Unexpectedly delightful little pops of sweet vinegar-soaked strawberries on grilled sourdough with goat cheese, thyme, and honey!
Pickled Strawberries
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Made this for my kids for breakfast and I asked him how many stars I should rate it and he said 1000.
I bought honey flavored goat cheese since it has a honey drizzle which was perfect.
Sarah
This is a brand new recipe that’s part of our Spring 2023 SOS Series – in other words, EASY recipes! View our full collection of SOS recipes here.
In This Post: Everything You Need For Pickled Strawberries
- Lindsay’s Notes
- Pickled Strawberries Video
- Pickled Strawberries Recipe
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Reviews
Lindsay’s Notes
Okay, hear me out.
Pickled strawberries are my love of the moment. It’s the end of May, the weather feels like summer, school and activity programs are wrapping up, and my interest in making a proper dinner is at an all-time low.
Enter: these delightful little pops of sweet vinegar-soaked strawberries, smushed gently onto grilled sourdough smeared with goat cheese, and finished with thyme and honey, eaten on the deck at 4:30pm, and keeping us full and happy long enough to lounge around outside and enjoy the summer evening for a couple more hours. THESE ARE SO GOOD.
I debated including this recipe in the SOS Series – we usually do dinner recipes in this series, and this one initially looks and feels more like an appetizer or a snack.
But over the last year and a half as I’ve made these, I find that they often start as a pre-dinner snack… and just eventually turn into dinner. Lol. I can’t count the number of times I’ve thrown a jar of these strawberries together in the afternoon, assembled some toasts for a summery outside snack at that magical (challenging) 4pm hour, and then watched as everyone devoured enough bread, cheese, and strawberries to be happy for the rest of the evening. Works for me.
They are simple, unexpected, and honestly just plain fun. It’s the perfect way to sneak a little bit of delight into the week!
Pickled Strawberries Video
Pickled Strawberries
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Unexpectedly delightful little pops of sweet vinegar-soaked strawberries on grilled sourdough with goat cheese, thyme, and honey!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Pickled Strawberries:
- 1 1/2 cups halved strawberries (enough to fill a jar)
- 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- water to fill the rest of the jar
For Toasts:
- 6–7 slices sourdough
- one or two 4-ounce packages goat cheese
- some thyme leaves
- a honey drizzle
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Pickled Strawberries: Place the strawberries in a jar. Add the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, and salt. Fill to the top with water. Secure the lid and shake gently to combine.
- Wait Time: Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to 2 days. (I prefer these within the first 12-24 hours so they don’t get too mushy.)
- For Serving: Fry or grill the bread. I fry a few slices at a time in olive oil on my griddle until nice and golden and crispy. Smear the goat cheese on the toast and top with a few strawberries. Smash them gently with a fork. Sprinkle with bits of thyme, a drizzle of honey, and a hit of salt. Mwah!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Marinate
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: pickled strawberries, strawberry recipe, strawberry crostini
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Have To Use White Balsamic Vinegar?
I think you could achieve a similar end result with a different vinegar (apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar, for example), but I love the white balsamic because it’s naturally sweet and mild. I go out of my way to buy a bottle or two each summer and then just keep it stocked specifically for this recipe!
Do You Eat The Peppercorns?
I do like the peppercorns! They get softened a bit and I think they add the perfect bite of peppery crunch on the toasts, which is why you see them in the picture. That’s how I eat them!
However, I know that’s not for everyone and you can definitely leave them off your final toast creation if you prefer it without anything too peppery.
Could I Use Something Else Besides Goat Cheese?
Cream cheese or ricotta cheese are both great!
Do Your Kids Like This?
They LOVE it. We actually started them on it with a yogurt version – just smeared some whole milk Greek yogurt on the toast with the strawberries and they were so into it.
How Do You Make This Gluten-Free or Dairy-Free?
Use a gluten-free bread, or a dairy-free creamy element. We love Kite Hill cream cheese!
How Else Can You Use These Pickled Strawberries?
There are so many ways to use these – they are awesome just eaten plain, in a yogurt bowl with granola, or on a salad!
More Summer Snackies
- Extra Good Puppy Chow (no summer is complete without making this favorite)
- Elote Queso (this with a big ol’ bag of crunchy tortilla chips? yes, please!)
