Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickles
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Refrigerator pickles are quick and easy to make—no sterilizing jars or special equipment required. Perfect with burgers, sandwiches, or straight from the jar.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
The kids and I discovered a jar of these homemade refrigerator pickles in my parents’ fridge one day, and since then, no deli or store-bought pickles have ever come close. They were made by one of my mom’s oldest and dearest friends, Joanne Biltekoff, who is like an aunt to me.
The best thing about Joanne’s pickles is that they’re quick and easy—no canning supplies or sterilized jars needed. Simply slice Kirby cucumbers into spears, cover them with brine, tuck them into the fridge, and they’re ready to eat the next day.
“For the first time, I grew pickling cucumbers and found your recipe to make pickles. I can’t believe how wonderful they are!”
What You’ll Need To Make Refrigerator Pickles
The most important part of the recipe is to start with Kirby or pickling cucumbers. They’re short, squat and sometimes full of warts, but they make deliciously crisp pickles. Don’t be tempted to substitute another kind of cucumber or you’ll end up with soggy pickles.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the brine. Combine the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Whisk in the cold water, then chill.
Pro tip: When cooking high-acid foods, be sure to use a cooking vessel made of a nonreactive material such as stainless steel, glass, ceramic or Teflon. Pots made from metals like aluminum, copper or cast iron will react with the acid and give your food a metallic taste.
Step 2: Fill the jars. Next, stuff the cucumbers into two 1-quart jars. Add the coriander and mustard seeds, garlic, red pepper flakes, dill sprigs to the jars, dividing evenly.
Step 3: Add the brine. Cover the cucumbers with the chilled brine. If needed, you can add a bit of cold water to the jars until the brine covers the cucumbers.
Step 4: Refrigerate. Cover the jars and let sit in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, then serve. The pickles will keep in the fridge for up to one month. Enjoy!
Pro tip: These pickles disappear quickly. If you’d like to make more, you don’t have to start from scratch. You can use the pickle brine more than once—it should last for another batch or two of pickles!
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Quick & Easy Refrigerator Pickles
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Ingredients
- 1¼ cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups cold water
- 1¾ 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
- ¼ 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. The pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to one month.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Hello! Wow, I feel so lucky that this is the first pickle recipe I tried and it is also the last one I’ll ever need. My family loved these so much. I don’t think we’ll buy a commercial pickle ever again. I’m pickling all the little early bits from the garden, too. Thank you.
If I prefer to make pint jars of pickles, how many pints does this recipe make or should I stick with quart jars? Also, I already purchased Ball Mixed Pickling Spice (mustard seed, black peppercorns, dill seed, cardamom, cassia, ginger, coriander, allspice, chili pepper, cloves and bay leaves). Would I end up with the same results if I use this prepared spice mixture? Thanks in advance!
If you use pint-sized jars, it should make 4 jars worth. And I’m not familiar with the Ball Pickling spice mix so I’m not sure how the taste will compare to this recipe, but I’m sure it will be tasty.
This recipe is my all-time pickle favorite.
Made these and my family can’t believe how good they are! Much better fresh like this than canning and eating soft. Love them!
Delicious. Just shared with my daughter so that she can make them too! By the way I used dried dill as I did not have fresh.
I haven’t even tried any other recipes because this one is amazing. Everyone asks for it 😂
Are these ingredients for one jar?
Actually, I use two 1-quart jars. Hope you enjoy if you make them!
I have made this pickle recipe three times , because they are awesome! I make four jars at a time and I double the amounts of sugar, salt, vinegar and water. Along with the spices , I also add allspice to all the jars and lots of dill !! Best recipe for refrigerator PICKLES!
This is the first pickle recipe I’ve tried and likely the last! I have one “problem” however. I’m getting more cucumbers than we can go through in a reasonable amount of time. So my question is, could this recipe be canned?
I don’t recommend it, Jolene — sorry!
Quick question. You divide the brining ingredients in half for each jar, like 8 dill sprigs per jar, 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds per jar, and so on? Also if you’re short on dill sprigs can you use freeze dried dill? Thanks in advance. Hope I did this right, they look delicious!
Yes, that’s correct, Heath. And it’s fine to use the freeze dried dill. Enjoy!
These are delicious and crisp, with a touch of lemon flavor (which I’m guessing is actually the coriander.) The boys have declared this their new favorite dill pickle recipe, though I’ll still do traditional as well for storage purposes. Quartered vs halved cucumbers worked much better for absorbing the flavor, even for small ones. Thank you for the recipe!
I have all the ingredients except the coriander. What could I substitute for that or can I leave it out.
Are these dill or sweet flavor pickles?
Hi Hazel, You can just omit the coriander. If you like the taste of fennel, you can replace the coriander with the same amount of fennel seeds. And these are more of a dill pickle. Hope that helps!
What do you mean by Whisk in the cold water?
Hi Drew, After you’ve combined the vinegar, salt, and sugar and transferred the mixture into a bowl, you’ll then whisk/mix in the cold water. Hope that clarifies and that you enjoy the pickles!
This recipe was the answer when I had an abundant crop of cucumbers this past summer. It is easy to make and the pickles turned out absolutely delicious and crunchy. It’s an easy recipe too. I gave some away to neighbors and they loved them too. I will make this every summer from now on, guaranteed!
Hi! I love this recipe and was wondering what other vegetable pickles use the same brine recipe. Can you use these ratios for carrots or beets but just change up the herb choice? Just wondering if you have done that before. Thanks!
Hi Anna, Glad you like this! I haven’t tried pickling other vegetables with this recipe, but I suspect it should work. (Depending upon how you cut them they may take more or less time to pickle.) I’d love to hear how it turns out if you use other veggies!
Excellent! Quick and easy and everyone loved them.
With this recipe my pickles take about a month in the refrigerator before they are ready to eat. They hold up for 1-2 months after that.