Plant-based caviar or pickled mustard seeds are the perfect way to indulge in caviar while keeping to a vegan or vegetarian diet. After a lot of exhausting recipe testing filled with failures on top of failures, I’m excited to finally share the recipe I landed on. Make these, keep them in your fridge, and enjoy them whenever you like!
I buy my mustard seeds on Amazon because it is cheaper. Also, I cannot always find them at the grocery store.
My favorite way to use this condiment is on top of grilled meats (like my yakitori chicken) and vegetables. It is also delicious in dressings and salads.
Why are they called plant-based caviar?
You’ll understand as soon as you try them. The mustard seeds plump up during the cooking process. That plumpness makes them pop in your mouth with the same texture as caviar. Also, they have an umami flavor balancing salty, sweet, and acidic similar to caviar.
More Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes
Pickled Mustard Seeds
Print Recipe SaveIngredients
- 1 cup yellow mustard seeds
- 1 cup brown rice wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic smashed
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup mirin
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to light boil. Lower to simmer. Simmer uncovered until tender, ~1 hour. Add water as necessary to keep the mustard seeds covered.
- Remove the garlic clove. Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Can I substitute the brown rice vinegar for another vinegar?
Thanks 😊
Any rice vinegar would be ideal, and a second choice for me would be apple cider vinegar. Enjoy!
There’s some critical step missing. I’ve been cooking this for 2 hrs and it has the texture of uncooked beans, bitter and unpleasant.
Hi Philip, I’m so sorry to hear this recipe didn’t come out for you. Is it possible you used black mustard seeds? I’ve made this recipe dozens of times, and tried it a few times with black mustard seeds… it didn’t work with those.
If you used the right mustard seeds, you cook them until plump, which takes a couple hours. So if they aren’t plumped up, they might just need another half hour to an hour.
I hope this helps or clarifies. Feel free to ask more questions if you have them.
Hi Phillip. I make these all the time. I love them!! Try rinsing them for a bit to take some of the bitterness out. You’ll need to place them in cheese cloth to rinse. Then I simmer them in apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic and red pepper flakes. I don’t even boil them that long (I don’t use water at all except to rinse them). And they taste more amazing as they sit in the fridge. Delicious charcuterie item!! Or with deviled eggs, potato salad, pretty much anything! Hope this helps. Enjoy!!
The nutrition count of this recipe is slightly off 😀
1500kcal in a tablespoon.
Thanx for this recipe tho, gonna serve this with smoked potatos.