Homemade refrigerator pickles require zero canning expertise or equipment! Crisp, zesty, and packed with a punch of amazing flavor – you have to try them!
This Refrigerator pickles recipe has rapidly become a true family favorite! Perfect with so many sandwiches. We also love easy condiment recipes like my Creamy Beer Cheese, and Habanero Beer Mustard.
Do you ever get a craving for the perfect crisp dill pickle? We’re dill obsessed in this house, and I’ve been on a mission to make the perfect pickles.
For me, the perfect pickle is crisp, with a good snap when you bite into it. It’s bold and zesty, filled with garlic-dill flavor, and just a tiny bit of kick. It’s also made with the freshest cucumbers.
The problem is, the time of year when cucumbers are at their peak freshness, is also one of the hottest times of the year around here. Definitely not when I want to be dragging out canning equipment and boiling a bunch of water.
That’s the genius of these refrigerator pickles, theres’ NO canning required! Just make a quick brine, add it to the cucumbers and flavor aromatics (garlic, peppercorns, mustard seeds, etc), seal and refrigerate. Easy peasy!
HOW TO MAKE REFRIGERATOR PICKLES
- Slice cucumbers and prepare jars. If slicing into rounds, cut the slices about 1/4″ thick. I like to use glass canning jars, but technically, since these pickles aren’t canned, you can use plastic containers, as long as they have airtight lids.
- Make brine and cool. Combine the water, vinegar, salt and sugar in a saucepan, and heat until solids are dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.
- Add cucumbers and other ingredients to jars. When adding cucumbers to jars, make sure you leave enough room for the dill, garlic, mustard seed, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes and celery seed, plus the brine.
- Add brine. Pour in enough brine to cover the cucumbers, making sure to leave a 1/2″ or so at the top.
- Seal and refrigerate. Seal jars to be airtight and refrigerate for at least 5 days. Pickles will last 4-6 weeks after those 5 days.
ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS
USE FRESH CUCUMBERS
The best pickles are made with the freshest ingredients, especially the cucumbers. The cucumber skin should be firm, with no deep blemishes. Try to find consistently sized cucumbers, so your pickles will be uniform in size.
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- SWEET – these are definitely not sweet pickles, but if you’d like them more on the sweet side, feel free to increase the sugar amount. I’ve not experimented to come up with the perfect amount, but I’d suggest to try 1/2 cup and go from there.
- SPICY – I made these a mild heat level to accommodate most palates, but if you want more of a kick, feel free to add as much red pepper flakes as you want. You could also add some sliced jalapenos, or Thai chiles for some extra heat.
- CUCUMBERS – I found the cucumbers that had the best crunch were the pickling cucumbers. They may also be labeled as Kirby, or salad cucumbers. They’re shorter than regular cucumbers, with a bumpy and sometimes lighter skin. If you can’t find them, English cucumbers will work as well. They may also be labeled as hothouse or seedless cucumbers.
- OTHER VEGGIES – I haven’t specifically tested this brine with other veggies, but I think it would work well with green beans, carrots, cauliflower, etc. Whatever you normally like to pickle 🙂
MAKING HOMEMADE PICKLES AHEAD OF TIME
Pickles are a natural make-ahead recipe, as the recipes are designed to be made a little while before you eat them. This recipe was developed so the pickles have a week to sit in the refrigerator.
As tempting as it may be to break the seal and go to town before then, they really taste best when left to sit.
STORAGE
Refrigerator pickles are good for 4-6 weeks, when kept refrigerated and the lids are sealed after each use.
I like to take a permanent marker and write down the date I made the pickles on the lid, so I’ll know when it’s been 4-6 weeks. Honestly, our pickles never last that long before we devour them!
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Pint-sized Jars – I prefer these wide-mouth jars, as they’re easier to fill.
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Ingredients
- 6-7 pickling cucumbers
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup white vinegar (or apple cider)
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1/2-1 tsp granulated sugar
- fresh dill
- 4-6 cloves garlic peeled and smashed/roughly chopped
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp whole yellow mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- pinch celery seed
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers into slices about 1/4" thick, or into spears. Gather glass jars and lids. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, add water, vinegar, salt and sugar (if using), and heat, stirring occasionally, over MED HIGH heat until sugar and salt have dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- While brine is cooling, add cucumbers to jars. Make sure to leave enough room for the brine and other ingredients.
