Quick and Easy Dill Pickles
A few weeks ago, at my parents’ house, my son found a jar of homemade pickles in the fridge made by my mom’s dear friend Joanne Biltekoff. He loved them, so Joanne sent me her recipe and we made them over the weekend. Such fun! They’re refrigerator pickles, which means quick and easy — no sterilizing jars or special canning equipment required. All you do is slice the cucumbers into spears, cover them with a brine, tuck them in the fridge and they’re ready to eat in 24 hours.
Of course, they don’t last as long as canned pickles but it doesn’t matter much because they disappear so quickly.
The most important part of the recipe is to start with Kirby or pickling cucumbers. They’re short, squat and full of warts but they make deliciously crisp pickles. Surprisingly, I can never find them at my regular grocery store but Whole Foods always carries them. Don’t be tempted to substitute another kind of cucumber or you’ll end up with soggy pickles.
Begin by making the brine. Combine the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small non-reactive saucepan (such as stainless steel, glass, ceramic or teflon). Heat and stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. (Alternatively, Joanne says you can shake the vinegar, salt and sugar in a jar until the salt and sugar dissolve.) Whisk in the cold water, then chill until ready to use.
Next, stuff the cucumbers into two 1-quart jars. Add the coriander and mustard seeds, garlic, red pepper flakes, dill sprigs and chilled brine to the jars, dividing evenly.
Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, then serve. The pickles will keep in the fridge for up to one month.
Homemade Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups cold water
- 1-3/4 to 2 pounds Kirby cucumbers (about 6), cut into halves or spears
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 6 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 16 dill sprigs
Instructions
- Combine the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small non-reactive saucepan (such as stainless steel, glass, ceramic or teflon) over high heat. Whisk until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Transfer the liquid into a bowl and whisk in the cold water. Refrigerate brine until ready to use.
- Stuff the cucumbers into two clean 1-quart jars. Add the coriander seeds, garlic cloves, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, dill sprigs, and chilled brine into jars, dividing evenly. If necessary, add a bit of cold water to the jars until the brine covers the cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate about 24 hours, then serve. Cucumbers will keep in the refrigerator for up to one month.
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I have a small-mouth quart jar – how much room should I leave at the top before popping these (covered) babies into the fridge? Thank you!
Hi Caitlin, you want the brine to just cover the cucumbers. If you need to, add a little cold water to get the cucumbers completely covered. Hope you enjoy!
Can you use ground mustard and coriander?
Sure, Jen. Hope you enjoy the pickles!
I’ve made several batches of pickles this summer. This was, BY FAR, the best recipe. I’m actually making them again today.
I did sub ground coriander and dill seed because that’s what I had on hand- and they were wonderful. Thanks for a great recipe!
Is there anyway to make these last longer than a month? Can you use the recipe as is, but then use a hot water bath to can it?
This recipe is not meant for canning, Allison. Sorry!
Super easy and deliscous … They way I like to cook. Had small batches of cucumbers coming from the garden and this was perfect. Much easier than canning a whole pile of cukes at once … Plus there’s no waiting to enjoy your harvest. The first quart was devoured the second we opened them. I’ve made this twice now in a week and will be my pickle recipe forever… I substituted mixed pickle spice for the coriander and mustard seeds, since that’s what I had planning to make canned pickles, and it worked great.
Excellent recipe. Thanks.
I was looking for a refrigerated dill pickle recipe and found your recipe. I made them last week and the pickles are great. They have a nice fresh taste and are better than other recipes. I will definitely make them again.
Trying to fix my batch of pickles before throwing out all my hard earned cucumbers. I made these as directed and they are really, really bad. There is a strange aftertaste that I can’t even name. Any ideas?
Sorry they didn’t turn out, Julie. Any chance to used a reactive pot (such as aluminum) to make the brine? That would lend an unpleasant metallic aftertaste.
Could be the coriander. Coriander is the same thing as cilantro. So, if you don’t like cilantro, that could be the taste you are picking up on.
Just a comment for Jenn. Sometimes the cucumbers themselves can be bitter. I always taste a slice first before pickling them. Also, now live in a country where pickling cucembers aren’t readily available. I use thinly sliced English cucumbers — it’s not the same, but still delicious.
My husband loves dill pickles and he devours these! I even use this recipe on zucchini. Not quite the same as pickles but still really good when you have way too many zucchini
This is the tastiest and easiest recipe I have found for refrigerator pickles. They are crisp, delicious and make great gifts. They are best using just picked cucumbers.
