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When it comes to homemade pickles, few varieties can match the tangy flavor and crisp texture of refrigerator dill pickles. With just a handful of ingredients and a simple brining process, these pickles are not only easy to make, but they also offer a burst of freshness and flavor that you won’t find in store-bought alternatives.
Even if this is the first time you try to make your own homemade jar of pickles, you’ll see how easy this recipe is! What’s not to love about a homemade crunchy dill pickle when you’re eating a loaded club sandwich, a homemade sloppy joe sandwich, or a stuffed burger?
Table of Contents
- Why I Love This Recipe
- Ingredients Needed for this Dill Pickle Recipe
- How to Make Refrigerator Dill Pickles
- Step 1: Thoroughly Wash the Cucumbers
- Step 2: Slice the cucumbers into slices or spears.
- Step 3: Prepare the Garlic and Dill
- Step 4: Make the Pickle Brine
- Step 5: Add Ingredients to Jars
- Step 6: Pickle the Cucumbers
- Pickling Cucumbers vs Other Cucumber Varieties
- Homemade Pickle FAQs
- My Favorite Pickle Recipes
- Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles Recipe
Why I Love This Recipe
Every summer, this easy homemade pickle recipe is one of my most viewed recipes, and for good reason!
- Quick and Easy Process – One of the best things about refrigerator dill pickles is their simplicity and convenience. Unlike traditional canning methods that involve a hot water bath, refrigerator pickles require no canning process. Instead, you can store them in quart or pint jars directly in the refrigerator.
- Crisp and Flavorful – The absence of heat processing allows the pickles to retain their crunchiness, resulting in a crisp pickle that is ready to enjoy the next day.
- Versatile and Delicious – Fresh pickles make a great snack. The pickle juice can be used in recipes like remoulade sauce. They can also be used in recipes like potato salad or ham salad, relishes, or even on a charcuterie board.
These are seriously the best dill quick pickles you’ll ever enjoy!
Ingredients Needed for this Dill Pickle Recipe
- Fresh Dill and Garlic Cloves – These aromatic components infuse the pickling brine with their distinct flavors. The dill’s herbal notes add depth, while the garlic provides a subtle pungency that complements the tangy vinegar brine perfectly.
- For the Vinegar Brine – White vinegar plays a crucial role in the pickle-making process. The vinegar brine not only acts as a preservative but also imparts that signature tangy flavor. The combination of vinegar, water, kosher salt, and a bit of sugar create a flavorful brine that balances the freshness of the cucumbers.
How to Make Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Step 1: Thoroughly Wash the Cucumbers
You want to make sure they’re completely free of any dirt or residue.
Step 2: Slice the cucumbers into slices or spears.
No need to discard the ends of the cucumbers – they make great tangy dill pickles too! To get the fun wavy cut, use a crinkle cutting tool.
Step 3: Prepare the Garlic and Dill
Remove the garlic cloves from the bulb. Smash them by holding a large chef’s knife or the bottom of a glass on top of them and pressing down.
Separate the fresh dill from the thick stems.
Step 4: Make the Pickle Brine
Heat the brine in a saucepan. The brine consists of water, vinegar, salt, and sugar.
Bring this mixture to a rolling boil and then remove it from the heat. You basically want to swirl it around so that the salt and sugar dissolve. Let the brine cool to room temperature.
Step 5: Add Ingredients to Jars
Loosely layer the prepared cucumbers with the smashed garlic, fresh dill, and black peppercorns into sanitized Mason quart jars (aka canning jars). You can use pint-sized or half-gallon sized jars if you wish too.
Step 6: Pickle the Cucumbers
Pour the brine over your freshly cut cucumbers that have been arranged in the jars with the garlic, dill, and peppercorns.
Place the homemade dill pickles in the refrigerator for a week and voila – they’re ready!
Pickling Cucumbers vs Other Cucumber Varieties
Pickling cucumbers, also known as picklers or Kirby cucumbers, are cucumbers specifically cultivated for the purpose of pickling.
They are distinct from other types of cucumbers, such as slicing cucumbers or salad cucumbers, due to their unique characteristics. Here are some ways in which pickling cucumbers differ from other cucumbers:
- Size: Pickling cucumbers are usually smaller in size compared to slicing cucumbers. They are typically shorter, measuring around 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm) in length, which makes them more suitable for fitting into jars and brining solutions.
