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Quick and Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Photo Credit
Sam Jones/Quinn Brein
Sarah Perreault
Yield
7 to 9 pints
Category
Pickles and Preserves
Course
Other
Special Considerations
Vegetarian
Preparation Method
Easy Does It
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Looking for a quick pickle recipe? Refrigerator Dill Pickles are crisp and so delicious. All you need are cucumbers and basic ingredients. Serve sliced on sandwiches and burgers, or enjoy straight from the jar. 

To get crisper pickles, we recommend brining the cucumbers in salt water. This step (#2 below) is optional, but we think it keeps pickles nice and crunchy, not mushy. The quality and freshness of your pickles at the start of the process can also impact crunch.  Also, a little sugar is added to recipes to cut the acidity; if you don’t add sugar, the taste may turn out “vinegary.”

These Refrigerator Pickles will last one month in the fridge. Quick pickles (refrigerator pickles) are meant to be prepared quickly and consumed quickly! However, if you wish to process the pickles (boiling water bath), the pickles will be stored for one year on the shelf and, after opening, up to 3 months in the refrigerator.

See the full Guide on How to Pickle and Guide to Water-Bath Canning to learn how to can HIGH acid foods such as pickled cucumbers.

Note: This recipe was updated in 2020 to comply with the latest safety measures. It’s been adapted from the “Complete Guide to Home Canning,” Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA. We no longer have a copy of the old recipe.

Ingredients
8 lbs of 3- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers
2 gallons of water
1¼ cups canning or pickling salt
1½ quarts vinegar (5 percent or high)
¼ cup sugar
2 quarts water
2 tbsp whole mixed pickling spice (such as Pickling Crisp™ or Mrs Wages)
3 tbsp whole mustard seed (about 1 tsp to 2 tsp per pint jar)
14 heads of fresh dill (about 1½ heads per pint jar
) OR 
4½ tbsp dill seed (about 1½ tsp per pint jar)
Garlic clove, peeled – one per jar
Instructions
  1. Wash cucumbers and cut a 1/16-inch slice off the blossom end and discard, but leave ¼-inch of stem attached.  
  2. Dissolve ¾ cup salt into 2 gallons of water. Pour over the cucumbers and let stand for 12 hours in the refrigerator. Drain and cut into halves or quarters.
  3. Combine 1 ½ qt vinegar, ½ cup salt, ¼ cup sugar and 2 quarts water into a stainless-steel pot. Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean white cheesecloth bag. Heat to boiling. 
  4. Fill pint jars with the cucumbers. Add 1 tsp mustard seed, 1½ heads fresh dill and garlic clove per pint.
  5. Cover with boiling pickling solution, leaving ½-inch headspace. If you run out of vinegar solution to fill up to headspace, make a ½ vinegar:½water solution and using a microwave oven, microwave to boiling before using.
  6. Top each pint with a lid and screw bands to finger tight only leaving ½ inch headspace.
  7. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks allowing flavor to develop to taste. Enjoy!

For storing pickles at room temperature process the pints in boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Learn More
Are you a pickle enthusiast? See our How to Pickle Guide with more recipes!

About The Author

Sarah Perreault

Managing editor, Sarah Perreault, works on all things Almanac, but is especially proud to be the editor of our Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids series. Read More from Sarah Perreault
 

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Comments

Thomas Mulcare (not verified)

8 months 1 week ago

I made a recipe for homemade dill pickles what should they look like after two weeks I can’t find a picture hope you can send one

georgehwilson (not verified)

4 years 3 months ago

how long do these pickles last?

For regular “Quick Pickles” (unprocessed), the recommendation is one month in the refrigerator. It can take a week or two for the flavor to develop, so let’s say no more than 6 weeks. Some manufacturers say that quick pickles can last up to 2 or 3 months, but we tend to be more cautious.

Also, if the pickles include onions, then they are good for only 2 weeks in the refrigerator; the onions will degrade in the vinegar.  Quick pickles (refrigerator pickles) are meant to be prepared quickly and consumed quickly!

Note: If you kept store-bought pickles in a fridge, they can be kept for up to 1 year in the refrigerator after opening.  The manufacturers put stabilizers/crisping agent to help the pickle keep the texture.

If you process these pickles (boiling water bath), they are good for one year on the shelf and after opening up to 3 months in refrigerator per Ball. 
 

Terri Donoho (not verified)

5 years 3 months ago

Can I use white vinegar or apple vinegar?

We recommend white vinegar. You can use apple cider vinegar if it’s 5% acidity or greater. The correct amount to use is 4 tablespoons per quart of tomatoes.  Just note that apple cider vinegar may cause undesirable flavor changes and for that reason it is not typically recommended or used in recipes.
 

Sarah Moore (not verified)

5 years 3 months ago

Can you make these according to the recipe and then water bath can them?

Anne (not verified)

2 years 4 months ago

Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks allowing flavor to develop to taste. Enjoy.
For storing pickles at room temperature process pints in boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Yes, If you process and can the jars, they can be stored at room temperature unopened to keep in your pantry! I believe that our general pickling article has processing times in it for 10 minutes. See How to Pickle.