Looking for a way to use up watermelon rinds? Here's a delicious way to make Japanese-style pickled watermelon rinds!
I love pickles of all kinds- but by far my favourite are pickling watermelon rinds! They're like cucumbers, but sweeter making it the perfect snack or side dish.
How to Make Pickled Watermelon Rinds
The Ingredients (+ substitutions)
- Watermelon Rinds
- Salt: you need about 2% of salt of the total weight of watermelon rinds
- Rice Vinegar
- Maple Syrup: or with sugar
- Japanese mustard powder: or mustard of choice
- Sesame oil
Variations
Here are some additional ingredients and seasonings you can add!
- Soy sauce
- Kombu Mentsuyu
- Garlic cloves
- Hawk claw pepper: for an
- Black pepper: for slightly spicier version
- Olive oil: instead of sesame oil, swap for olive oil for a different aroma
The Directions
- Wash the outside of the watermelon well. Slice the green parts off and then slice into equal sized pieces of your choice. Place in a reusable bag or large ziplock bag and add 2% of salt of the total weight of the watermelon (in this case, 18g). Rub the salt in and shake the bag. Place in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, remove 90% of the water in the bag. Add the rice vinegar, maple syrup, mustard powder and sesame oil. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
More pickles to try:
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
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Pickled Watermelon Rinds
Looking for a way to use up watermelon rinds? Here's a delicious way to make Japanese-style pickled watermelon rinds!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs of watermelon rind (907g)
- 18g (2% of watermelon rind weight) salt
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 - 2 ½ tablespoon maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like it)
- 2 tsp Japanese mustard power
- 1 ½ tbsp sesame oil (or olive oil)
Optional add-ins:
- 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp kombu mentsuyu
- 1 crushed garlic clove
- 1 hawk claw pepper (Takanotsume chili pepper)
- dijon / regular mustard instead of Japanese mustard
- black pepper
Instructions
- Wash the outside of the watermelon well. Slice the green parts off and then slice into equal sized pieces of your choice. Place in a reusable bag or large ziplock bag and add 2% of salt of the total weight of the watermelon (in this case, 18g). Rub the salt in and shake the bag. Place in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, remove 90% of the water in the bag. Add the rice vinegar, maple syrup, mustard powder and sesame oil. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Helpful Equipment: pickling jars, reusable bags
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
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Kiki+M says
Very refreshing!!! Thank you Lisa for expanding my food range through such fun and tasty (and easy to make!!!) recipes 🙂
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Susan says
So, I got a watermelon yesterday that was £1 per 1kg...got it weighed at the checkout and it cost £10.87!! So I'm very pleased to have this recipe available to get as much value out of the watermelon as possible! Ha. I made it in a mason jar as my zip lock bags weren't big enough and used the same weight as the recipe (so did bin a lot of rind, but I got tired of chopping!lol) I didn't add any mustard as I'm not a huge fan and I saw on your Instagram that mustard is a recent addition to the recipe. Had some with dinner tonight and it was really tasty and refreshing. I really enjoyed it and it was worth the effort. I wanted to make the other watermelon dish, but I think the texture of this one wouldn't have cooked well. So I've blended some for juice, got some in the fridge to snack on and froze a bunch too. So if you have any recipes on frozen watermelon, I'm always happy to try more of your recipes! 🙂 x
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Emma Daisy says
This is my new favorite way to eat watermelon period! I don't even care about the middle part of the fruit anymore 😂. Love this recipe so much--so refreshing and addictive.
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Hanna says
I always love a good food waste reduction tip! I may have salted it a bit too heavily but it was still very very tasty. It goes perfectly with the watermelon katsu and also by it’s own as a snack! 🙂
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Angie says
This was so easy and delicious, and it seems like I'm eating 90% of the watermelon now that I honestly feel like I'm pulling off some great food heist. I omitted mustard because I didn't have any, and it still tastes delicious. I also tested out some leaving some pink watermelon on and some that were just rind and both taste equally yummy. Tangy, sweet, crunchy, refreshing. It's similar in flavor to liang ban cucumber salad my mom makes for us at home, but a bit sweeter.
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Caitlin says
Super easy and delicious! When I told my mom about this recipe she was skeptical, although she does love pickled foods. Therefore she was willing to give it a try. It was really quick to make. I put only a drizzle of maple syrup and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard in the bag of watermelon rinds. It’s so delicious with rice!
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Caitlin says
Super easy and quick to make! When I told my mom about this recipe she was skeptical, although she does love pickled foods. Therefore she was willing to give it a try. It was really quick to make. I put only a drizzle of maple syrup and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard in the bag of watermelon rinds. It’s so delicious with rice!
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Andressa says
Uma delícia e super prático de fazer 🤤 🤤 amei
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Brooke says
So refreshing and addictive! I love trying to minimize my waste in the kitchen so utilizing the rind in this recipe had me so excited. I was out of ground mustard but wanted a kick so I added a bit of pepper flake. Can’t wait to try this again with the mustard addition!
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Jay says
So easy, refreshing, and tasty! They make a great snack. I used 1/4 of a watermelon and weighed it to find the right amount of salt. I used dijon mustard instead of mustard powder and eyed it & the other ingredients since it wasn’t a whole watermelon. I never thought to use watermelon rind before. I’ll definitely do it again 🙂
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Lindsey says
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe this year and I can’t stop craving it! I think I like pickled watermelon better than pickled cucumber now!
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Mari says
When I read some comments about these pickles being better than the actual fruit itself, I assumed it was an exaggeration. Spoiler alert - it's not. As a two person household, I use to hesitate to buy a whole watermelon (also because they're so expensive in Japan!) but thanks to these pickles, I don't any longer. Obviously, I enjoy the fruit itself but these pickles are next-level. I used homemade fermented mustard in place of the powder but otherwise followed the recipe exactly!
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Sarah says
I’m not vegan, but I find myself visiting this blog whenever I want to eat clean. Tried these pickled watermelon rinds last week, and they’re def gooood! Thank you for sharing, Lisa! 😊🍉
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Zoey M says
these watermelon rinds were sooo good! i've been trying to reduce my food waste and these picked rinds were perfect! they're also super easy to make:)they were so yummy and refreshing. seriously the perfect palate cleanser !
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SAEMI amazake says
This is my grandma's taste! In south part of Japan, there is kind of culture that they use the food maximum in order to not waste the food, especially, my grandma's generation. Lisa's recipe reminds me my young memories in local town. Absolutely, high recommended to make it! Delicious and less waste food !yay!
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Sarah P says
I usually love the southern-style (US) pickled watermelon rinds, but this is SO MUCH EASIER and tastes way more interesting. I leave less of the red of the watermelon on because it gets a little slimy after storing the pickles for a few days.
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Helena says
I love this recipe and have made it a bunch of times. Excited that it's watermelon season again! I reuse the brine a couple times and it works great.
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Yvie says
Amazing! So delicious and refreshing! The flavor and texture are fantastic! Such a simple recipe and a great way to reduce food waste!!!
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