty. The end result?
These tart and snappy pickled chard stems!
A combination of garlic, peppercorns, mustard seeds and sriracha are added to a simple brine, spicing things up to create this zesty quick pickle. No canning necessary, just a quick pickle! I like making refrigerator zucchini pickles the same way.
How to Make Pickled Swiss Chard Stems
This recipe is easy and requires only a few ingredients. You’re preserving the chard stems, but no water bath canning is involved.
After you’ve removed the chard leaves, cut the stems into short sticks, or you can dice them into small chunks. Then add them to a glass jar, and pour hot seasoned brine over the stems.
Then let them sit a few days in the refrigerator for the flavors to develop.
They’re a perfect snack on their own, diced on top of cuban pulled pork, or chopped into an omelet!
Yield: 2 (8 ounces) jars
Ingredients
- One large bunch of rainbow chard stems cleaned and cut to fit into mason jar, about 3/4 inch from the lip
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar or 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sriracha
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed divided
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns divided
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds divided
- 2 cloves garlic divided
Instructions
- Add each half of the celery seed, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and garlic to each jar. (If just making one jar, this can all go together.)
- Pack chard stems tightly into jars.
- Bring water, vinegars, sugar (or maple syrup), salt, and sriracha to a boil, in a small saucepan until sugar and salt is dissolved. Then pour over chard stems.
- Let sit until cool, then put lids on and refrigerate. Wait two days before eating for flavors fully develop. Will last 6 weeks in refrigerator. To eat, chop or dice them (important) and add to tacos, salads, as a relish for a sandwich, in omelets.
Did you make this?
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September 25, 2013
Linda
October 3, 2024
Hello there These look just like what I want to make except I do not have rice wine vinegar, I have white wine vinegar and white and apple cider vinegar. Would any of these be a sub for the rice wine vinegar? I cant wait to try it, My swiss chard is looking so good right now but there is so much stem. I would like to try this, Thanks
Amanda Paa
October 3, 2024
Hi Linda! The white wine vinegar would be good, just add an additional teaspoon of sugar to replace what would be in the rice wine vinegar.
Linda
October 3, 2024
Thank you so much. I will get them on, I got my chard all cut and ready to go, Thanks
Cynthia
September 7, 2024
Oh My! It is difficult to find flavors like these in recipes these days…These pickled swiss chard sticks are incredible! The best grazing tables and charcuterie boards MUST include these. SO DELICIOUS! I stored mine about 2 weeks before indulging, THANK YOU!
T
August 1, 2024
Delicious but my stems are turning brown did i do something wrong?
Amanda Paa
August 1, 2024
Hello! Im so glad you like the pickled chard stems. As they sit they will lose some of their color because of the vinegar. But it doesn’t mean anything is wrong, just the natural reaction that happens.
Victoria
April 22, 2024
Just put my first jars of pickled chard stems in the fridge and am so looking forward to trying them (I think I’ll wait a week). The pickling liquid is so tasty! And I love using every bit of the plant. I was freezing some of my harvest, and in that spirit I used the cooled blanching water, and the water in which I put the blanched chard to cool, to water my houseplants.
CW
December 14, 2023
Great pickling recipe! I use 2tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp maple syrup. I first started with just sugar but then added the maple syrup for the flavor. I also added 1 tbsp of salt. So far I’ve pickled Swiss chard stems, onion, hardboiled egg, cauliflower, and carrot using this recipe. The eggs turned a pretty red color from the Swiss chard stems. It took about 2 weeks for the flavor to fully develop.
Amanda Paa
December 14, 2023
sounds so great with the other veggies; thanks for making the recipe!
Gretchen
November 17, 2023
I love a tangy pickle, but these were even too tart for me. Was the water that usually is about 50% off the being off fridge pickles forgotten in this recipe? It was easy to add post brining. These are a big winner in my house and we are pickling beans, onions, cucs, …. They are great!!
Amanda Paa
November 18, 2023
Thank you for catching that, I really appreciate it! Now added!
JL
August 25, 2023
I used fresh garden rainbow Swiss chard stems from young plants. Made the recipe exactly and looked forward to serving them. Tried a few and they were so fibrous and waaay too spicy+ strong pickle flavor – enough to make me spit it out and drink water to get rid of the taste! Not for me! Waste of time and ingredients- might be a good brine (less sriracha tho) for something else, but chard stems need to be cooked, IMO. Hard to believe a 4 yr old could eat anything in this brine!! (Comment below)
Amanda Paa
August 26, 2023
Sorry that they weren’t for you, chard definitely has an earthier flavor.
Jessica
April 3, 2023
I made pickled red onions with this brine and they were fabulous, my 4 year old daughter and I couldn’t get enough of them, haha. I did try with chard stems when I had some in the garden, but I ended up not caring for them. The brine is delicious, and spot on.