I live in Mexico, where the crunchy, savory, seasoned dill pickles of my childhood are simply not a thing. It never occurred to me that they would be possible to make, however, until I stumbled upon this recipe. I have made this recipe over and over again without changing a thing about it, and I’m hooked – better (and far cheaper) than the grocery store variety any day. And endlessly shareable – everyone who has tried them has demanded the recipe from me. Great work!
WOW!!! I thought I loved pickles, but after making a few batches of these, I can’t stand regular supermarket dills!
These also got rave reviews at a potluck. I couldn’t keep track of all the people who asked me for the recipe.
Hey there! I made these before and they were amazing!!! I’d love some for the fall and winter months do you know how to can these? Do you need special tools? Thanks!!!
Hi Lindsey, so glad you enjoyed them! Unfortunately, these pickles are not intended for canning– sorry!
I asked Google, but didn’t find the answer: What is a sprig of dill? Is it the whole piece or is each little branch a sprig? Thanks for your help. I prepared this last night, but I am not sure if I used enough. Thanks for providing so many reliable recipes!
Hi, A spring is one “branch.” Hope you enjoy the pickles!
These are the absolute best pickles I have ever had. I’ve tried to make a few recipes over the years the old fashioned canning way, and they were a mushy mess. I’m now 4 months pregnant and make these refrigerator dills once a week. Haha. My husband and 3 year old love them and routinely ask for them. I also have made them for my office and my neighbors and everyone goes nuts for them. I omitted the sugar and add a sliced jalepeno. The jalepeno doesn’t add much spice at all, just another flavor dimension. Love the whole coriander flavor but the seeds can be hard to find, Whole Foods has it for surprisingly cheap. Please do yourself a favor and make these!!
These look delicious! I love dill pickles! Have you ever tried fermenting them? Not a quick process, but so yummy.
I haven’t Rhianon – sorry!
Great pickles. Soooo easy. Will be serving them on Thanksgiving in a relish tray. Though I hate to share. lol
I love this recipe and so does my family. And so do our friends. Ever since I started making them, I get requests from people to please, please bring a jar when we visit. The recipe is incredibly easy and it truly takes little time to whip up a batch. For our home I double the red pepper flakes as we do like spicy here. But I bring the original recipe to others!
I have no experience with canning & wanted to try to make my own pickles since someone had a garden & brought in small fresh cukes. I didn’t have corriander, & I love pepper so I substituted with peppercorns. The hardest part was waiting to try & boy were they delicious!! I will never buy store bought again. Thanks so much:)
Hello and thanks for the great recipe, I am super excited to start. I do pickles every year but wanted to try something new. I have about 27 pounds, is it ok to quadrupole the recipe and can I leave the pickles whole or do I have to cut them? Thank you!!!
Hi Shannon, It’s fine to quadrupole the recipe and leave the pickles whole; they may just take a bit longer to pickle.
First of all thank you to Jenn for this amazing recipe. I too am a classically trained chef and mom now cooking for my family. Unfortunately I never got to cook in the fancy restaurants…..yet! Lol
Anyhow, I love, love, love this pickle recipe. Not only do I love it but but I made the mistake of sending pickles to work with my husband for the ladies in admin. Every day he comes home telling me stories of how much everyone loves them and now I am being begged to make more. So I made another double batch this morning for my family and my hubbies work family. I actually grow cucumbers and use those. I have been using lemon cucumbers and oh my gosh they are the best pickles I have ever had and everyone who has had them says the same. Thanks again for the wonderful recipe, it will be passed along and down to the kids! 🙂
Made these today. Halved the sugar, omitted the garlic and red pepper flakes and added peppercorns. Delish and so easy!
These are delicious and so easy to make. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This was an awesome recipe to make quick dill pickles. I grow my own dill and coriander and it all came together beautifully. My daughters ate 2 jars the day after I made them. I used Northern Pickling cucumbers that I grew from seed (Johnnys Seeds) and they were crunchy and delicious. The only thing I changed was rather than add red pepper flakes, I took a jalepeno from the garden and split it in half. One for each jar. And I ended up with a delicious dill pickled jalepeno. Thanks for this great recipe.
This is our new family favorite pickle recipe. I used the pickling cucumbers, dill and green beans I grew in my garden for the first batch. And, I didn’t have coriander, so just used the other spices. My son loved them so much that he said he has to change his answer to what food he would take if stranded on a desert island – “my mom’s” pickles. 🙂 Thanks for making me look so good!
I made these pickles 4 days before the 4th of July. Served them on the fourth to family and friends and they raved about them and they were gone in a second. They are now my dill pickle go to recipe….no need to try any others. Can’t wait to make more.
