Easy Homemade Pickles Recipe: Crisp Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Easy Homemade Pickles

I used to think homemade pickles were a project for people with a garden, a big pot, and a free afternoon.

Then a friend handed me a jar of refrigerator dill pickles at a summer cookout, and I realized the whole thing takes about fifteen minutes of actual work.

I have kept a jar going in my fridge ever since, and these easy homemade pickles are the ones I bring to potlucks, picnics, and every warm weather get together.

The best part is the timing. Thin slices taste fully pickled after about one hour in the fridge, and thicker spears are ready in about three. That means you can decide at noon that you want pickles on your burger at dinner and still make it happen.

They keep for up to three weeks in the refrigerator, though in my house they rarely last that long. One batch makes one jar, about two cups of sliced pickles or sixteen spears, so it is easy to double the recipe when you are feeding a crowd.

So what do they taste like? Tangy, refreshing, crisp, and full of garden fresh flavor. If you love the snappy crunch of a good deli dill, these will feel familiar.

They are well seasoned without being overwhelmingly salty, and they stay decidedly tangy rather than sweet. A small amount of maple syrup or sugar is there only to soften the sharp edge of the vinegar.

If you want sweeter bread and butter style pickles, you would need to add a lot more sweetener, and that is really a different recipe.

The ingredient list is short and mostly things you already have on hand:

Rice vinegar is my pick here because its flavor is mild and clean, so the dill and garlic get to lead the show.

Fresh dill gives that classic dill pickle aroma, and two smashed garlic cloves add a gentle bite that mellows after a day in the jar. The bay leaf is a quiet background note that I notice most in the spears.

How to Make Pickles

Everything happens in one jar and one measuring cup. Here is the full method, step by step.

1. Slice the cucumbers. For pickle rounds, often called chips, slice the cucumbers into thin rounds about 1/8 inch thick. For spears, slice them in half lengthwise, then slice the halves lengthwise into quarters, then slice the quarters lengthwise into eighths. If your spears are long, slice them through the middle so they are not too tall for your jar. Set aside.
2. Make the brine. In a liquid measuring cup or a bowl, combine the water, rice vinegar, maple syrup, salt, red pepper flakes if using, and black pepper. Stir until most of the salt has dissolved into the liquid, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set aside.
3. Pack the jar. Place the cucumbers into a wide mouth jar about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, tall enough to leave at least 1 inch of extra space on top. For spears, it matters that they fit snugly and vertically. A wide mouth pint sized mason jar works well.
4. Add the aromatics and chill. Top the cucumbers with the dill and garlic. Tuck the bay leaf into the side of the jar. Pour all of the liquid over the cucumbers so they are fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour for rounds, or at least 3 hours for spears.

The cool brine is the secret. Most pickle recipes start with a hot vinegar brine that you have to heat on the stove.

This one uses a room temperature brine instead, which saves you a pot and keeps the kitchen free of that sharp vinegar smell. More importantly, cucumbers are delicate and soak up flavor quickly, so a cool brine gives you the best flavor, texture, and color. The cucumbers stay crisp instead of going soft.

One more thing about the jar. You want the cucumbers fully covered by liquid, and you want a little headroom so the brine does not spill when you seal it. If your jar is too narrow, spears will not stand up properly, and if it is too wide, you will need more brine than the recipe calls for.

Important: this is a refrigerator pickle recipe. It is not designed for canning in a water bath, it has not been tested for canning safety, and it should not be attempted. Keep these pickles in the fridge and enjoy them within three weeks.

Total hands on time is about fifteen minutes, plus the resting time in the refrigerator. The flavor keeps improving over the next couple of days, so if you can wait a day, you will be rewarded with a deeper, more rounded pickle. After that first day the garlic mellows, the dill settles in, and the brine tastes less sharp.

Cucumber Slicing Options

You can make any shape you like, and the shape decides how long the pickles need in the fridge.

• Rounds or chips. Thin slices about 1/8 inch thick. These are the fastest and are fully pickled in about one hour. They are perfect for sandwiches, burgers, and salads.
• Spears. Halve the cucumber lengthwise, cut the halves into quarters, then cut the quarters into eighths to make wedge shaped spears. If the spears are long, cut them through the middle so they fit the jar. Spears need at least three hours because the brine has further to travel.
• Sandwich slices. Slice a strip off one side of the cucumber so it rests flat on your cutting board, then slice it lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick planks. Cut those in half or thirds if they are longer than your bread.

