Easy Homemade Sweet Cucumber Relish
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Looking for an easy way to use up your cucumbers? Then you are going to love this sweet cucumber relish! This yummy homemade relish is so easy to can and is perfect to serve on hotdogs, hamburgers, sausages, and more!
Making relish is one of my favorite canning times during the summer and fall.
It’s a great way to use up a lot of produce from your garden!
You know what I mean, right?
We all get to that time of the growing season when our gardens are producing so much that you feel like you are being flooded with freshly picked veggies.
Making batches of relish is a great way to use up all the extra vegetables! Relish is easy to make, really doesn’t take a lot of time, and can be used as a topping on many foods throughout the year, not just hot dogs, hamburgers and sausages.
This sweet cucumber relish has to be my favorite cucumber relish recipe ever! We’ve enjoyed making many batches of this for years.
How To Make Sweet Cucumber Relish
Wash and peel your cucumbers, then cut them in half lengthwise.
Next, scoop out the seeds. This is really easy to do using a small spoon or even a grapefruit spoon.
Slice the cucumbers into chunks so that they fit into your food processor better.
Using a food processor, pulse them until they are the size you like.
Remove the seeds and stems from the peppers, peel, and cut the onions in half. Then also pulse these in your food processor.
Place the cucumbers, peppers, and onions into a large bowl and add the canning salt. Cover and let the mixture sit overnight.
The next morning, drain it well, pressing out as much moisture as possible.
Place the vegetable mixture into a large pot and add the sugar, vinegar, and spices. Bring them to a boil, then turn it down and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Ladle into pint or half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/2” headspace.
Remove any air bubbles, wipe the rims clean, and place the lids on. Process the relish for 10 minutes in a water bath canner or according to your altitude.
Do You Have To Use Red Peppers?
Nope! If you don’t have red peppers on hand, you can use yellow or green bell peppers. I like to use red because it adds a nice pop of color to the green cucumber relish, but since I use homegrown vegetables, I often make this recipe with green peppers if that’s what I have available in my garden.
Do You Have To Use A Food Processor?
No, if you don’t have a food processor, you can still make this recipe. Either dice the cucumbers by hand or use a food mill if you have one.
When Is The Sweet Cucumber Relish Ready To Eat?
You should let the relish sit for 4-6 weeks to let the flavors fully develop before eating. I know it’s hard to wait, but it’s really worth it!
What Type Of Cucumbers Do You Use For Relish?
For making homemade relish you can use slicing cucumbers or large pickling cucumbers. I avoid using English cucumbers as I find they don’t hold up well when making pickles or relish. But normal slicing cucumbers or pickling cucumbers that have become too large to pickle work great for relish.
Can I Use This Recipe To Make Refrigerator Relish?
Yes, you sure can! If you are just too busy to start canning right now, you can just place the cool jars of relish into your fridge. They will last a long time that way, too.
See making homemade sweet cucumber relish is so easy, anyone can do it! So grab some fresh cucumbers, peppers, and onions and make up a batch of this yummy relish recipe to enjoy all year long.
Sweet Cucumber Relish
Ingredients
- 10 cups cucumbers chopped
- 8 red bell peppers
- 5 cups onions chopped
- 1/2 cup canning salt
- 3 TBS celery seed
- 3 TBS mustard seed
- 2 tsp. Turmeric
- 5 cups vinegar
- 5 cups sugar
Instructions
- Wash and remove stems from the cucumbers.
- Peel the cucumbers cut them in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut them into large pieces and puls them in your food processor until they are the texture you like.
- Remove the seeds from the peppers and chop in your food processor.
- Peel and quarter the onions and pulse in the food processor.
- Combine all the vegetables into a large pot and cover with the pickling salt. Cover and let sit overnight.
- The next day drain out the liquid from the vegetable mix.
