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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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pickled Purslane
Make the most of those nutritious and flavorful garden weeds with the easy Pickled Purslane recipe for a delicious sandwich fixing, snack, and more.
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
- Put the garlic clove into the bottom of a quart jar. Pack the purslane on top of the garlic.
- In a saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, pickling salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil.
- Pour the brine over the purslane, making sure to submerge all the purslane under the brine.
- Seal the jar and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 days before eating.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1/4 cupAmount 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.
Why do you pull the whole plant and then cut the roots off?
I pull the whole plant because it’s actually a weed to me. Usually, it’s trying to choke out something I want growing in the vegetable garden. I pull it and trim the root, but a person could just trim what they needed and let the plant thrive.
Is it necessary to cook the brine or can you use raw apple cider vinegar, mix it with the other ingredients and do the same thing?
It might take longer to pickle that way but you could do it. Be sure to let it sit for at least a week before sampling.
I have so much beautiful purslane growing in my garden, and I actually use it as a cover crop in some places since it is easier to remove than many other weeds. I keep wondering how I can use more of it as food (aside from the salads and smoothies). I love this idea Kathie!
Smoothies?
Yeah! Throw it in like any other green!
Scrambled Eggs
Scramble it with eggs
@Ken, Yes! Delicious!
I cut up into small pieces with chopped onion and a bit of butter and sautee this until it softens, then i add it to cooked quinoa, add sea salt and it makes an easy, tasty and healthy side dish for just about any protein or by itself. Yummmm!!!!
.
Yum!
@Reyna T, that sounds so delicious
Anyone know how long this will keep in the fridge? I made a jar & a year later it still looked & smelled perfect although I composted it to be safe. Also has anyone tried preserving other greens/veggies using this recipe with success? Thanks
Vinegar is a great preservative so this recipe should keep for a quite a long time but I would say to use it up within a month just to be on the safe side. The brine could be adapted just about anything you’d want to pickle.
@Rita, I added extra ingredients, but I pickel a lot of varieties. Mushrooms, all peppers, onion, cauliflower, little tomatoes, green beans, okra, slithers of carrots. Goes well with a hummus and green sandwich. If ya trying to quit meat, this sandwich will trick into thinking your eating the best chicken salad ever! 😆 without the super full feeling!
@Rita, pickled pursaline is the bomb!
These ideas and recipes are great. I’ve been a gardener for years and have to admit Perslane has been the bain of my gardens. I always suspected it was edible but never really looked into it. I came across your blog posts and everyone’s ideas. I’m excited to head out to the garden and do some weeding and then pickling. :)
Oh Enjoy!
Does it have to be refrigerated? My fridge space is much more limited than my pantry space.
I would say yes, it needs to be refrigerated. I haven’t tried keeping it out but there’s enough water in the brine that I would worry about mold.
If you do a hot bath canning, you could keep it on the shelf until ready to use.
@Tomi, I worry about hot bath , greens usual to pressure cook for long term storage. Not sure if this is correct seeing it’s in vinaigrette. Advice please?
This is a pickle and like cucumber pickles, I suppose it could be hot water bath canned but again I can’t say for certain how long it should be processed and honestly it’s going to get quite mushy, I’d think.
I pickled my purslane with jalapenos and apple cider vinegar. My son loved it. He said it had “kick”.
I bet it did have kick! What a great idea, thanks for sharing.
I have eaten dill pickle in the fridge over a year old with no ill effect. I you do a hot pack canning it will store out side of the fridge no problem, just can as if green beens.
I also dehydrate it, just the leaves and use in bread and soups, also freeze it for soup use in winter.
@tony,
Woah! What a unique idea! I’m so curious of the flavor it adds when dehydrated.
I made this today and cannot wait to try it in a few days! I did have a problem with measurements of the brine. In Australia, a quart is equal to almost 1kg. The measurements perhaps should be doubled as I had to make a second batch of brine to cover the purslane 😉
@Kitty, a quart is equal to 946 ml recipe is by volume not weight
I never knew purslane was edible or even knew its name until recently. Now seems like i see it everywhere! Now i love being able to grab a quick superfood snack wherever i’m confident it hasn’t been pee salted. Funny i was able to just search “pickled purslane” and immediately find so many devotees!
can you use honey instead of sugar ?
I haven’t tried but I don’t see why not.
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!
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?
You would need to can it and it would likely become very mushy.
@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.
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.
@Suzanne, My bearded dragon likes it too!
Can you pressure can this instead of a refrigerated pickle? I’d like to make it shelf stable.
I would have no idea what a good time for pressure canning would be and I think it would get very mushy, honestly.
I bet this would work very well to ferment!
Has anyone tried freezing purslane? I want to try it but I’m not sure how.
I imagine you could freeze it like spinach but I can’t say for sure.
@Kathie Lapcevic,
I remove roots etc and rinsed well, then chop finely and clean and spin in a salad spinner before blanching by cooking in the microwave and cooling fast with running cold water. When well drained I pack it and keep it in the freezer. The main use is to add to e.g. bolognaise to improve nutrition and reduce the % of meat. I have kept it for many months like this.