For cucumber choice, English seedless cucumbers are my favorite for thinly sliced pickles because their skin is tender and the seeds are small. Kirby, Persian, and regular garden cucumbers all work well too. For spears, two Kirby or small garden cucumbers, or one longer garden cucumber, will fill a pint jar nicely.

A quick note on timing. Thin slices taste fully pickled after about one hour, while thick spears need about three. If you cut your cucumbers thicker than 1/8 inch, plan on more time than one hour. If you are not sure, taste one. That is the most reliable test there is.

Pickle Serving Suggestions

These pickles earn their place on the table in more ways than I can count. Here are the ones I come back to most.

• Burgers and sandwiches. A stack of pickle rounds or a couple of spears next to a veggie burger is the classic move, and it works just as well with grilled cheese, pulled pork, or a simple turkey sandwich.
• Salads. Add pickle rounds to a garden salad with tomatoes, carrots, and radishes. The brine brings a bright, salty note that makes the vegetables taste more like themselves.
• Snacks. Straight from the jar is a perfectly good answer. Cold, crisp, and tangy, they satisfy a salt craving with almost no effort.
• Cheese boards and party spreads. Pickles cut through rich cheese and cured meat, so they are often one of the first things to disappear at a gathering.

If you are the person who brings a dish to every potluck, keep this one in your back pocket. A jar of homemade pickles travels well, needs no reheating, and gives people something bright and crunchy next to all the casseroles and pasta salads on the table.

I have watched a jar of these empty faster than a pan of brownies.

Once you get comfortable with the method, the same cool brine idea opens up a whole shelf of quick pickles. Quick pickled onions are wonderful on tacos and sandwiches. Quick pickled jalapenos, or a fresh jalapeno relish, add heat to just about anything.

Quick pickled radishes bring a peppery crunch to tacos and rice bowls. And a mixed jar of quick pickled vegetables with cauliflower, carrots, onions, or jalapeno is a great way to use up whatever is sitting in the crisper drawer before it goes soft.

Start with one jar of these easy homemade pickles this week. Slice a cucumber, stir a brine, and let the fridge do the rest. You will be surprised how quickly a homemade pickle becomes a habit.

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Easy Homemade Pickles

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Easy Homemade Pickles I used to think homemade pickles were a project for people with a garden, a big pot, and a free afternoon. Then a friend handed me a jar of refrigerator dill pickles at a summer cookout, and I realized the whole thing takes about fifteen minutes of actual work.

• Total Time: 15 min
• Yield: 1 jar (about 2 cups sliced pickles or 16 spears) 1x

Ingredients

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1 medium-to-large or 2 small cucumber
½ cup water, at room temperature or cooler
½ cup rice vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup or sugar
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
20 twists freshly ground black pepper
2 leafy sprigs (about ¼ cup) fresh dill, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 bay leaf

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Instructions

1-For pickle rounds (“chips”), slice the cucumber(s): For pickle rounds (“chips”), slice the cucumber(s) into thin rounds, about ⅛-inch thick. Or, for spears, slice them in half lengthwise, then slice the halves lengthwise into quarters, then slice the quarters lengthwise into eighths. If your spears are long like mine (from one long cucumber), slice them through the middle so they’re not too tall for your jar. Set aside.
2-In a liquid measuring cup or bowl,: In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine the water, vinegar, maple syrup, salt, red pepper flakes (if using) and black pepper. Stir until most of the salt has dissolved into the liquid, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set aside.
3-Place the cucumbers into a wide-mouth jar: Place the cucumbers into a wide-mouth jar about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, tall enough to offer at least 1 inch of extra space on top (for pickle spears, it’s important that all the pickles fit snugly, vertically-a wide-mouth pint-sized mason jar would work well).
4-Top the cucumbers with the dill and: Top the cucumbers with the dill and garlic. Tuck the bay leaf into the side of the jar. Pour the all of the liquid over the cucumbers so they’re fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (for pickle rounds) or at least 3 hours (for pickle spears). The flavor will continue to develop over the next couple of days. These pickles will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

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• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 0 min
• Method: refrigerator