Quick & Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles
A few summers ago, I dipped my toes in the canning and preserving waters with some blueberry jam. I’ve also made canned dill pickles, refrigerator bread and butter pickles, and zucchini pickles. I absolutely love the canning process; it makes me feel a little bit like Donna Reed, and I’m not going to lie… I’m pretty convinced that if I had to live in another decade, the 1950’s and I would get along perfectly well. I loved making the dill pickles last summer, but I wasn’t totally in love with the flavor and texture. I’ve been seeing refrigerator pickles pop up on countless sites over the last couple of years, and decided to give a version of that a shot. Being able to keep them in the fridge for up to 2 months is more than enough for me, and I love the ability to make as little or as much as I need.
If I’m putting a pickle on a deli-style sandwich, I always, always go for bread and butter; I love how zesty they are! However, if I’m having a cheeseburger or just want a pickle spear to snack on, then dill is my preferred go-to (and don’t forget the burger sauce!). Since I loved the refrigerator version of bread and butter so much, I had high hopes for the dill variety. I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed.
I would typically use pickling cucumbers for, well, pickles, but I didn’t grow any this year and the store only had a few very sad-looking stragglers left. However, regular cucumbers work just as well – you’ll just have larger slices! You can cut these however you’d like – spears, circles, thin slices (a la sandwich stackers) – the choice is yours.
I did a little experimentation and did half of my jars with the standard garlic and dill; the other two I added some black peppercorns and crushed red pepper flakes. After doing a taste test, I thought that the pickles with the peppercorns and red pepper flakes had much more of a punch of flavor (though I wouldn’t call them spicy). Those without were still good, albeit much more mild. This is totally a matter of personal preference; feel free to play around with different seasoning combinations to find your personal sweet spot.
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I love that I’ve discovered a quick and easy way to enjoy my dill pickles. I love how crisp and flavorful they are, and how little time it takes to make a fresh batch.
If you’ve been feeling daunted by canning, this is a great first step!
Watch How to Make Refrigerator Dill Pickles:
One year ago: Crab Bisque
Two years ago: Beer-Battered Zucchini Fries
Three years ago: S’mores Brownies
Five years ago: Zucchini Bread
Quick & Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 2 large cucumbers, or 4-6 pickling cucumbers, cut into spears or sliced
- 16 sprigs fresh dill, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed, divided
- 4 teaspoons black peppercorns, divided
- 4 pinches red pepper flakes, divided
For the Brine:
- 4 cups (1000 ml) water
- 8 tablespoons white vinegar
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt, or pickling salt
Instructions
- Add 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 teaspoon of peppercorns, 1 pinch of red pepper flakes and 2 springs of dill to the bottom of four pint-size canning jars.
- Add the cut cucumbers to the jars, packing them tightly and adding as many as you can without forcing them into the jars.
- In a 4-cup measuring cup or small bowl, stir together the water, vinegar and salt until the salt has completely dissolved. Pour the brine mixture into each jar, completely covering the cucumbers. Add 2 additional sprigs of dill to each jar and affix the lids.
- Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, but preferably up to 2 days before eating (this allows the flavors to fully absorb). If you remember, give the jars a gentle shake every now and then during this initial chilling time. The pickles will last up to 2 months in the refrigerator.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Hi,
I used another recipe to make refrigerator pickles last week, for the first time. They were insanely salty. I DID use kosher salt as that recipe called for.
Does your recipe use KOSHER or regular TABLE SALT? That differentiation would make a HUGE difference in the salt level.
Thanks!
It uses kosher, as noted above.
made these yesterday, (tried to) eat one today. INSANELY salty. totally inedible. tried to dump out the brine and refill each jar with just water and vinegar to see if i can get some of the salt out. if you follow the recipe it ends up being 3/4 TABLEspoon of salt per pint. it seemed like a lot when i was filling the jars but i’d never made pickles before so i trusted the recipe. maybe it’s a misprint and it’s supposed to be TEAspoons instead? all i know is that no one with functioning taste buds could eat this recipe as written. im hoping that i didn’t just waste my first cucumber harvest with this recipe. guess i should’ve know since none of the comments are from people who actually tried the recipe.
Hi Jilly, So sorry you found these to be too salty. I haven’t had that experience. Are you using kosher salt and not table salt? That would make a big difference. Either way, you can adjust the salt to your preferred liking.
The recipe above calls for 3 TEASPOONS of Kosher or Pickling salt…
Will apple cider vinegar work?
Hi Cyndi, I don’t see why not!
These look delicious and will try them when my cucumbers grow. I was wondering what your thoughts are on substituting zucchini spears for the cucumbers since I have an abundance of them right now.
Hi Huburt, I think zucchini would work as well. Enjoy!
Mine do not have much of a dill flavor because I misunderstood what a sprig of dill is. Can I add more dill to them now on day 4?
Hi Sara, Yes, you can definitely add more dill now.
I made these a couple times last year – delicious! Strangly enough the brine worked wonders on heartburn!? Has anyone tried over veggies with this recipe?