- Add dill, garlic, mustard seed, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes and celery seed.
- Pour in enough brine to cover the cucumbers, making sure to leave a 1/2" or so at the top. Seal jars to be airtight.
- Refrigerate for at least 5 days. Pickles will last 4-6 weeks after those 5 days, but will lose some of their crispness towards the end of their "shelf" life.
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Chef Tips
- Recipe makes enough for 2 pint-size jars, or one quart-size jar. Can easily be doubled, tripled, etc for larger batches.
- The amount of dill is left unspecified, as this will vary from person to person.
- Whole pickles or half pickles can be made, but I would prick the skin of the cucumber a few times with a fork to allow the brine to penetrate the skin.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Linda Patterson says
Love this recipe! Tried a few others but these are the best by far. I add a pinch more sugar and some sliced onions too
Von says
Do all the ingredients go in one jar or do you split
The Chunky Chef says
As mentioned in the recipe, it makes enough for 2 pint-size jars, or one quart-size jar. I typically use 2 pint-sized jars since they fit better in my refrigerator.
Beverly Chandler says
I’ve been using this recipe with green grape tomatoes too! DELISH! Use a toothpick to poke holes down the sides of the tomatoes… 2-3 holes per side :o) You can thank me later LOL…
D.G. says
My go to every year! They come out amazing. I use more garlic and skip the red pepper; but love this recipe!
Hannah says
Is it 5 days before they are ready to eat? Or did I read that wrong? Can’t wait to try them!
The Chunky Chef says
You read it correctly, they need to sit for at least 5 days to get the best flavor.
Diane says
Can I use regular cucumbers for this recipe? (Not English or pickling type). I have an abundance in the garden this year. . .
Thank you.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only ever tested this recipe with pickling cucumbers and English cucumbers, so I can’t say for certain how well traditional cucumbers will work. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
D.G. says
I’ve done it, but pick them small before they are too watery and seedy. They are *almost* as good but not quite.
Beverly Chandler says
I have been making them with my home-grown ‘Straight 8’ cukes & they are fabulous.
Jeff says
I’ve made this recipe several times over the last few seasons, figure I should offer my kudos. Great way to use up our cucumber crop, definitely has made my top 5 pickle recipes of all time!
I usually go a bit heavier on pepper flakes as I like a spicy pickle. Have also played around with slight changes to the spices and herbs, but the OG recipe is great as-is!
Lindsey says
This is the best pickle recipe I have found! My friends and neighbors all ask for a jar every year. This year I had an abundance of cucumbers so I tried canning a few jars, and yes to everyone who is asking it works great. I used Ball Pickle Crisp to help them retain their crispness and they are just as amazing as the fridge version. I also use 4 sprigs of dill and that seems to be perfect for us.
Lora Lee says
Fantastic!!
Lori says
Holy moly… these are so gooood! We’ve found ourselves with an over abundance of lemon cucumbers this year and pickling them has become the answer to how we’re planning on eating them all. We quartered some, sliced some. Both are phenomenal. Thank you so much for your recipes!
Shannon says
These pickles are really good and easy to make Thanks for sharing, I love the tanginess ad crisp! I made these to share with my friend’s dad, who loves garlic. I used two packages of dill per quart mason jar and I used apple cider vinegar.
Michele Diedrich says
These are EXCELLENT!
Best Dill Pickles I’ve ever had! Yum!😋
Erin Milam says
I had some leftover English cucumber after making sushi, and I want to use them, I found this recipe. I made it for me and my husband are them all. So I’m now on the 2nd batch. Only thing I did different was add largely diced onions and this pickles brine make for great pickled quail eggs. We have used on burgers and diced in tuna salad a long with the eggs. Loved this recipe. Erin
Julie says
These are great I always have 2 jars in fridge for the last year. Amazing!
susan says
Can’t wait to try these.