Watermelon Rind Pickles – Grandma’s Recipe
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Don’t toss the watermelon rind when you are done enjoying summer’s best fruit. Save it and make watermelon rind pickles instead to make a treat you can enjoy all year long.
Everyone knows the benefits of eating watermelon. But instead of googling can dogs eat watermelon rind and try to give it to them…Save it and make pickled watermelon rind instead. You’ll fall in love with this southern treat and will always want to save watermelon rind to make more.
I remember the first time my mom made these watermelon rind pickles. All I could think was “can you eat watermelon rind?” The answer is yes and pickled watermelon rind is a super delicious way to enjoy it.
One thing to look for when selecting a watermelon to make pickled watermelon rind is a really thick watermelon rind. It makes the entire pickling process so much easier. The one below was way too thin and we had to start over!
Health Benefits of Eating Watermelon
There are tons of benefits of eating watermelon, including the rind, such as:
- good amount of fiber in watermelon
- good amount of potassium in watermelon
- helps you hydrate
- contains compounds that may help reduce the risk of cancer
- contains several heart healthy components
- contains anti-inflammatory antioxidant such as lycopene and vitamin C
In addition to the health benefits of eating watermelon, pickled watermelon rind just tastes great. Plus, it is usually a great conversation starter too. My family typically gives some as small gifts too.
More Great Watermelon Recipes
Since you need a watermelon to make these watermelon rind pickles, be sure to try some of these other recipes to use up the watermelon before you use the watermelon rind:
- Cucumber Watermelon Salad
- Watermelon Brie Bites
- Watermelon Crush
- Watermelon Shrimp Kabobs
- Blueberry Glazed Watermelon
If you make this pickled watermelon rind or any other recipe from the blog, I’d love to hear about your experience. Let me know in the comments or snap a photo and tag it #MySuburbanKitchen on Instagram or Twitter.
Watermelon Rind Pickles
Ingredients
Brine
- 1 quart water
- 1/4 cup salt
Pickles
- 4 pounds watermelon rind peeled
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 4 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Cut watermelon rind into 1-2 inch pieces.4 pounds watermelon rind
- In a large pot, combine 1 quart water and 1/4 cup salt. Bring to a boil and add watermelon rind pieces. Cook for 5-8 minutes. Drain.1 quart water, 1/4 cup salt
- In a separate pot, mix together sugar, vinegar, cloves and cinnamon sticks. Add rind and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and cover. Let sit over night.4 cups sugar, 2 cups white vinegar, 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 4 cinnamon sticks
- Bring mixture to a boil again. Remove from heat and pack in hot sterilized pint jars. Cover with syrup and seal.
Notes
- The original recipe used 1/2 tsp oil of cloves and 1 tsp oil of cinnamon but I had difficulty locating those so I replaced them with whole cloves and cinnamon sticks.
- While included in the recipe card, the nutritional information is inaccurate as it takes into account the brine and syrup which are typically not consumed.
Nutrition
This is the perfect end of summer recipe!
These look delicious! Can’t wait to try them.
Great idea Shannah! I’m excited to make these for the fam. Thanks for sharing!
When you cover it and let it sit overnight, does it need to be put in the fridge or does it stay out at room temperature ?
I let it sit out at room temperature.
Are these refrigerated after jarring them? When sealing…is this in a water bath or just putting the lids on them, then placing in the fridge?
Yes, I do refrigerate them after jarring them. I do not water bath seal them. However, if you were to seal them in a water bath, you would not need to refrigerate until you opened the jar.
Would you happen to know how long to water bath can the pints, at 10#s of pressure?
Unfortuntely, I do not. I have never done a water bath with them.
How long does canned watermelon rind last
I keep mine in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. If you do proper water bath canning, it would last up to a year unopened.
Oil of cloves and oil of cinnamon can be found at a pharmacy. I buy mine at Walmarts pharmacy. Also some pharmacies carry rennet and mother for vinegar
Do you cut the outer green off of the rind, or leave it on? I’m looking forward to making a huge batch of these.
You need to cut off the outer green rind
This is as close to a straightforward watermelon pickle recipe as I have ever seen, and I have eaten them for over five decades. The thought of using garlic, peppercorns, or jalapenos is simply wrong. If you want to make savory or spicy pickles, call them that, but don’t call them pickled watermelon rinds.
What can you do if you add too much cinnamon
I made these yesterday a d finished them this morning. They are. delicious. I will be making more.
Thanks for the recipe.
Hi, I am the only one in my family who likes pickled watermelon rind. I LOVE them, but only eat them on occasion. How long can I keep them in the fridge?
They will keep about 6 months in the fridge.
Watermelon rind pickles might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of anti-inflammatory foods, but they are actually a surprisingly powerful addition to any anti-inflammatory diet.
My grandma’s recipe said oil of cloves and oil of cinnamon, too. All the oils I found were for aromatherapy! Not food grade. :(. I adapted to using cloves and cinnamon sticks, just like you. In this day of reducing our trash and using everything we can, this should resonate with the community. Thanks for posting this wonderful Southern treat!
What vinegar do you use for this recipe?
Hi – Just plain white vinegar.
I have been eating these pickles for six decades. My grandmother served them at her holiday table. So delicious and I would always dive in. The one thing she did differently was that she always put green food coloring in the syrup which made them look more like pickles. Truly warm comfort food in our family. Crunchy refrigerated sweetness. Such a special treat…and so easy to make.
Since I grow my own melons, I harvest a few very young, while the flesh is still firm and white, and use the entire melon.
Better than baby gherkins.
lost my recipe i would get my oil of cinnamon from a pharmacy te kind for pickles do not ow if this is still so. my recipe calls for peeling the dark rind off small amount of alum and boil till transparent. rinse well. for four days boil the juice and pour over rind. this is done four days. then put in jars. water bath to seal. my pickles never last that long as i eat them. these are the only sweet pickle i like. (when i was little we had watermelon party with neighbors we would spit the seeds in his garden) when its hard to find rind thick enough go to farmers fruit stand they are not force ripened. well i need to find some of the oil substituting sticks just doesn’t hack it.