Home > Substitute > 13 Tasty Sweet Pickle Relish Substitutes You Can Find Easily

13 Tasty Sweet Pickle Relish Substitutes You Can Find Easily

Pickles are a favorite food for many families. If you like them, then sweet pickle relish is an excellent way to spice up your meal.

However, if you don’t have it on hand or want to eat something different, then this blog will come in handy.

This post will provide some substitutes that may help put that smile back on your face!

In short, chopped dill pickles, capers, green bell peppers, celery, and green olives are the top sweet pickle relish substitutes for your recipes.

What Can You Substitute for Sweet Pickle Relish?

1. Chopped Dill Pickles

chopped dill pickles

Chopped dill pickles are dill cucumbers. Dill is a major ingredient in making dill pickles. It is a herb from the celery family to enhance food flavor or as a spice.

Since dill is present in sweet pickle relish, chopped dill pickles are a great replacement. They have a sweet yet sour undertone and carry the flavor of dill in them.

You can use chopped dill pickles in your hot dog recipe, hamburger, and any other food for sweet pickle relish.

2. Capers

capers

With capers as a sweet pickle relish substitute, you get a salty, tangy, and lemon flavor. It’s like a mixture of the taste of olives and lemons with a dash of floral sweetness. Quite flavourful!

Use this option when you want your meal to taste tangy yet balanced. Capers can also give a vinegar-like taste to your food but with less texture.

Try out capers as a substitute in your pasta salads, salad dressings even marinades. The flavor they give would take your taste buds places!

3. Green Bell Peppers

bell peppers

To add a bit of texture to your meal, probably a crunchy one, you might want to substitute green bell peppers for sweet pickle relish.

Although most green peppers are slightly bitter and have grassy undertones, many of them are crunchy and juicy. Green peppers do not have a dominant acidic taste or strong flavors, so they make great choices as they bring a balance to the taste of your meal.

You can use green bell peppers in your salads, dips, and sandwiches to give both color and texture.

4. Celery

celery

The use of celery as a substitute for sweet pickle relish is not conventional, but we can assure you it works just as fine.

To create a “celery version” of sweet pickle relish, you need capers, wine vinegar or olive oil, minced onion and garlic, and seasoning to taste. Marinate all these ingredients, and your substitute is ready!

It can be used in your sandwiches, burgers, and hotdogs.

You may like: Top 48 Celery Substitutes in Soups, Salads, Stews, and More

5. Green Olives

stuffed green olives

These are olives that are harvested before they become ripe. Green olives have a characteristic taste you can’t miss in a meal. They even taste better than their black olive counterparts.

Green olives may not be everyone’s favorite, but they give your meal a mixture of mild, tart, yet nutty flavor. You should try them out.

If you feel a bit adventurous, you could use green olives stuffed with pimento to add a tad bit of spice to that nutty flavor.

Add olives to your sandwiches and dips to expand and enrich their taste.

6. Cucumbers

cucumbers

Cucumbers are refreshing fruits. They are a bit bland or neutral-flavored, but they make a great substitute all the same.

Cucumbers are great to add texture to your meal. The extra crunch and freshness they bring keep your meal bright and inviting.

Add cucumbers to your salads, sandwiches, dips, sauces, burgers, and munch on!

7. Mango Chutney

mango chutney

Still another unconventional alternative, mango chutney works great in your meal. If you aim for a sweet and fresh taste in your meal, then mango chutney is the best option.

Chutneys are often used interchangeably with relish, but they are quite different. Usually, they contain chopped pieces of fruit, sugar, nuts, vinegar, spices like coriander, cumin, tamarind, cardamom, and just any other ingredient of your choice.

You can use mango chutney alongside crackers, green salads, or cocktails.

8. Apple Butter

apple butter

Apple is a delightful fruit that is rich, naturally sweet, overall juicy and fresh. A combination of these lovely qualities with the right ingredients creates Apple butter.

Apple butter combines the sweet flavor of pickles with its natural allure and makes your meal a natural delight. Apple butter is rich and plump, giving a robust taste to your meal even as a substitute.

You can spread apple butter on muffins, bagels, and croissants. Or use it as a topping for your hot dogs and burgers. If you want a bit of tanginess to salad, apple butter will be a great ingredient.

9. Freeze Dried Dill

dried dill

What better way to replace sweet pickle relish, if not the use of dill. Dill is quite unbeatable regarding the freshness it gives a meal.

Freeze-dried dill has a citrus undertone that makes your meal explode with a burst of freshness and flavor.

It can instead of sweet pickle relish in sauces, dips, and salad dressings.

Futher reading: Dill Weed vs Dill Seed: What’s the Difference?

10. Ketchup

ketchup

It might come as a surprise because ketchup doesn’t look anything like pickles, but the magic is in the taste.

Ketchup is sweet and acidic, so they bring the same “zing” that sweet relish pickles add to your meal. If you are a ketchup lover, this would be an excellent option for you.

11. Green Tomato Relish

green tomato relish

Green tomato relish is a great option to replace sweet pickle relish. It can be used with French fries or served as a pizza topping.

If you want to use it as a side dish, it can mix just great with onion, celery, and carrots. The great thing about tomato relish is it is prepared with fresh and natural ingredients. The spice would enhance the taste of your meal, making it robust and exquisite.

12. Cranberry Sauce

cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce is also a good idea when it comes to replacing sweet pickle relish. The loveable thing about this sauce is that it has just the right spice and tartness.

It’s a perfect combination for your rolls, biscuits, and turkey or ham dishes.

13. Parsley

parsley root

If you want to try something different, try parsley, it is a great ingredient in tuna salads. For the best results, you might want to use freshly chopped parsley.

FAQs About Sweet Pickle Relish

How to make sweet pickle relish?

It’s pretty easy to make your own sweet pickle relish!


What can I substitute for sweet pickle relish in burger sauce?

Chopped sweet pickles are usually served as a side dish. They offer a tart and crunchy texture contrasting the creaminess of sour cream and dressing, which are often used as subs when sweet pickle relish is not available.

What’s the best sweet pickle relish substitute in tartar sauce?

Dill pickle relish (or chopped dill pickles) will be a good substitute for sweet pickle relish, especially in tartar sauce.

What’s a good substitute for pickle relish in potato salad?

That depends on your personal preference. But diced pickles are one of the most popular options to replace pickle relish in a potato salad. They share a similar flavor but with a much more tender texture.

What’s a good sweet pickle relish substitute in thousand island dressing?

Dill pickle relish is a great idea to replace sweet pickle relish in thousand island dressing. It has a tangier flavor than sweet pickles which balances out with the acidity in the dip.

What can I substitute for pickle relish in embutido?

You can get a similar taste and texture when using crushed pineapple in your embutido recipe.

Final Words

If you’re an avid pickle fan and love to use sweet pickle relish as a topping on your favorite sandwich, you might be in for a sad surprise. A major company has just announced that they’ll be phasing out their sweet pickles and focusing more on the dill variety, meaning we’ll all have to start finding alternatives right quick!

That’s why we’ve compiled this list of sweet pickle relish substitutes for your favorite condiment. Feel free to let us know if you have any related questions by leaving a comment below.

I’m Jennifer Schlette, a Registered Dietitian and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. I love cooking, reading, and my kids! Here you’ll find the healthiest recipes & substitutions for your cooking. Enjoy, and be well, friends!

Leave a Comment