I’m about to make these tomorrow and just wondering if I can use other vegtables as well? Also what would make it a little spicy?
Hi Candace, Yes, you can definitely use other veggies. Some good options are green beans, bell peppers, celery and cauliflower. And if you want to spice things up a bit more, you could double the red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Hi, can I make the brine a day ahead and add to pickles the next day?
Definitely- hope you enjoy them!
These are the absolute best dill pickles that I have ever eaten !!! They are flavorful, crisp, and addictive. I have now made 4 batches at the request of my family and they are clamoring for more. I would say however that I bought organic coriander and mustard seeds and it was a substantial improvement in flavor. Thank you for the great recipe.
I read your website regularly, and came across this recipe when I was looking for an alternative to my usual fresh dill pickle recipe. I have never had such delicious dill pickles….ever! You do have to have the pickling cucumbers….that is a must. In France I grew their “cornichons” in my garden, but I let them get bigger than the French people use them. They are the same type of cucumber as the Kirbys, and they always stay crisp. However, it seems to me that there is something special about this recipe. It is probably the ratio of water to vinegar (I think I used to use 50-50) and also chilling the brine before pouring it over the cucumbers. Whatever it is….I love them!!!
Excellent recipe! I brought these to a cocktail party and they were gone in less than 15 minutes. The only question I have is that I’ve read it is important to cut the blossom end of the cucumber because there’s an enzyme in the blossom that can make the pickle soft.
Made these for the first time yesterday and had to leave a review. If you like garlic dill pickles, make these! They are nothing but fabulous. I doubled the recipe but didn’t double the garlic and they’re still plenty garlicky. I’m super impressed by how easy this recipe is with such wonderful results. Thanks so much for posting. I have already shared the recipe AND the pickles!
can you substitute dried coriander and dry dill in place of fresh? Have not made the recipe yet but was wondering about substituting dried herbs. Would also wonder how much to use if substituting.
Hi Cathy, Sure that should work. I would use 1 teaspoon ground coriander and 2 teaspoons dried dill. Please let me know how it turns out.
Used the dry ingredients and the pickles were wonderful…thanks for sharing the recipe.
Fabulous recipe!!! Absolutely delicious! Question.. Can I reuse the brine? If so, for how long? Thanks!
Hi Emily, Yes, you can use refrigerator pickle brine again — should last for at least another batch or two.
Rave reviews from everyone who ate them! You’re right – they get gobbled up well before the one-month mark. Thanks for the recipe!
Now you’ve done it. I just picked my first quart of kirbys for the year, not exactly enough to start a traditional kosher fermented batch. So I looked for a refrigerator recipe and found yours. The reviews looked great and I had everything on hand, so I made them. Then today after opening the jar to try one, I lost all control. I ate half a quart of pickles in 5 minutes. I just put the pickle jar in a brown paper bag and pushed it to the back of the refrigerator so I can’t see them. I can and eat a LOT of pickles of all types…these are the best I have ever had. Even worse they’re SIMPLE to make. Now I’m stuck at the house and forced to leave the jar alone so my lovely wife can have some. I’m already having anxiety over what’s going to happen in winter when I can’t have these! (Shudder)
I love those glass jars. What is the brand name? Can’t wait to make these.
Hi Julie, I don’t remember the brand name but I got them at Whole Foods 🙂
See http://www.weckjars.com
I think that’s the type of jar. Lots of really unusual shapes on the site.
very good recipe. No changes needed but I cut pickles in half instead of spears with great results.
These are the best made them for the first time last summer and they would get ate as fast as I could make them. Now our local farmers market is open again. So I’m back in pickle heaven.
My husband is a pickle snob. He only wants to buy Bubbies at Whole Foods, but they are really expensive. These are even better and I can make the quantity I like.
Just got a box of cucumber and would like to slice them and pickle only got dill seed so tell me a easy way to do this
Hi Cathy, As long as you have all of the other ingredients, I think they should still be good.
Can I use Mini cucumbers instead? I could not find pickling or Kirby cucumbers at the store. If so, should I keep them whole. I think they are Persian cucumbers but not sure.
Hi Danielle, You can use Persian or mini cucumbers (I would still slice them in half) but they may not be quite as crisp and crunchy as Kirby cucumbers. Please let me know how they turn out.
