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How to Make Pickled Purslane

Purslane is an edible, nutritious, bit of wild greenery that many of us see as a weed. When pulling it from the garden, consider bringing it into the kitchen and making pickled purslane as a tasty side dish or sandwich topper.

The great thing about this recipe is that it’s super quick to make, easily customizable, and keeps for a long while in the fridge.

A canning jar full of purslane leaves in a pickling liquid with text overlay stating how to make pickled purslane.

A Nutritious Forage

Purslane is packed with nutrition and flavor making it an often free source of healthy, tasty food. It’s loaded with natural and healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.

It’s great raw, on salads and in sandwiches.

Purslane’s flavor and sometimes tough stems lend themselves well to being pickled however making it an ideal snack in our house. These are a quick, refrigerator pickle. The tender purslane leaves will not stand up to the canning process but these do make  a delightful addition to sandwiches and salads.

Identifying Purslane

As always be 100% sure of identification before ingesting any wild plant.

A purslane plant growing in the soil.

Purslane has thick jade like leaves on slightly woody stems. It is very much a succulent plant in look and feel.

There is a similar lookalike plant that is poisonous. Spurge. Spurges leaves are not succulent. The easiest way to tell the difference if you are unsure is to break the stem in half. Spurge will ooze a white latex substance – purslane will not. Do not ingest spurge.

Harvesting Purslane

If you’re weeding the garden and it’s growing where you don’t want it, simply pull the plant, roots and all, and put into a basket while weeding.

If harvesting but want to keep it growing, simply snip off long stems of the purslane and place into your foraging basket.

Stems of purslane hanging over the rim of a metal bucket.

Cleaning Purslane

As purslane tends to grown very close to the earth it is going to be quite dirty.

Soak the whole plant in water to remove loose dirt and drain it very well.

Next, snip the roots from the plant. Give the leaves and stems another soaking and rinsing before spinning in a salad spinner to remove excess water.

Dry the leaves and stems by spreading them out on a towel for about an hour to remove excess water.

Close up of purslane leaves in a jar full of pickling brine.

Optional Additions

The recipe is fairly basic but there are ways to make it different should you desire:

  • Toss in a teaspoon of mustard seeds
  • Add a hot pepper or two for heat
  • A teaspoon of celery seed adds nice flavor
  • A bit of ginger root can be nice

Truly, feel free to add whatever bit of extra flavor you like in your pickles. Make smaller sized jars of different flavors, if desired.

A canning jar with brown paper over the lid, full of purslane stems in a pickling brine surrounded by fresh purslane and a fork on a table.

How to Serve Pickled Purslane

It’s wonderful on a pickle tray as part of an easy summer meal.

I quite like it on simple sandwiches with hearty, grainy bread.

Serve it as a simple side dish alongside grilled meats.

Yield: 1 Quart

Pickled Purslane

A canning jar with brown paper over the lid, full of purslane stems in a pickling brine surrounded by fresh purslane and a fork on a table.

Make the most of those nutritious and flavorful garden weeds with the easy Pickled Purslane recipe for a delicious sandwich fixing, snack, and more.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Quart Washed & Rinsed Purslane, Stems & Leaves
  • 1 ½ Cups Water
  • 1 ½ Cups Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Pickling Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Sugar
  • 1 Clove Garlic, peeled

Instructions

  1. Put the garlic clove into the bottom of a quart jar. Pack the purslane on top of the garlic.
  2. In a saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, pickling salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil.
  3. Pour the brine over the purslane, making sure to submerge all the purslane under the brine.
  4. Seal the jar and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 days before eating.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1/4 cup

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 16Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 51mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 0g

We try our best but cannot guarantee that nutrition information is 100% accurate.

Did you make this recipe?

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sammantha

Thursday 13th of July 2023

Can you pressure can this instead of a refrigerated pickle? I'd like to make it shelf stable.

Kathie Lapcevic

Tuesday 18th of July 2023

I would have no idea what a good time for pressure canning would be and I think it would get very mushy, honestly.

Suzanne

Sunday 9th of July 2023

Excited to try this. I have been telling everyone it’s edible and packed with good vitamins. I also give to Yoda. That’s my bearded dragon. He also enjoys them.

Mary

Thursday 5th of October 2023

@Suzanne, My bearded dragon likes it too!

Diana

Wednesday 3rd of May 2023

The pickled Purslane recipe says you can eat it after 3 days, but if it seals, can you keep it for a year or two? Would you need to do something else for it to be good that long?

Jane

Monday 7th of August 2023

@Diana, I pickle several veggies together to eat every day. I use cauliflower, onions, celery, carrots, etc. I boil the brine like in this recipe, cover the veggies and put the lid on jars. They seal because of the hot liquid. I open the first jar after a couple of weeks to get the most flavor. I never refrigerate until after I have opened it, and it lasts for a few months without any problems. I really do eat it every day too, with my breakfast croissants, with sandwiches and as a side dish.

Kathie Lapcevic

Saturday 6th of May 2023

You would need to can it and it would likely become very mushy.

Donna

Thursday 28th of July 2022

My vegetable garden is a disaster this year, overrun with "weeds"...I'm so glad purslane is one of them. Its definitely my diamond in the rough this year. Just tried sauteed purslane for the first time (delicious, btw) and now will use this recipe to pickle some as well. Thanks for the recipe, and thanks to all the other commenters for the wonderful ideas on how to use this super abundant and nutritious plant!

long

Wednesday 25th of August 2021

can you use honey instead of sugar ?

Kathie Lapcevic

Thursday 26th of August 2021

I haven't tried but I don't see why not.

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