- Loaded Mediterranean Street Cart Fries (one of those very-filling-and-can-be-a-whole-meal recipes)
Filed Under: All Recipes Appetizer Berry Healthy Lunch Quick and Easy Recipes Snacks SOS Series Summer Vegetarian
May 22, 2023
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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This sounds amazing…question though…
Can I use frozen strawberries for this recipe?
These would be amazing on a salad..spinach, some feta crumbles, maybe some leftover rotisserie chicken yum!!!
We’re guessing that would work if they’re thawed.
Friends gifted us some delicious peach white balsamic vinegar, and my husband hates peaches. My last batch of strawberries wasn’t great, so I ate them drizzled with the vinegar, and they were outstanding. I can’t wait to try them on toast!
Oooooh, Trader Joe’s currently has a vanilla bean creme fraiche. I bet that instead of goat cheese on toast would be delicious (although goat cheese also sounds amazing). I will report back if I try it!
Oh, my husband did this before but you have a new recipe here. Amazing
I had strawberries that I needed to use and I decided to try this. Super yummy and the peppercorns are a great pop!
Haven’t made this but super interested. How long will this stay good if I kept it in the fridge??
We’d recommend about 5-7 days.
Made this for my kids for breakfast and I asked him how many stars I should rate it and he said 1000.
I bought honey flavored goat cheese since it has a honey drizzle which was perfect.
What size jar do you recommend?
What size jar should you use? I can’t seem to find that info in the recipe card or the notes.
16 ounce jar should work!
I am absolutely intrigued by the idea of pickled strawberries! I never would have thought of this combo. I’m definitely giving this a shot real soon. Thanks for sharing this fun recipe!
Not a big fan of berries but I realize their many benefits. Started buying little “flats” of blueberries washing them & freezing them to use in a “mash” if you will with lemon, ginger cinnamon & sometimes Turmeric blended together. Then I add flaxseed & or Chia seed for a mid morning snack. Saw your pickled strawberry recipe & thought I’d give it a try. WWWOOWW!! Whole new view of strawberries!! Love them pickled! Tomorrow I try your recipe with cheese etc. Truly enjoy all that you share!! Thank you for this!!
What a fun recipe! It has the potential to sound very strange, but I know that I can trust any recipe posted on this website! This is the perfect summer cocktail hour appetizer. It’s the best mix of creamy, crispy, tart, sweet… so good! I’ll definitely be making this over and over.
This was divine! I love the sweet and savory combo!
I want to make a cake recipe
I have a dinner party coming up and saw this recipe and thought what a great idea, so I made it today as posted and could not wait for the 12 hour window 😏 I had purchased the feta honey and had this foe my dinner tonight. I love it! did not have fresh thyme so used dry to see if I liked the flavor combo before I purchase fresh.
I looking forward to how the flavors have melded tomorrow and I have some fresh mint to try with it.
I just purchased some fresh cherries and will try that next. Thank for a lovely simple idea.
Will you provide the approximate amount of water for less than a jar of strawberries? I want to make a small batch since I want to eat them fresh and I won’t eat a whole jar quickly.
It’s hard to say an exact amount depending on how much you’re planning to make, but generally, we’d recommend about 2/3 full of water for a regular 16-ounce jar, so it’d be a bit less depending on the vessel you’re using.
I pickled cucumbers nearly a year and a half ago, using this method with the addition of boiling the jars in a large pot at a rolling boil for about 15 minutes. It seals the jar. I opened one a few days ago and they were fantastic.
What a fantastic treat! Made tonight and highly recommend! 😻😻
Those Strawberries surely look good. 🙂
What a unique and delightful recipe idea! Thank you for sharing this creative and easy-to-make recipe. Can’t wait to try it out!
This Recipe looks very exquisite and delicious. Really looking forward to trying it. If I MAY ASK IF I COULD ADD CHOCOLATE SYRUP
We’ve been on a pizza kick this summer with our new pizza oven. I used this as inspiration and we did a pickled strawberry pizza that was AMAZING!
Thank you 🍓 🤤
Hi lindsay,
I am contacting you about a personal matter. I believe your husband cheated on you with my uncle. <3 <3
Nice recipie.. I need to try this
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Could you please post pictures of the process of pickling just the strawberries not with the toast