I had an over abundance of homegrown pickling cucumbers in my community garden plot. Thankfully they didn’t all ripen at the same time. I made batch one last weekend. They are the best darn pickles ever. The red pepper flakes add a subtle heat. My mom doesn’t like spicy or hot but she loved them. Neighbor loved them. I have shared the recipe many times already after my friends saw the pictures on facebook and instagram. I linked them back to your website. Making batch two now and will leave red pepper flakes out of a few jars. I was out of fresh coriander seed for batch one and the pickles still came out fine. This batch will have the coriander seeds.
I was asked for a good recipe for bread and butter as well as sweet pickles (one of my friends said they are different then bread and butter). Do you have a quick refrigerator recipe for any of them?
So glad you enjoyed the pickles, Lori — and thank you for spreading the word about my site! Unfortunately, I don’t have recipes for bread and butter or sweet pickles but I will add them to my list. Stay tuned 🙂
to Lori-
try this Bread & Butter recipe it is not refrigerator- but still pretty easy
Here is the basic Bread & butter pickle recipe I use
15 c sliced pickling cucumbers
2 onions thinky sliced
1/4 cup course salt
4 cups cracked ice
2 1/2 c cider vinegar
2 1/2 c sugar
3/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 T mustard seed
1. clean your cucumbers slice them and the onions & let them sit in salt & ice for 3 hours
2. Mix well
3. Put a weight & let sit for 3 hours
4. Drain well
5. Combine vinegar, sugar, tumeric, celery seed & mustard seed
6. Add drained cucumbers
7. Place on medium low heat- bring almost to a boil but don’t boil
8. I boil jars for 10 minutes to process
Lori, the very best B&B refrigerator pickle recipe I’ve found is Alton Brown’s B&B recipe. Google it. They last far longer than what the recipe recommends. I made my last batch in October 2015 and in April or May they were still as good as when I first made them.
Recipe is simply amazing. I compared a few others and this was the hands down winner.
Question- Can I can these? I know I need to sterilize the jars and following canning processes, but is there anything I need to do to the recipe itself?
Hi Paul, So glad you enjoyed the pickles! Unfortunately, the recipe will not work for canning.
is there anything I can do to modify this recipe so I can can it. I have a lot of cucumbers and I can’t make refrigerator pickles out of all of them 🙂
Hi Paul, To be honest, I don’t have a lot of experience with canning but my main concern is that most canned pickle recipes call for a brine with a 1:1 water-vinegar ratio. I believe that is necessary to make the pickles shelf stable. This recipe is much less acidic with almost a 2:1 water-vinegar ratio. For me, that’s what makes these pickles so good; they aren’t overly sour like so many others. So, unfortunately, if you change the brine, the pickles will taste much different.
Is it possible to use this recipe and can them instead of using them just in the fridge? If so, would I need to change anything about the preparation and/or ingredients?
Hi Leah, Unfortunately, the recipe won’t work for canning. Sorry!
I made two quarts of refrigerator pickles (another recipe) last week, and tried them today….I was extremely disappointed in their bland flavor. I dumped a bunch of seasoning into those jars today and went on a search for another recipe to try….
I found this one through Pinterest, and immediately saw that it had more seasoning and vinegar than the other recipe I’d tried. So I used a 2 quart bail and toggle jar from Ikea and put everything in one jar today.
(I don’t usually have pickling cucumbers on hand, but I went to the Farmer’s Market and canned some bread and butter pickles yesterday, so I had the leftovers to use.)
I didn’t have fresh dill on hand, so I used 4 tsps dried dill leaves. I calculated 1 tsp per four fresh strands in the recipe.
When I open the refrigerator, I shake the jar and put it back. I can hardly wait to open it, but I’ll wait a couple days to let the flavors permeate. I’ll report back!! 🙂
They turned out very well!! In fact, there are only a few left! Using the dried dill worked fine, but since the little leaves stick to the spears, I think you get a little more dill flavor than you would using fresh dill. If you aren’t a huge fan of dill, you might want to reduce the dried dill just a little when you make it.
I’ll be making this recipe again! 🙂
Excellent recipe…we put of 9 quarts of pickles and I tried on less than 24 hrs. later and Wow !, it was already good and I can only imagine how much better they will taste in a few days…Very easy recipe too….
This summer, I grew cucumbers and dill in my garden. So, I thought I’d try making pickles of course.
I’ve never done this before so I was a bit apprehensive. I think the hardest part was waiting for 24 hours for the cucumbers to marinate, or whatever cucumbers do!
I was really surprised! These are really, really good!
I have a date this Friday and I am going to give her the gift of pickles 🙂 (Heck with flowers!)
We love this recipe! These are now our favorite dill pickles! Thanks!