Amanda Paa
April 4, 2023
Oh, great idea for the brine with pickled onions! And totally get that – chard stems are definitely not for everyone. :)
Natasha
September 4, 2022
So I replaced the napa cabage in a kimchi recipe with swiss chard stems. It was an experiment, but I love kimchi and I had an abundance of stems (i like to dehydrate the leaves but the stems take sooo long). Anyways it tastes very similar, the texture is crunchy and chewier than the napa. I dont know if i would do it again, still have to try frying it. It does take on the sour aspect of kimchi rather well.
Amy
July 10, 2022
These were super awesome. Going to use this lots in the future for quick and tasty pickling! I used chili flakes instead of sriracha. Thank you!
Amanda Paa
July 10, 2022
Yay, so glad you enjoyed them! And chili flakes is a great substitute, thanks for the note.
Eileen
June 25, 2022
Great recipe..enjoyed making and serving this quick pickle.
Amanda Paa
June 26, 2022
love to hear it, Eileen!
Sarah M.
June 3, 2022
We love these! Super easy to make and they are delicious on pulled pork tacos or sandwiches.
Amanda Paa
June 3, 2022
love to hear it, Sarah!
Shoshana
June 10, 2021
Love the bright colors and flavors in this recipe. Totes recommend and use this as a base for a bunch of different pickle flavors
Nanc
July 1, 2016
I am allergic to some of the ‘stuff’ in sriracha.
Can I use a jalapeno chopped fine?
amandapaa
July 2, 2016
Yes, that would work well!
Cindy
October 18, 2015
Can pickled chard stems be processed to keep some for over winter?
Amanda Paa
October 19, 2015
I would think they could, but have not experimented with this recipe.
Madeleine
August 29, 2015
Could it be hot water canned? I have so much I would like to make it and give as gifts!?
Krista
February 17, 2019
Did you process some. I too have to much to eat by myself. Did you use water bath.
amandapaa
February 17, 2019
hello! yes, you can process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Kathy
May 8, 2023
After processing, were the swiss vhard stems still a bit crunchy?
Amanda Paa
May 8, 2023
Yep, that’s normal! The stems of vegetables like kale, swiss chard, and collard greens are very fibrous, so they will retain some of their crunch even with heat. I like to chop up the pickled chard stems for topping things, making the smaller size easier to eat, but the sticks easier to can.
Gloria
June 30, 2015
I am trying to use items I have already; can I use mustard power, apple cider vinegar, and garlic powder instead of the forms listed above? Also, what, if anything, can substitute for sriracha and peppercorns? I am already fermenting beetroot & using the tops for salads, and I would like to do something with the stems, but I don’t want to buy something I won’t use again. Thanks for you help.
Amanda Paa
June 30, 2015
Hi Gloria! Apple cider vinegar will work, using dry spices will make it cloudy though. But if you’re not worried about that, the taste will still be good :) You could use 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes for the sriracha and leave out the peppercorns.
Alexandra
June 17, 2015
This was SUCH a hit at our buddy’s 30th birthday cookout this past weekend. We were all doing “pickle backs” with the leftover juice once the chard was gone — MMM! A must try. Making another batch tonight to give to my food-lovin’ stepfather. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
MPaula
March 9, 2015
I’m going to try this with stems from beet greens!
Amanda Paa
March 9, 2015
I think that this could make great pickled beet stems! Let me know how they turn out.
Sunday
January 1, 2019
I pickle my beet stems using the same brine I use in my pickled beets.omg! So good. I’m addicted to these now. Can’t wait for this summer to make tons of them:-)
Local Lavender
March 8, 2015
Thanks for such a great recipe! I reblogged this and linked back to your page. Thanks again!
Amanda Paa
March 8, 2015
Thanks Moriah, I’m glad you liked it!
cm
September 28, 2014
I am at a loss as to why they would EVER go into the trash- [or compost]; they are delicious! They are the best part! If you want to try a great fast vegetable, wash and pat dry one good sized (8-10 leaves) Swiss Chard ( I like rainbow)
separated stems from greens- chop greens coarsely and set aside. Chop stems into small sliced across the veins, ( little crescent shapes) . Chop 1/2 an onion.
Add 2 Tbl favorite oil to large saute pan. Add onion and Swiss Chard stems. Saute till onion starts to get translucent (few minutes) add chopped greens, stirring till they start to wilt and get soft. Splash with 2 Tbls red wine vinegar or spiced vinegar. stir, remove from heat and serve. Salt as desired.
You will never even think about throwing away the stems. They really are the best part. Yummy.
Donna
August 20, 2020
I’m glad you said that as i was going to! They are also fab in a cheese sauce and I make pasties using the entire leaf, with the stems being cooked before the leaf. Total madness to throw the stems away!
Jacqui
October 8, 2013
Awesome, Amanda! The colors of these stems are gorgeous. Bookmarked.