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:
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- 2 1-quart wide-mouth jars with lids
Nutrition
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126 comments on “Refrigerator Dill Pickles”
First time making these. Made triple brine recipe. Used large cucumbers from my garden and made 2/2 liter jars. Family is in love. Best pickles we ever had. So easy to make. We started eating them the next day. They can only get better right?
Thanks Brenda! Glad the family loves them. Yes, they do get a little better with time!
my granddaughter loves dill pickles
My kids “all” love dill pickles! But won’t eat kosher dills. So for our next family get together I’m going to have these. That will be the great test!
Great recipe. I’ve made them several times. The family loves them. I add crushed red pepper to mine for a little spice. Also works great for canning okra.
Thanks Donna!
What us exact measurements on water and vinegar seems to little to fill my jar.
Hi Felicia. If the cucumbers are small or there aren’t enough to fill up the jar, there might not be enough liquid. Also, depending on how long the brine mixture is boiled, evaporation can occur. Adding another cup of water may help on these issues.
Hi made these today but some how I ran short of brine barley filled the second jar
Seems like awfully too little water for two quart jars
Help
Hi Deb. 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.
This is my 3 yr making these pickles. I give jars to friends and everyone loves them, too. I get my pickling cukes at the farmer’s market. I add a bay leaf and a couple slices of jalapeños just to bump it up.
This is my second batch. The first batch I kept to the recipe. They were so easy and delicious! This time I’m making a double batch to share and compare with few friends. I tweaked the recipe just a little on a few jars. One jar got red pepper flakes, another got fresh onion and the last one extra garlic! I can’t wait to share and compare!
Sounds delicious. Thanks Kricket!
Love it all
We made these yesterday and could hardly wait to try them today. We were not disappointed. They were flavorful and delicious! We used English cucumbers and cut them into round slices. I used dried dill since it is winter and they were great!! There is no way they will make it to the expiration date.
Thanks Sandi!