Mexican Pickled Carrots

Mexican pickled carrots are a crunchy delicious snack, often served at Mexican restaurants. Make this easy quick pickle recipe at home!

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT20M

Total time: PT30M

Rating

4.93 stars (130 reviews)

Keywords

Mexican carrots, pickled carrots, pickled vegetables

Ingredients

2 lbs carrots
1/2 cup sliced jalapeños ((See Note 1))
1/2 cup medium white onion ((about half an onion))
5 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
6 bay leaves (whole)
10 black peppercorns
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano ((or original oregano))
1 tsp salt

Cuisine

Mexican

Steps

Peel and slice carrots (See Note 2) and onion into 1/4 inch thick pieces (See Note 3). Cut the stems off jalapeños and slice thin on diagonal. Set aside.
In a large stock pot add the garlic, vinegar, water, oil (omit if canning), bay leaves, peppercorns, oregano, salt. Bring to a boil and add the carrots, onion and jalapeños (See Note 4). Lower heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes, uncovered.
Allow to cool completely and store vegetables and cooking liquid in clean, sterile glass containers with lid. (This recipe fills 4 pint or 2 quart jars.) If more liquid is needed to cover add equal parts water and white vinegar. Keep refrigerated.
Fine to eat after 3 hours, best if pickled for at least a day or two.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 50 kcal
Carbohydrates: 10.3 g
Protein: 1.1 g
Fat: 0.3 g
Sodium: 256.3 mg
Sugar: 4.7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 0.1 g

Reviews

Audrey on 2026-05-28 (5 stars):
Hope you make it! And btw... I'm an hour and a half south of Amsterdam, five minutes from the Belgian border, it's the REAL Netherlands here... for better or worse! :) We are really in Dutchie land! :) Just as most people here think visiting the US means going to NY or Florida Disney or a tour of Vegas, Disney and LA... :) Thanks for the recipe and encouragement.
Audrey on 2026-05-25 (5 stars):
Transplanted SFBA native to the Netherlands. Have had to figure out how to source ingredients and make all of my favorites (it's getting easier these days than 25 years ago) But I crave the carrots. I'm going to use yellow onion instead, luckily on my yearly visits to CA I stock up on Mexican spices so I have the good oregano. :) Thanks for the recipe, I don't do canning, but that's ok, I'm sure I'll eat it all up quickly, I have to admit, on my grocery shop after arrival, Safeway in the SF BA actually has some decent pickled carrots...one of the first things on my list. :)
L Wright on 2025-07-28 (5 stars):
Excellent recipe for spicy carrots… just like the ones served at my go-to family run Mexican spot Gilbert’s El Indio in Santa Monica, California. Next time I might hold off and add the jalapenos in the last 5 minutes of the simmering process… the jalapenos got a little limp because the carrots need the longer cooking time to soften some. I like my jalapenos to have a bit of snap to them when they are pickled - same as the carrots. 😄
Tina on 2025-06-01 (5 stars):
Just wanted to let you know your recipes is fantastic. I live 15min from the Mexico border near Calexico, CA. So it's always interesting getting Mexican recipes from outside of my area. What some think is Mexican is actually tex Mexican and there is a difference. Kudos to u for the recipe.
Andrea D'Angelo on 2025-05-17 (5 stars):
I've made this now twice in 2 weeks. Everyone that tried it said it was the best however I did add a few things like chop cilantro and instead of jalapenos I used Serrano and extra garlic - I know I am a beast 😄
Denise on 2025-05-05 (5 stars):
Perfect cooking to get a tender crunch - easy to make!
Jalynn on 2025-02-06 (4 stars):
I tried this recipe yesterday. It's so easy. I added a couple ofdried chili de arbol to get some heat. For some reason, this came out sweet. I didn't add any sugar. I'm guessing the carrots or the onion must've added the sweetness. I'll let them pickle a little longer and taste them. Hopefully, the savory flavor will come through. Thanks!
Kathy T on 2024-11-02 (5 stars):
Delicious and easy to make. The carrots are the perfect texture.
Doug on 2024-10-29 (5 stars):
Your Mexican pickled carrots were great.