- Texture: Pickling cucumbers have a crisp and firm texture, which helps them retain their crunchiness during the pickling process. This is an important quality for producing delicious pickles.
- Skin: The skin of pickling cucumbers is thinner and often more bumpy or warty compared to slicing cucumbers. This allows the pickling solution and spices to penetrate the cucumber more easily, resulting in a well-flavored pickle.
- Seeds: Pickling cucumbers tend to have smaller seeds and a lower seed count compared to slicing cucumbers. This is desirable because larger seeds can sometimes contribute to a softer texture in pickles.
- Taste: Pickling cucumbers generally have a milder and less watery flavor compared to slicing cucumbers. Their flavor profile is better suited to absorbing the flavors of the brine and spices used in the pickling process.
Due to these characteristics, pickling cucumbers are the preferred choice when making pickles.
Homemade Pickle FAQs
Because of the popularity of this recipe, I get a lot of questions and comments. Here are the most common questions I get with this recipe along with my answers.
I’ve always found pickling cucumbers at the farmer’s market. They seem to be everyone’s favorite to grow in their own garden as well. One pickling cucumber plant will produce a ton!
Grocery stores will carry pickling cumbers as well, but they are definitely a seasonal item.
Yes, in fact, many quick-pickle recipes call for ACV. With dill pickles, however, I prefer the taste of white vinegar, but this is just what I like.
The salt and vinegar brine will keep these cucumbers fresh in the refrigerator for a long time. That said, I think they are best if eaten within a couple of months.
I find that the fresh cucumbers, fresh dill, whole peppercorns, and fresh garlic along with the brine are all that you need and people really do love them!
You can certainly add additional pickling spices but they aren’t necessary to still get great taste and texture.
Yes! I’ve had readers tell me they added fresh green beans, carrots, cauliflower, asparagus, etc. and they all worked out amazingly well.
I get asked this a lot. Pickling cucumbers are ideal because they are small and firm so they give that great pickle crunch.
You can pickle any kind of cucumber, but because of the moisture content in slicing (aka English) cucumbers, they will be more mushy but they will still taste great.
The closest substitute to traditional pickling cucumbers are Persian cucumbers and those are often carried at major grocery stores year round.
Yes! That’s why I recommend always using a clean utensil to get the pickles out. You don’t want to introduce any bacteria from dirty fingers. Use the brine over and over again.
Yes, you can use whole. They just might take a longer time to absorb all of the flavors from the brine. Slicing them just makes the pickling process go faster.
My Favorite Pickle Recipes
If you love pickles and pickled vegetables, you’ll want to try these:
If you tried this Dill Pickle recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
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Ingredients
- 10-12 pickling cucumbers
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- big bunch of dill thick stems removed
- 1 head of garlic skins removed, cloves smashed (less if its a strong garlic)
- peppercorn kernals I usually use about 10 peppercorns per jar, give or take
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients: Thoroughly wash cucumbers. Slice cucumbers into 1/4-inch thick slices or spears. Set aside. Smash garlic cloves and separate dill from thick stems. Also, sanitize mason jars by running them through the dishwasher.
- Prepare brine: To make the brine, combine water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and swirl the pan to ensure the sugar and salt dissolve. Remove the pan from heat and cool to room temperature.
- Make the pickles: Layer the prepared cucumbers with the fresh dill, smashed garlic, and peppercorns in the jars. Do not pack them super tight as you you'll want room for the brine. Finish by adding enough brine to cover the cucumbers. Seal with an airtight lid and store in the refrigerator. The flavor is best if stored for at least one week, but they can be eaten at any time. Pickles should be good for at least 4-6 weeks after that.
- This recipe made enough for me to fill one pint and fill two quart jars.
Notes
- Quantities listed make about 3 quart-sized jars
- The amount of dill and garlic can vary depending on taste. I prefer to pack my jars with a ton of fresh dill which is why I don’t specify a specific quantity, but you can add as little or as much as you prefer.