Hi! I am new to pickling and am very excited to try this recipe! I am NOT CANNING but am paranoid about botulism… is there any risk of botulism through refrigerator pickles? I made a brine 3 days ago and let my cucumbers soak on the counter in a tupperware for 24 hours I had a taste test before sticking in them in the fridge to chill… should I be worried about botulism?
Hi Laura, There are food-borne risks related to all kinds of foods we prepare and I can’t guarantee that something is 100% free of risk; there are tons of variables each time food is prepared. I can tell you how to mitigate risks, though. These are refrigerator pickles, which means that they are not preserved for long-term room temperature storage and should be kept in the refrigerator. If you left them out for an entire day, I would probably pitch them and start over, following the recipe above to refrigerate.
I made these last night with some cucumbers brought to me by one of my co-workers. I know the recipe says best after 2 days, but I had to try them this morning. OMG, these were so good. I brought one jar to work this morning just to let the others taste and they were gone within 5 minutes. I can’t wait to taste some that have set up for 2 days (if I can keep any that long) Needless to say, I will be making more. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe..
Thank you! I have been wanting to make pickles without canning. As usual, your recipe did not disappoint! I’ve added my own tweaks for taste (peppers, additional spices) but I wouldn’t have known where to start without your original recipe. I’ve also branched out into other vegetables. Green beans are delicious!
We made these and they turned out great! I made 11 pints and gave them to family & friends, everyone gave them two thumbs up.
I made these last Sunday, so they were ready to try mid-week, and they turned out great. I didn’t realize I had bought 1.5 quart jars, so I had to double the brine, but I had plenty of cucumbers, so no problem. I would say that these are more of a garlic dill and/or half sour that you get in classic delis, not really the kosher dill for which I was hoping, but still good. I just would have made these all spears had I known, as I don’t think I’d want them on a sandwich, but on the side.
I’ve been getting a surplus of cucumbers from my CSA box and I wanted to make pickles, but couldn’t find a recipe simple enough to suit my tastes, perfect timing. This one looks easy and delicious!
Great recipe. I made these and the bread and butter pickles (8.25.11) 3 days ago. There are very few pickles left at this point. Added extra onions to bread and butters-they are great on a sandwich with or without the pickled cukes.
I just love dull pickles like this and have since I was a kid. This seems like an easy recipe to break into canning.
These look wonderful. I have been planning to try refrigerator pickles all summer, but have not gotten around to it.
Dude I’m so making these! I can’t wait! I looove good pickles in the summertime.
Michelle,
The last several recipes I have read of yours, I can’t find the pinterest button. Am I missing something?
Hi Marcie, It is located under the recipe, in the line of social media buttons under “Share This Post”. I hope that helps!
Michelle,
For some reason the whole social media bar doesn’t come up for me now when I’m on one of your recipes. Is anyone else having this issue?
Hi Marcie, I haven’t heard anyone else mention it and I can see it just fine, but I’ll check with my web developer. In the meantime, you can install the Pinterest bar for your browser – that’s an easy way to Pin anything from any website.
These look delicious and sound so simple! I have a lot of dill growing in my garden–this sounds like a perfect way to use it!
Another great recipe to try—it’s bookmarked and I suspect these will be made before the weekend — Thanks for sharing!!!
Homemade pickles have been on my list for a few summers now! Love how easy these look.
I am DILL all the way! Can’t wait to try them!
My family would love these!
i think i’ll try this recipe with my lemon cucumbers. HUGE harvest this year! i made refrigerator pepperoncinis this weekend :)
Nice and quick!
I’m totally excited to try this! I love dill pickles, but I when I tried making them a couple years ago they were such a disappointment that I haven’t tried again. I am pinning this to try in a month when my cucumbers are (hopefully) ready to pick! Good to know you can use regular cucumbers too, for some reason that never occurred to me!
This sounds perfect! I’m going to try them today. Do you know if I could pickle okra this same way too?? Thanks!
Hi Marissa, I’ve never tried, but I think you could!
Love dill pickles, my mom used to make them when I was a child. My sister and I sat on the porch and cleaned the cucumbers in a bucket while my mom made the pickling liquid. My friends raved over her pickles. I wish I had learned how to make them but this seems like the quick and easy way.
I’ve done something similar, but instead no dill, no chilli flakes but I add chopped red hot peppers, and some sesame oil which would add more flavour, so there is a bit of an “oriental” twist. But this one sounds great, I will have to try it out :D
Angie x
I love pickles, vinegar and would have a field day with this stash :) I love refrigerator pickles and as you said, no canning required. It’s okay too but it’s so nice not to have to mess with it if you don’t have to!
I am so excited to try this! I love pickles and I have always wanted to learn the ins and outs of the canning process. But this is a nice way to easy on in to the process. So simple and rewarding! Thanks for sharing!
I totally agree! I am ecstatic! I have lots of cucumbers from the garden and love pickles!