I LOVE these pickles! I’ve made them several times. Since we live in Mexico, we have to many foods from scratch. I’ve been using small whole Mediterranean cucumbers instead Kirby and they are SUPER crunchy. In my most recent batch, I bumped up the red pepper flakes to 3/4 tsp. and used minced garlic instead of cloves just to amp up the flavor. They are a favorite of the whole family! The hardest part is waiting for a WHOLE day to taste them. Thanks for such a great recipe. 🙂
Looked at loads of these types of recipes and cannot see how long they will last on my shelf in the pantry…do they have to go in the fridge? If so
Why are the ones on the supermarket shelf any different
Hi Andrea, These are quick refrigerator pickles, and they do need to be kept in the fridge as they aren’t properly canned (using sterile jars, etc.).
Im pregnant and craving pickles. I’m so glad that I found this recipe! Doing this today!!
This is on my to-do list now! I am still tweaking my own pickle recipe. I do prefer to use rice wine vinegar but it gets expensive quickly. Thanks for this one!
I finally got around to making these two days ago and had my first one today, all I can say is OMG! These are wonderful! I have never made pickles and I am just shocked at how simple this recipe is. Thank you soooo much. This will satisfy my crunchy salty craving! Much better for you than a bag of chips!
Yummy! These are DELICIOUS!
I made these the other night and OMG – absolutely addictive, easy & delish. I used chipotle pepper flakes (I was out of the regular ones), which added a slightly smoky flavor, and recommend that as a variation if you like chipotle. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe – it’ll be in regular rotation here.
Love that idea. Thank you!
Since receiving this recipe by e-mail from Once Upon a Chef, I have made 12 jars of these pickles. They disappear as fast as I make them!!! I sent some to both my mother and my brother, and then sent back their jars with a request for MORE. The frst time I made them, I didn’t have whole coriander or mustard seeds on hand, so I used ground of each (1 tsp. of each). Also, I reduced the sugar by 1 T. Still delicous. Since then, I’ve experimented with different variations….adding chopped red onions to the jars, eliminating the red pepper flakes, adding black peppercorns. The base recipe is SO good that it’s easy to substitute and still come out with a crave-worthy pickle. I’ve got four more jars in the fridge right now, and I’m sure they’ll be gone by the weekend!! Thanks for a great recipe!!
I had no idea making pickles at home could be so quick and easy. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these with my granddaughter a couple of weeks ago. I was excited to find a refrigerator pickle recipe and she was excited that we were making them. After letting them sit in the fridge a few days I added more sugar. The next time I will probably cut back on the vinegar, replace it with water and add more sugar. They were great!
I made these with my grandchildren and it was so quick and easy!! Great pickle recipe!! Even my grandchildren loved them!!! WOW!Thanks for sharing!
These pickles are amazing. I may never buy pickles again. Super easy to make. Thanks for the recipe!
I just made these 2 days ago and they are FANTASTIC! My adjustments: since I like garlic (the more the better) I added an additional clove each jar. I also doubled the sugar (which you can’t even taste). These pickles remind me of NYC deli pickles. Yum!!!
My fiance and I are both huge pickle fans – I’ll definitely have to try this for sure! They keep such a lovely green hue!
I am inspired! My daughter loves this type of pickle, so I will try it. Thanks for the recipe and the information on the pretty jars.
A really easy way to make dill pickles… If you have purchased a jar and eaten all the pickels…save the brine/juice, cut up cucumbers and place in the jar. After a few days…voila!!
Great suggestion, Barbara. You can also do the same with these. Once the pickles are gone, simply cut up more cucumbers and stuff them in the jar. They’re ready in 24 hours!
These were awesome! I now have 2 empty jars and 2 more pounds of cukes! If I was to use the same brine over, do I stick with the “use within one month” timeframe? Using the date on the original jar of pickles and brine?
Hi Katie, Yes, that’s correct. So glad you enjoyed them!
thanks for the recipe. I have made regular pickles before but my busy life prohibits that. I have heard of refrigerator pickles before but never tried to make them. I will now. I love pickles!
thanks
Oh I love pickles! Thanks for the idea!
ahh i LOVE pickles! Thanks for the great idea! would be great to serve as a side for a sandwich.
Aunt JoJo’s pickles are the BEST!!! Claussen beware!
What kind of jars are you using and where did you get them?
Hi Sarah, I got the jars (by WECK) at Whole Foods.
Beautiful pics! Makes you just want to crunch right into one of them.
I make pickles all the time. Love my bread and butter ones and also dill. Will definitely try this recipe.