There are times in life when you don’t talk; you simply sit nestled in the corner of the kitchen and eat homemade pickles. Silently as you sit you wonder, “Why did it take twenty-nine years to make homemade pickles?” With each crispy bite you yearn for just one more.
Soon, you reach your hand into the glass jar anticipating the next dilly pickle, but come up empty. Suddenly, anxious thoughts rush through to your head, “No more pickles? Breathe. Breathe”.
Desperation turns to sweet relief as you remember these aren’t just any pickles. No, these are refrigerator pickles. Five minutes and two days. That’s all homemade refrigerator pickles need to turn from good ol’ cucumbers to crispy, dilly, slightly sweet and tangy pickles.
Of course, this talk is all hypothetical, friend. I would never sit in the corner of my humble kitchen gorging on homemade pickles in my favorite floral apron. Never. Well, okay, maybe there was this one time.
Let’s just get to those amazing homemade refrigerator pickles, because soon you’ll want to join me. It just takes one bite.
Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
- 1 lb dill cucumbers approx. 2 cucumbers
- 1/2 white onion thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves chopped, (skip the garlic if you don't like a garlicky, spicy taste)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp coarse sea salt reduce amount if using a fine salt
- 2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 2 tsp dill seeds
Instructions
- Slice the cucumbers as desired.
- Place the cucumbers, onion slices, and garlic in a quart-sized jar.
- In a medium-size bowl whisk together the water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, and dill seeds. Pour the mixture into the pickle jar, covering the cucumbers.
- Allow the cucumbers to rest in the fridge for 48 hours before enjoying.
Nutrition
Note: Refrigerator pickles keep for 3-4 weeks in the fridge.
These are so tasty! They turned out great using our garden Marketmore cucumbers!
So glad you loved them, Belinda!
We don’t care for sweet pickles…Does the recipe change if you leave out the sugar?
Hey Maria, I’ve never tried making these without sugar, but I’m guessing the recipe (ingredients and amounts) will remain the same without the sugar.
Can you water bath this recipe. Thank you.
Hey Lorraine Grace, I haven’t tried canning these pickles, but I think a water bath method will work! Let me know how it goes.
The best part about making pickles is that you end up with a two-fer recipe. Once you’ve used all the pickles in the jar, don’t throw out the liquid. Just slice up a cucumber, pack it into the jar with the pickling liquid and the next day you’ll have another batch of delish pickles!
Love that! Thanks for sharing, Kat.
where did you get those jars? I love them!
Hey Juls, The jars are Weck. I love them!!! Here’s the website: http://weckjars.com/.
Can I leave out the sugar all together, or does it do something necessary for the recipe? I don’t like sweet pickles one bit, but I love garlicky dill pickles.
Hey Tori, You’re welcome to leave the sugar out. The sugar provides a slightly sweeter taste.
Can you use raw honey instead of sugar ?
Xx
Hey Laura, My fear of using honey is that it will just sink to the bottom and create a sticky texture on the cucumbers. I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think honey will work in this recipe.
Thanks 🙂
Made these and loved them! Do you think you could make pickled beets the same way or would the beets be too crunchy without cooking them beforehand? I was thinking they’d be delicious in this brine!
Hey Kelly, I’m so glad you like them!! I’m not sure about beets. It’s worth a try.
I can’t wait to try these. Where did you find the cute label in your photo?
Hey Lori, Enjoy the pickles. They are so yummy! I found the label at Micheal’s Craft Store recently. This label was sold in a pack of four other varieties near the mason jars.
So these are sweet pickles?
Hey Katelynn, These pickles have a spicy edge due to the mustard and garlic, but also a sweet balance. You can decrease the mustard seed slightly and leave out the garlic for sweeter pickles. You can also add a little more sugar if desired, but not too much.
I noticed that you mentioned to use dill cucumbers. I am new to growing my own produce so I hope that this isn’t a silly question but is that a specific type of cucumber or it just a term you use when making pickles? We planted marketmore cucumbers so I am just trying to figure out if I can use those for this recipe?
Hey Kristi, Not silly at all :). First, big congrats on growing cucumbers at home!
Dill cucumbers are a particular kind of cucumber often used for making pickles. They tend to be shorter and fatter and a light green color on the exterior. I’m not sure if you can use the marketmore cucumbers, but I’d say it’s worth a shot! I’d love to hear how they turn out.
In love with this recipe! Can’t wait to make these.
Thank you, Emily! Enjoy!!
Seriously in love with that jar 😉 Pickles look great!
Thank you, Renee. I love that jar too! I think it makes pickles taste even better ;).
These look so delicious! Crisp and fresh and oooo, I need some!
Oh, they are so good, Christine! Enjoy!!!