- The intensity of the garlic will impact the intensity of the pickles. If your garlic is particularly strong, use less if you are sensitive to the taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally created in 2015 and has been updated with updated photos and more helpful information, but this reader-favorite recipe has always remained the same.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! The first time I made these pickles they were such a hit that they were devoured before the 1 week refrigeration period had even finished. I should have put a padlock on the fridge to keep everyone out! They were such a hit that I decided to make them to gift to everyone this Christmas. I made 15 pint size jars for everyone. They are just amazing. My Nana is a canning whiz but she has never made any sort of dill pickle. She is famous for her bread and butter pickles (that call for 4 cups of sugar per batch, sorry but that is just TO MUCH for me!). I have got to say that these dill pickles are giving her a run for her money! My 5 year old requests some every morning for breakfast! I have also recommended your recipe to a number of friends and family. 5 stars for sure!
Thank you for the great comment!!! Krissy
Hi. I tried this recipe out a couple weeks ago and it was a hit! I had friends over for a Christmas party and they found the pickles in the fridge! Everyone was raving about how amazing the pickles were. Now, I am getting ready to make 15 jars for friends and family Christmas presents. Awesome recipe!!
Hi do you have a recipe for bread and butter pickles?
I don’t! Sorry. Krissy
I had two pickling cucumber plants from my step daughters horticulture class and after finally hoarding enough cucumbers (the kids kept stealing the cucumbers to just eat..lol ) I finally made some pickles in late Aug… to quote my husband “best pickles I’ve ever had!”
I grew some of my own dill too but didn’t quite have enough so I ended up buying a bundle of fresh dill to use ( btw Ladybugs apparently love dill- . one of my plantings had ladybugs getting busy soon as it Flowered and within a week I had 4-5 baby ladybugs I was able to watch grow up 🙂
I ended up making 2 batches of brine and kept a couple extra jars of it in the fridge.. and as they ripened, I’d pick them, wash em and cut them up and forget about them/hide them In the garage fridge… I still have a couple jars left and they are just as good if not better now in late Oct as they were in Aug. Still super crisp and tasty! A few of my cucumbers were a little bitter but the bitterness disappeared when they became pickles. Some of the cucumbers had been in the fridge a lil too long but they stayed nice and crisp. I cut the ends off prior to cutting them up.
I also strictly enforced no fingers in the jar so I was also able to reuse a couple of the brine jars as we ate through the pickles.
I may have put a bit too much garlic in the first batch of them but as they sat longer in the fridge they got less garlicky so that was good. Very flexible recipe as well- I ended up just divvying up all the dill I had into the jars and did add a few extra peppercorns – first few days I thought I overdid it but again like the garlic it toned way down after a week or so.
Overall great SUPER easy and fairly fun recipe I will be making again next year for sure!! Thank you!!
Thanks for the great comment, Sasha! -Krissy
I recently tried pickles from a restaurant that, according to them, had the same ingredients but they also included mustard seeds. I want to replicate the recipe so i’m trying to figure out how much mustard seed to add and when to add these. Any thoughts?
I would guess that’s a total matter of preference. I would just experiment by adding different amounts to see what you like best! -Krissy
I recently tried similar pickles from a restaurant but they also had mustard seed in the recipe. I really liked the pickles so I’m trying to figure out how much mustard seed to add and when to add this. Any thoughts?
My pickles came out too vinegary. What should I do. Also I couldn’t find fresh dill and used 1tsp of dry.
Hi!
I’ve made these with pickling cukes…..SO delicious! Out of curiosity I made up a batch today using quartered green tomatoes. They are fabulous! I had a few leftover tomatoes and some garlic, not enough for a whole jar. So I just added them to a jar we had already opened in the fridge. YUM!!
Thanks so very much for sharing this wonderful, easy recipe!
Hi Krissy – made 12 qts of these with Armenian cucumbers and they are just fabulous! We are going thru them so quickly – my question – can I reuse the brine? I have millions more to make and didn’t want to waste week old brine…
Absolutely! I did! However, if you have dirty little kid fingers digging for pickles on a regular basis like I do in my house, you might want to make a fresh batch. 🙂 -Krissy
I followed your recipe and I am amazed at how easy and delicious my pickles are! My family loves them so much, I bought canning jars so I can make more and enjoy them throughout the winter. Do you know if I need to do anything different to your recipe to ensure they stay crunchy and delicious after I can them? Thank you!
Hi Marc, Since you’re not cooking them in a hot water bath, they should remain crunchy. 🙂 Krissy