If you love pickles, you can make your own at home with this fantastic Refrigerator Dill Pickles recipe! Fresh cucumber slices in a homemade pickle brine with pickling spices, fresh garlic and dill – you’ll be so surprised how easy it is to make homemade pickles that taste way better than store-bought pickles!
The Best Dill Pickle Recipe
Dill pickles are a favorite low-fat snack in my house. Everyone loved the crunch and unique sour flavor. Because we had so many cucumbers on hand, I decided to make homemade refrigerator pickles. They are wonderful!
Refrigerator pickles are extra easy because there is no jar sterilization needed. This recipe makes two big jars of pickles that will keep in your fridge for up to a month. It was so easy to make these pickles, I could absolutely see making a fresh batch every month.
Don’t miss these other pickle recipes! Air Fryer Pickles, Ham Pickle Roll-Ups, Hot Dog Relish and Easy Fried Pickles.
Ingredients For Homemade Dill Pickles
Here’s what you’ll need to make the Refrigerator Dill Pickles (the exact measurements and full recipe instructions are below in the printable recipe card):
- Cucumbers – you will need pickling cucumbers or kirby cucumbers.
- Fresh dill
- Fresh garlic
- Pickling spices – You’ll find this special spice blend in the spice aisle of your grocery store. Pickling spice typically includes allspice, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds, ginger, mustard seeds, and black peppercorns.
- Water
- White vinegar
- Granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
How to Make Refrigerator Dill Pickles
- In a medium saucepan, heat the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Next, wash the cucumbers and cut each one into slices equaling four spears. You may also need to cut the length of the cucumber spears down a bit to fit inside your jar so they don’t poke out the top making it impossible to secure the lid of the jar.
- Next, pack each jar with as many pickles as will fit comfortably.
- Push the fresh dill sprigs down into the jar and divide the garlic and pickling spices between each jar.
- Pour the warm pickling liquid into the jars and screw on the lids.
- Refrigerate the pickles for 1 full day before eating.
Tips & Tricks For Refrigerator Dill Pickles
- Cool the brine – Be sure the brine has cooled off a bit before you pour it over the cucumbers in the jars. If it is too hot it will cook them in the jar and make for mushy pickles.
- Mark the jars – Place a sticker or date label on the jar and mark with an expiration date, which should be one month from the day you make the pickles.
- Make every month – To always have fresh pickles on hand, you might want to plan to make them every month on or around a certain date.
- Different cuts – This recipe can also be used to make dill pickle chips for sandwiches and burgers. Simply cut the cucumbers into round medallions instead of spears and follow the rest of the recipe as directed.
- The best jars – The very best jars to use are wide mouth 1-quart jars. The more narrow mouth jars are difficult when trying to pull pickles out.
- Additions – Feel free to add in anything you prefer like peppers, red pepper flakes, etc…
How Long Do Refrigerator Dill Pickles Last?
Refrigerator pickles are different from store-bought pickles since they are fresh and not made for long-term preservation. This pickle recipe is not shelf stable and needs to be refrigerated. Keep in the fridge for up to one month for best flavor and results.
More Dill Pickle Recipes You Will Enjoy
- Dill Pickle Dip
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese with Dill Pickles
- Dill Pickle Soup
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 6 small cucumbers
- 8 sprigs fresh dill
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons pickling spice
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons of salt and bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Wash the cucumbers and cut each into 4 spears for a total of 24 spears. If the cucumbers are too tall to stand up in the jars without sticking out the top, trim off one end of each so they're the right size for the jars. Fill each jar with cucumbers (they may not all fit, which is fine–save the extra cucumber spears for another use).
- Push the fresh dill sprigs down into the jars between the cucumbers. Add the sliced garlic and pickling spices to the jars.
- Pour the warm brine evenly into the jars and seal each jar with a lid.
- Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving. Keep refrigerated for up to one month (discard leftovers after 1 month).
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Equipment
- 2 1-quart wide-mouth jars with lids
Nutrition
Leave a Review!
We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.
Your email address will not be published.
68 comments on “Refrigerator Dill Pickles”
I followed the recipe but the liquid only filled each jar half way. What did I do wrong?
Hi Julie. The size of the cucumbers or how long the brine was boiled could affect the amount of liquid in the jar. You could add another cup of water to the mixture the next you make them.
Amazing, Amazing, Amazing! This recipe rocks!
Can you use granular garlic if you don’t have fresh and can you keep brine in refrigerator if you have extra?
Hi Debra. Yes, you could use granular garlic and yes the brine will store in the fridge.
Had great results with this recipe. Great flavor, quick and easy! Can’t go wrong. Cucumbers are in full season and with this being a quick recipe I don’t have any cucumbers going to waste.
Glad you loved it Danielle. Thanks for your review!!
My mother in law uses LIME soaking for 3 days for her sweet pickles. Do I need to do this for a crisp crunch?
I haven’t tried these yet. Can I use dried dill and if so how much. First timer here.
Thanks
You could used dried dill and may get similar results, but it will be much more flavorful with fresh dill.
another thought rather than dried dill weed, would be to look for dill seed… not that easy to find but has way more concentrated flavor than dried dill weed.
Seriously the best pickling recipe I have found. So easy to make and with great results.
Great recipe! Last week made these for the first time and added some extra peppercorn to make them spicy. Delicious! I currently am making one batch of plain dill and then one with ranch seasoning! Can’t wait to taste tomorrow and continue exploring new additions!
Ranch dressing!! You just blew my mind. Please let us know how they turn out!
Hi there! I am going to make these for the first time but my question is, i have 12 quart mason jars and the recipe calls for 1 quart…do i need to double the recipe?
This recipe will make enough for two 1 Qt jars.
I made these 3 days ago and they are so good my kid and grandkids love them I’m definitely keeping this recipe it’s a 5 Star
These are delicious and so easy! Â
These were amazing in the fridge! But i am wanting to use the same recipe but Instead of putting the jars in the refrigerator can i water bath these?!
I just tried these! I added horseradish! Pretty excited!
 could I make these as dill pickle slices instead of strips?
Vicki, sure you could!
I LOVE these pickles! I make them all the time! I mean ALL the time. They always come out perfectly and they’re so easy to make.
I use Persian cucumbers and pre minced garlic. Sometimes I add a sliced habanero if I’m feeling spicy.
Thank you for this recipe!
These sound delicious! Our family loves dills! Thank you!
Delicious!
My hubby and I love this recipe!
Our favorite pickles!
Thank you!!
These pickles are easy to make and delicious, I have made them several times for my family and also some coworkers, Thank You for your recipe
Can this recipe be used for long term canning?
Can you can for long term use?
Love this recipe! Can you use whole baby cucumbers for this recipe
Hi Lorrie. I haven’t tried that, but it may work ok. The sliced larger cucumbers will probably absorb more flavor though.
Have you received an answer foe this?
Great recipe and I like to add a Jalapeno pepper with seeds – sliced.
These are delicious!
I have made these pickles and had a jar left a year later. Still crispy and delicious.
Do you need to put in garlic