- Place the mixture back into a large pot and add the vinegar, sugar, and spices and bring it to a boil. Then turn down and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Ladle into pint or half-pint canning jars, remove any air bubbles and wipe the rims clean. Place the lids and wrings on finger tight.
- Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes, adjusting the time for your altitude.
Notes
- If you are in a hury you can let the vegetable mixture sit in the salt for 2 hours instead of overnight.
- If you don’t have a food processor this recipe also works well by just chopping the vegetables by hand.
These values are from a nutritional database and automatically calculated, and should only be used as an approximation.
Recommended Products
Hamilton Beach Food Processor & Vegetable Chopper with Bowl Scraper, 10 Cup
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Kim Mills is a homeschooling mom of 6 and lives on an urban homestead in Ontario, Canada. Blogging at Homestead Acres she enjoys sharing tips to help you save money, grow and preserve your own food.
I made This relish today!
I had lots of cucumbers and onions and peppers
in my garden!
it was real easy, I had a food processor it went fast!
they’re soaking right now!
but I’m sure it’ll be a good batch!
thanks for the recipe
Superior recipe!
Can you use a combination of red, orange and green peppers in the recipe
This comment probably won’t reach you in time, but I’m asking for future batches of relish. I came to a standstill when I noticed “pickling salt” mentioned in your recipe. I’ve never used it before but happen to have some in my pantry! You said to cover the vegetable mixture with the salt but there is no mention of rinsing the mix afterwards so I would like to ask, how much salt? Thank you Kim! 😊
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of pickling or canning salt. For this recipe I don’t rinse it out but a lot of salt is dissolved in the liquid it pulls out of the vegetables after sitting overnight. When you drain them the next day a lot of that salt will run out with the liquid. I keep the rest to flavor the brine. But if you prefer less salt you could rinse the vegetables and then drain again. I hope that helps!
Can I just use plain salt there are no additives. It just doesn’t say canning salt
The recipe does say canning salt, but if you don’t have it you could use pickling salt, kosher salt, or any course salt without additives.
I leave the skins on the cucumbers, I rinse out the salt and use 4 red peppers, turns out perfect!
Is it 10 cups of cucumbers after putting it through food processer or before
It says 10 cups of cucumber if buying cucumbers how many to buy?
First time making relish from over ripe straight 8 and Gerkin cucumbers. I left the lid on the pot while it boiled and simmered. I should have left the lid off so the liquid evaporated. The relish will need to be strained when I open it. I didn’t want to strain and rebath the relish and over cook it.
I also added a toothpick of blue food coloring. Great green color from that and the mustard seed. 🙂
You need to tell in your recipe to rinse the cucumbers after letting them soak in the brine, people are complaining its too salty ,cause they didnt rinse the salt off.
Do you refrigerate the vegetables or let sit on countertop?
@Peggy, I put it in the fridge for 12 hours. Hands got very cold squeezing out the water. I need a strainer for next time.
Don’t you need to rinse the salt of the veggies? It seems it would be too salty.
No I don’t rinse the salt out with this recipe. The salt draws a lot of liquid out of the vegetables and a lot of it is washed out when you drain them. You could rinse the salt if you want too, salt is optional in canning but it could change the taste a bit.
The recipe calls for 8 red bell peppers but I only used 4. It still looks like a pink mess. I’m sure it will taste fine but definitely doesn’t look like the pictures.
@Belinda R., I used 4 too, but added blue food color and it is now dark green!
Before i run to the store i need this question answered please. I ran out of yellow mustard seeds but I have a big bag of organic brown mustard seeds. Can i use that instead and what amount would i need?
This relish recipe is delicious. My husband loves it. We put it on fish, hot dogs, soup, and steamed veggies.
Can you use green pepper as opposed to red peppers for this recipe?
This relish is Delicious! My husband only uses relish on hot dogs or burgers and he no longer wants store bought. I put it out at a neighborhood barbecue and it was a big hit. I gave a few jars to family and friends. This season I will double up. Thanks for the recipe!
