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
No canning, no fuss—just crisp, tangy pickles you’ll want to eat with everything!
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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If I wanted to sub. green beans and wax beans should they be blanched first? Then proceed with the recipe as written?
Good question — I think you could go either way, but they will definitely be more crunchy if you don’t blanch them so it depends on the texture you’re going for. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Are these sweet at all? just wondering about the sugar
No, they’re more like dill pickles. The sugar just helps to balance out the flavors; they’d be really sour without the sugar. Hope that helps!
I made these yesterday and they are great. They remind me of NYC deli pickles and I plan to make more to share. We are a pickle eating family!!!!
Every recipe I’ve prepared from your site has been great, especially the pimento cheese. I love how you share the stories behind the recipes.
I am curious if different types of cukes can be used with similar results, my garden is crazy with cucumbers this year and need something easy like this to do with them.
Hi Debbie, I wouldn’t recommend using other cucumbers here – you’ll end up with soggy pickles – sorry!
I used a ton of my Burpee regular cukes right from the garden, and they were just as amazing. They didn’t get soggy at all. Nice and crunchy! The only thing I noticed, here and there, was a bitter taste once in a while from the skin on some of the cukes. I solved this by peeling off most of the skin (just in case of bitterness) and using them that way. They were still very crunchy. I wasn’t about to buy pickling cukes when I had so many regular ones to use up.
I tried this with various kinds of cucumbers. I think it doesn’t matter because it’s not for canning, so it stays quite crispy actually, although the typical pickling cucumbers do hold their crunch better.
I made these because my bf likes dill pickles. I took an extra jar to work and everybody is raving about them. I didn’t use Kirby cukes because my garden was overflowing. They are still crunchy. I’ll be using this recipe from now on for all my dills. Thanks!
I made these pickles earlier in the week and ended up tripling the brine because I had 5lbs of pickling cukes. I also ended up using pickling salt instead of kosher and doubled the amount of garlic. The quantity of brine was perfect and I was able to fill 10 500ml jars of pickles & brine. Everyone loves them! I love how easy it was to make and put together. I have no time for processing so this was the perfect recipe.
It was so easy! I did have to make changes to recipe with what I had on hand. Frozen crushed garlic, mustard powder and 5 pepper blend. Everyone loved them! Thanks!
I made this recipe two days ago and couldn’t wait to try them! They are simply delicious and so much better than any store bought ones! Can’t wait to make more and share with friends! As always, Jenn, your recipes are fabulous!
These are the best pickles we have ever eaten and my family loves all kinds of pickles. Thank you for sharing this recipe. These are the best.
My 8 year old and I made these pickles and they were delicious!! Our brine did fade a bit after the first round was gobbled up but it is super easy to just make more!
I don’t even like pickles much, but I had a lot of cucumbers from my garden, so I tried this recipe. They are soooooo good I think I could eat the whole jar at once. Had to use store bought minced garlic, ground dry mustard and coriander along with fresh dill and pepper flakes. Still great.
I am anxious to try this recipe but I can’t seem to find mustard seed. Is it possible to make without, or should I just keep on looking? Any substitutions?
Hi Judy, It’s fine to leave it out. Enjoy!