Quick Look at
Easy Dill Refrigerator Pickles
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Makes: One jar of pickles
- Main Ingredients: Mini cucumbers, onion, dill, apple cider and white vinegars, and pickling salt.
- Dietary Info: dairy-free, gluten-free, and whole30 approved, paleo, & vegetarian
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Why You’ll Only Make Homemade Dill Pickles For Now On
- ✨ Flavor: Anything homemade just has an undeniable fresh flavor. Plus, you customize the ingredients to add more of your favorite flavors.
- ✅ Easy: Did we mention how easy this recipe is? You just need to simmer, slice, and refrigerate and you’re done!
- 🫙 Just 1 Jar: I love a good homemade recipe, but sometimes they make just too much of a good thing. I created this recipe to make exactly one jar so that you have just enough without being overwhelming.
Best Refrigerator Dill Pickles Ingredients & Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Mini Cucumbers: (AKA pickling cucumbers) You can find them at your local grocery store or use ones from your garden, like we do! They make the best pickles.
- Vinegars: White vinegar provides the classic tangy pickle flavor, while apple cider vinegar adds subtle sweetness. You can use all of one type if preferred, but a combination of both creates the most balanced flavor.
- Pickling Salt: This sometimes labeled as canning salt or preserving salt and can usually be found in the baking aisle of your local grocery store. It’s different from table salt or kosher salt in that it does not include iodine and anti-caking agents, which helps to keep your pickling liquid clear.
- No Sugar: There’s no sugar in this recipe making it whole30 and paleo approved!
How To Make Easy Refrigerator Pickles
Step 1 – Simmer brine ingredients.
Step 2 – Clean, dry, and slice pickling cucumbers.
Refrigerator Pickle Brine Ratio
A 1:1 vinegar to water ratio is the sweet spot for refrigerator dill pickles. The vinegars bring the tang and flavor while the water evens out the sharp vinegar notes and allows the other flavors of onion and dill to shine through. Too much vinegar and you’ll get super acidic pickles. Too much water and you’ll get tasteless pickles.
Step 3 – Add sliced pickles, onion, and fresh dill into jar.
Step 4 – Pour brine into the jar.
Step 5 – Let cool, cover, and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Step 6 – Enjoy alongside your favorite summer meal!
What We Learned Testing this Recipe
- Pickle Cuts– We tested this recipe with sliced and quartered pickles as shown in the steps above, with pickle slices to make pickle chips, and whole pickles and they all worked beautifully. Let whole pickles sit in the fridge for about a week before eating, as they take longer for the pickling process.
- Fresh Cucumbers – They matter, folks! I’ve made this enough times to know. Choose pickles that are bright green, firm, and have just been picked. The older the cucumber, the softer the pickle.
- Variations – When we want a kick of heat, we sprinkle on some red pepper flakes and it gives the best bit of warmth to the pickles.
Best Refrigerator Pickles FAQ & Tips
they are homemade pickles that are only good if stored in the refrigerator. This is NOT a pickling process that is used for storing pickles in the pantry.
Refrigerator pickles are pickles that are preserved in a water & vinegar mixture and then stored only in the refrigerator while canned pickles require more special equipment and are processed with a hot water bath and are then shelf-stable.
Easy refrigerator dill pickles last for about 4-6 weeks. But ours are typically eaten faster than that, they are so good!
Your homemade pickles are soft probably due to old or soft cucumbers. Be sure to pick the freshest pickles possible for best results. And be sure to let them pickle for 24 hours.
Ways To Enjoy Your Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles
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Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 ½ teaspoons pickling salt
- 4-6 black peppercorns, whole
- 3-5 mini cucumbers
- 4-5 small slices of white onion
- 3-5 sprigs fresh dill
Instructions
- Make Pickle Brine: In a small saucepan combine ½ cup water, ¼ cup white vinegar, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 2 smashed garlic cloves, 1 ½ teaspoons pickling salt, and 4-6 black peppercorns. Bring to a simmer on medium heat.
- Prep Cucumbers: Now rinse & clean 3-5 mini cucumbers. Pat dry with a paper towel and find the end that wasn't attached to the vine (this is called the blossom end). Cut a tiny slice off that end (there is an enzyme found there that can effect the crispness of the pickles). Then cut each cucumber into wedges by slicing them in half the long way and then slicing each half into 2-3 even spears, again the long way.
- Fill Jar: Place 4-5 small slices of white onion and cut cucumbers in a 16oz mason jar (wide mouth) along with 3-5 sprigs fresh dill.
- Add Brine: Carefully pour the vinegar (a.k.a. "brine") over the pickles while it is hot. Ensure the garlic and peppercorns get in the jar too. Set the jar aside (careful, it will be hot) and place on a hot pad or kitchen cloth. Once they have cooled, cover the jar and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Serve: Enjoy or use in your favorite recipe!
Notes
- 1 jar: I kind of love that this recipe only makes one jar, but you can easily make a double batch or triple batch, as you need to!
- Storage: store in the refrigerator for up to 4-6 weeks.
- Spicy: feel free to add a dash of red pepper flakes to spice things up, if you want!
- Pickling Cucumbers: for a crisp pickle, we do recommend using pickling cucumbers because they are so little and don’t get mushy as easily!
- Serving: Enjoy these easy refrigerator dill pickles in our pickle margarita, dill pickle potato salad, or in our pickle chicken rice bowl!
Liz Sipley says
The fresh flavors in these homemade pickles is SO GOOD!
Jenny says
Just made these last weekend and my family absolutely loved them! The smashed garlic was amazing in there!
Erin says
Yay!! So happy to hear that, Jenny!
Tina says
Amazing! My family loved them!
Bridget says
We have made these several times and they never disappoint! So fresh and delicious!!
Erin says
so happy to hear that!!
Cathy says
Hi Erin, I haven’t ever pickled anything, however, due to some health issues my husband is having I’m doing a lot I haven’t ever done. He loves ‘all things pickled’ but they seem to have high sodium. The pickling salt the recipe calls for seems like a small amount…can you enlighten me? I’m just trying to find things he loves to replace some of what he’s giving up.
Erin says
Since these are stored in the refrigerator (and not in a pantry, which is where you would store traditionally-pickled pickles) you don’t need as much salt. Hope that helps!
Corey says
This might be a silly question… but does it matter if you slice the cucumbers vs cutting them into wedges?
Erin says
I don’t think that is a silly question! You can use whole pickling cucumbers, but it just might take a bit longer for the brine to penetrate them (definitely longer than the 24 hours recommend here for sliced). Hope that helps!