Add this to the list of things I am NEVER buying prepared from the store again! Homemade dill pickles.
This recipe is a simple mix of vinegar, sugar, water, salt, garlic, and celery seed (inspired by the dressing for Bar Harbor coleslaw), boiled, cooled, and poured over cut cucumbers, thinly sliced onions, and plenty of fresh dill. Because the liquid is cooled before pouring over, the cucumbers will retain their bright color. This means, however, that you should let them sit in your fridge for a few days (at least 3) for the dill and spices to fully infuse their flavor into the pickles. If you are an impatient type, you can pour the hot liquid over the mixture for faster pickles.
I had my first experiment with pickling when I made quick pickled jalapenos a few weeks ago. I haven’t the slightest idea how to preserve things by canning (well, I have a slight idea, but that is a project for another time), and the great thing about both of these recipes is that you can make them without canning, as long as you keep them in your refrigerator! Like all things pickled, the high vinegar content makes them stay good for a long period of time, so you can keep them for weeks – even months! – in your refrigerator.
Quick question for you: do you own a mandoline? No, not the musical instrument. The kitchen gadget. For cutting cucumbers to make these pickles, it will seriously be your best friend. Best of all, most mandolins come with attachments for julienne-cut and crinkle cut (which is what I used). They are great for making homemade potato chips or shoestring fries, and create uniform slices with minimal effort. The con: it’s a more complicated utensil to clean than a regular ol’ knife. So, I use mine only when I need to slice a lot of uniform pieces at a time.
Do not be deterred if you do not own a mandoline, however- just use a regular knife. It will be just as delicious, even if you cannot do crinkle cut :-) Or, you can make these pickle spears rather than slices.
Enjoy on burgers, sandwiches, or on their own out of the jar- which is exactly what I am doing right now! Or use them in a homemade tartar sauce.
Nom nom nom nom nom…
Refrigerator Sweet Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber sliced
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup packed fresh dill no need to chop!
- 1/4 cup sugar or more, if you want them very sweet
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 4 garlic cloves slivered
Instructions
- Combine vinegar, water, sugar, salt, celery seed, and garlic in a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar and salt dissolves. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, mix cucumbers, onion, and dill in a bowl. Stir together and pack into mason jars (I used two).
- When the liquid is cool, pour over cucumber mixture in jars until completely full. Shake to combine well.
- Refrigerate for at least one day- three days ideally!
Notes
- This recipe generally fills two standard mason jars, like the one pictured (the 16 oz. size).
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Deb Jarvis
Hi Elizabeth!
Do we have to cover the cucumber slices with brine? I split the pickles in 2 jars but some of the slices (and dill).are not covered with brine. Do they need to be? I’ll make more brine to pour on them if they do.
Elizabeth Lindemann
It’s best if they are covered but if they aren’t, you can just go shake up the jar or even flip it upside down every once in a while to make sure those top cucumbers get as much flavor as the ones on the bottom!
Beth
There is nothing sweet about these pickles. So disappointed as I was hoping for a bread and butter type sweetness. Will not be keeping this recipe
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh no! It’s hard to be disappointed after spending time making a recipe. I consider these pickles pretty sweet, with 1/4 cup of sugar in the batch. The ingredients list also recommends adding more sugar if you like things really sweet. Better luck next time!
Janet
What is the weight of your large cucumber?
Elizabeth Lindemann
The amount of cucumber you use for this recipe doesn’t really matter (if it did, I would have specified in the ingredients). Use whatever you have – hope you like it!
Marilyn Sensendorf
Elizabeth – My gosh, I made this recipe three days ago and we love it. It filled a quart jar perfectly, and I will definitely have this recipe as a keeper. As someone mentioned, I added 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes and 1 tsp. mustard seeds. My question now is can I use a sugar substitute for the actual sugar since we have diabetics in our family who watch their intake. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe! Honestly, you don’t need any sugar at all for pickles, if you don’t mind the tart flavor of vinegar, or simply cut back substantially on the amount. You also may be able to use an artificial sweetener as a substitute. Hope that helps!
Jen Chinn
I’ve made these a few times this year and love them. I’ve given many jars of them away to family and friends and they always ask for the recipe. They are fresh tasting and crisp.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you like them!
Michelle
Love this recipe, wonderfully crisp delicious dill pickles. The only addition I made, because I love them, was to add a teaspoon of mustard seeds to the brine.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oooo I love the idea of adding mustard seeds. Glad you liked it!
Dan
Awesome “base recipe”! I added a bit more sugar and some red pepper flakes to get that sweet/spicy taste, but I really liked your water and vinegar ratio. Thanks so much as I will be using this all summer
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it! Love the idea of adding red pepper flakes, I’m definitely going to try that next time.
Ric
Would be nice if you told us how many of what size jars this recipe fills. Thanks
Elizabeth
Thanks for pointing this out! I’ll edit my recipe card to reflect this. It will depend a bit on how big the cucumber/onion are, but this recipe generally fills two standard mason jars, like the one pictured (the 16 oz. size). But honestly, you can make these in whatever you have available- I just made a batch and put it in one of those large takeout containers from soup from a Chinese restaurant. Hope that helps!
Kristen
I love the idea of using things other than traditional Mason jars! I buy quart containers (like the kind you get from Chinese take-out) in bulk to freeze soups and sauces. I cannot believe I never thought to use them for refrigerator pickles! (BTW I get them on Amazon and they’re BPA-free and suitable for freezing) Thank you for a great idea!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad this was helpful for you!
Cdrager
How long will they keep refrigerated? Can these be water bath canned?
Elizabeth
These will keep for a long time in the fridge since they are pickles- think about how long pickles last that have been properly canned and you keep them in your fridge once you’ve opened them. I personally would eat them after a month, or more! That said, just make sure you keep an eye on them and make sure you don’t eat anything spoiled :-) They can certainly be properly canned with a water bath- canning is something that I need to learn (and soon!) so that’s why I didn’t include it in the directions. Hope you like them!
Mary Durlin
Can you you use dill weed and minced garlic?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Sure! This recipe is very forgiving.
jane
Can you use reg white sugar and apple cider vinegar…Thanks
Elizabeth
Hi Jane! You can absolutely use regular white sugar. For the apple cider vinegar- I definitely prefer white vinegar since it has more of a neutral taste. I’ve found that cider vinegar is a bit stronger and more pungent. But if you want to try it out, I would suggest using a little less than the recipe calls for and adding more water as a substitute to water it down a little bit. Or, you could add a little more sugar to compensate for the acidity!
Elizabeth C
Oh my goodness these are delicious! I used 1/4cup of raw sugar and marinated them for three days. So so so good!