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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So easy and delicious!
Can a clear plastic quart take out container and lid be used rather than a mason jar? Mason jars are hard to come by for some reason right now. Any other suggestions for a container?
Sure, Joy, any container will work as long as it’s airtight and the cucumbers are fully submerged in the brine. Hope you enjoy!
Can I make these using rice vinegar (4% acidity) or should I stick to the white vinegar?
Hi Stella, I’d stick with white vinegar. Hope you enjoy!
Made this recipe for 2 jars of 3 cucumbers each and the recipe worked out perfectly for both spears and sliced. Could not have been happier with the results.
These are the best pickles EVER!!! Will never purchase in a store again. Thanks so much for this amazing recipe-all my family and friends are requesting the recipe and/or more pickles from me.
Jenn, you missed one word in the title of these pickles… it should be “Quick, Easy & DELICIOUS Refrigerator Pickles!” I don’t believe I could ever bring myself to purchase store-bought pickles again! As a side note, our new abbreviated name is “Quickles!” Thanks for all of your fabulous recipes, both here in your blog and in your amazing cookbook!
LOL — love the amended title — so glad you like them! 🙂
Does this recipe work if I slice the kirbys in slices instead of spears?
I haven’t made them that way, but it should work. Please LMK how they turn out!
Just made your quick refrigerator pickles- – waiting 24 hrs to taste them – it’s a great and easy recipe -at the end of the recipe it said the cucumbers will last a month in the fridge – do you mean the pickles? – how long will the pickles last?
Thanks, Mary
Hi Mary, sorry for any confusion — I’m referring to the pickles. I think I’ll update that to make it more clear. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
So my friends and I have a big canning day this Saturday. We want to make 12 Quart size jars of these! How should I convert the ingredients to make enough for that? Or should I make a couple of different batches instead of all at once? Thanks!
Hi Jamie, I think this is the kind of thing that you could make a big batch of brine for. You’ll just need to multiply all the ingredients by 6. Please keep in mind though that I did not develop this recipe with canning in mind, so I can’t guarantee that they’re appropriate for canning.
Thank you! We are making salsa bit using your method for these!
These are fantastic! How do I change the recipe to be able to make this a canning recipe?
Hi Carlee, I wish I could be more helpful but this recipe isn’t meant for canning, and I don’t know enough to feel confident advising you. I’m sorry!
Holy Toledo! We may never buy dill pickles again. Who knew great pickles could be so easy. Only thing we plan to change is to reduce salt by 1T as we aren’t used to so much salt but just Wow!!