Why do you bother to peel the cucumbers? I always just wash the cukes thoroughly and leave the peels on them.
I love love that you give the chopped veggies in cups needed! Saves time not having to pull out the scale or bushel baskets. Great relish. Thanks
Great recipe!
I was given lots of cucumbers and our family don’t eat enough of them so instead of them being wasted, I made this recipe and oh my gosh ……. So delicious! Thank you for sharing
Do you sell your yellow cucumber relish? I love it and used to make it but it is too hard for me now.
Did anyone find out if it is Apple cider or white vinegar. This would be very helpful to know. Thank you
@Amber Aiken,
Unless specified, white vinegar is usually the one used. However, as long as your vinegar is 5% you can use either or even a combination of the two. Just ensure u use the total amount the recipe calls for.
NOTE: Apple Cider Vinegar will give your finished product a darker color.
@Susan, I used clear apple cider vinegar and the colour still came out bright and tasted really yummy!
I had all my garden goodies that we didn’t consume from the summer frozen in my deep freeze because I could not get to canning them. This included some shredded cucumbers. My son loves relish but he is picky. I made this recipe and he loved it. It was easy to make for this novice garden canner and I agree it’s delish. Thanks!
Does it matter if you use apple cider vinegar or should I use white vinegar
Hi Kim – Thank you for the recipe, I need to use some overgrown cucs. Question – how big are the bell peppers you are using? 8 seems like a lot? Can you give me a guesstimate in cups?
I made this relish yesterday was so easy small jars i got 10 next side up did 2 and some extra in a jar i just put in the fridge instead of water bathing it
How many pints does this make?
@Patty,
Her recipe says 5 pints but some commented they got 8 pints from it.
Possibly depends on how big the veges still were after cutting them up or the size of the veges used in the recipe.
Hello Kim,
Your relish looks delicious. Just a couple questions to clarify…do you measure 12 cups after you chop the cukes or after you put them in the processor? I have made green relish this fall so looking for a “Mustard” relish recipe. Would you say this is mustard flavoured?
Thank you Kim.
Darlene
Nova Scotia
I have several questions. Some recipes say to leave the pealing on the cucumber. I chose your recipe and did not. Do you find that you like it better one way or another?
Should the vegetables soak in the fridge over night?
Do you rinse the salt off?
What is the purpose of soaking in salt?
@Sheila Riley, salt breaks it down do i didnt rinse and left on the counter overnight
@Sheila Riley, as for peeling some skins are tough
When you leave the mixture to sit over night with the salt is that I’m the refrigerator or on the counter?
This turned out just wonderfully. Thanks for the post. It really is fun to grow your own veggies and then turn them into something delicious to enjoy all year. The up side is you know exactly what’s in your food. FOOD!
Thank you Kim for posting this recipe! I had lost my sweet relish canning recipe. I was thrilled that your recipe was just like the one I lost. For anyone that is hesitant about trying this, dont be. This is the absolute best recipe out there! You will love it!
@Tracy, Hi Tracy, how many cups of bell pepper do you put in? 8 bell peppers seems like a lot? I have cucs I need to use up and was hoping to prep them tonight. Thank you!
How many pints does this make?
Hi Kim! Just wondering if the wait time (4-6 weeks) is the same if you do the refrigerator version?
Thanks!
@Ronda Bailey, I wanted to know this too….
Hi. Do you use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar in the cucumber relish recipe? TIA.
@Gail Barger, I was wondering the same
How many jars would this make?
@Stephanie, Her recipe says 5 pints, but I made this tonight and ended up with 8 pints.
@Ryanne, Me too. Made it today.
Are you supposed to rinse off the half cup of salt the next day?
With this recipe, I don’t rinse the vegetable mixture just drain it well most of it dissolved in the liquid coming from the vegetables and gets poured off. But if you want to reduce it further you could rinse it.