• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
Fox Valley Foodie
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About the Fox Valley Foodie
  • Subscribe
  • Recipe Index
  • Contact
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Canning, Preservation, and Pickling

    Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

    Published: Jul 7, 2023 by Fox Valley Foodie · This post may contain affiliate links

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Refrigerator Dill Pickles

    These easy refrigerator dill pickles are crisp and tangy and much less effort to make than traditional canning. You can even reuse the brine!

    Best of all, there is no special equipment and no water bath needed to make this great recipe!

    Refrigerator dill pickles on cutting board with seasonings.

    What are they?

    Refrigerator dill pickles are sliced fresh, and soaked in a simple brine in your refrigerator, making them a fresh alternative to store-bought pickles. Since they aren't cooked for preservation, quick pickles have a crisper texture and better crunch than traditional pickles that have gone through the canning process. The only thing needed to make great homemade pickles is a few simple ingredients and patience.

    Ingredients and Substitutions

    • Pickling cucumbers - As their name implies, pickling cucumbers are the best kind of cucumber for making homemade dill pickles. You can also find them called Kirby cucumbers. These garden fresh cucumbers are shorter and typically have thinner exterior skin, making them better suited to soak up flavorful brines.

    Note: If your grocery store only has traditional slicing cucumbers, regular cucumbers still make great pickles. However, I always recommend slicing these cucumbers when pickling so the brine doesn't have issues penetrating the thick skin. However, if you can find English cucumbers those can be a good compromise between slicers and pickling cucumbers.

    • Garlic cloves
    • Pickling Spice - Homemade or store-bought is fine. My homemade pickling spice recipe contains a blend of coriander seed, whole black peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice berries, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, red pepper flakes, and ginger. It creates an incredibly lively flavor that I use in many dishes!
    • Fresh dill - I strongly recommend using fresh dill sprigs rather than dried dill. The flavor will be noticeably better.
    • Pickling spice
    • White vinegar - Apple cider vinegar can be substituted, but white vinegar will give you a cleaner flavor.
    • Kosher salt
    • Pint jars - Quart jars are fine to use as well. Rather than using mason jars, you can also use any airtight storage container instead, but I like glass canning jars because they don't soak in flavor/odor of the brine.
    Refrigerator dill pickles stacked up on wooden board.

    How to make them

    Homemade refrigerator dill pickles are simple to make. First, the brine needs to be simmered so the salt can dissolve in the water and vinegar mixture, then let it cool to at least room temperature to avoid cooking the cucumbers.

    You can slice your pickles into chips, as shown in my photos, create pickle spears, or leave them whole. However, you enjoy them best will work. When the brine has cooled add cucumber slices, garlic, dill, and pickling spice to pint jars and pour in the cooled brine to fill each mason jar.

    The jars of pickles need to sit in your refrigerator for at least a week prior to eating to allow the flavors to fully develop. However, these crunchy pickles can sit for a long time if desired. Since this is not a canning recipe, the jars need to be stored in the refrigerator.

    Tip: When your delicious pickles are gone, you can slice up more vegetables and add them to the pickling brine to create more pickles. Or you can use your pickle brine in homemade Bloody Marys!

    Sliced pickles on a cutting board viewed from above.

    How to use refrigerator pickles

    Use homemade refrigerator pickles just like you would use any store-bought dill pickle. These crunchy pickles are a phenomenal topping for gourmet burgers, can be used in my Cheddar Dill Pickle Dip, topping homemade sloppy joes, added to my Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, or deep-fried to create gourmet fried pickles.

    Refrigerator dill pickles recipe

    Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

    Refrigerator dill pickles are crisp and tangy and much easier to make than traditional canning. You can even reuse the brine!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Resting: 7 days days
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 14kcal
    Author: Fox Valley Foodie

    Equipment

    • Pint Jars

    Ingredients

    • 16 ounces pickling cucumbers (sliced ¼" thick)
    • 2 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
    • 2 sprigs fresh dill
    • 1 teaspoon pickling spice

    Brine

    • 2 cups water
    • 1 cup white vinegar
    • 4 teaspoons kosher salt
    • 2 pint jars

    Instructions

    • Prepare the brine by simmering water, vinegar, and salt in a medium saucepan until the salt has dissolved. Remove from heat and store in the refrigerator until the brine has cooled.
    • Using two pint jars, add 1 minced clove of garlic, 1 sprig of dill, ½ teaspoon pickling spice, and 8 ounces of sliced cucumbers to each jar. Pour brine into each jar until it reaches ½" below the rim.
    • Seal jars tightly and store in the refrigerator for at least a week prior to enjoying.

    Notes

    Traditional cucumbers can be used if pickling cucumbers cannot be found.
    Customize this refrigerator pickle recipe by adding more or less of the ingredients you prefer. This can be made spicy with the addition of hot sauce or spicy peppers.
     

    Nutritional Information

    Calories: 14kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1168mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 41IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it Today!Mention @FoxValleyFoodie or tag #foxvalleyfoodie!

    This recipe was originally published on February 17, 2020.

    More Pickling Recipes

    • Refrigerator Pickled Green Beans recipe
      Refrigerator Pickled Green Beans
    • Pickled Garlic Recipe
      Pickled Garlic Recipe
    • Pickled Pineapple Recipe.
      Pickled Pineapple
    • Half Sour Pickles Recipe
      Half Sour Pickles

      Get My FREE eCookbook

      mailer

      Subscribe to FoxValleyFoodie.com and get each tantalizing new post sent directly to your inbox, along with my complementary eCookbook just for signing up!

      « Spicy Egg Salad
      Taco Pasta Salad »

      Reader Interactions

      5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      Primary Sidebar

      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter

      Subscribe

      15834

      Get each tantalizing new recipe

      sent directly to your inbox.

      AND GET MY eCOOKBOOK FREE!

      Search for your favorite post!

      Popular Recipes

      Close up Sloppy Joes

      Homemade Manwich (Sloppy Joes)

      Brown Sugar Meatloaf with Secret Ingredient

      Brown Sugar Meatloaf - With a Secret Ingredient

      Homemade mozzarella sticks with string cheese

      Homemade Mozzarella Sticks with String Cheese

      How to make paprika

      How to Make Paprika

      Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs - Bone In

      Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs (Bone-In)

      Big Mac Sauce Copycat Recipe

      McDonald's Big Mac Sauce (Copycat Recipe)

      Fried chicken gizzards recipe.

      Fried Chicken Gizzards

      Venison Meatloaf Recipe

      Venison Meatloaf

      As featured in yahoo, buzzfeed, oprah, msn and more!

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      About

      • Privacy Policy
      • Accessibility Policy

      Newsletter

      • Sign Up! for emails and updates

      Contact

      • Contact

      Fox Valley Foodie, LLC

      As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

      Copyright © 2022 Brunch Pro on the Brunch Pro Theme

      Rate This Recipe

      Your vote:




      A rating is required
      A name is required
      An email is required

      Recipe Ratings without Comment

      Something went wrong. Please try again.