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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I was skeptical . . . I grew up making dill pickles with my mom every summer and thought nothing could be better than her tried-and-true hot brine recipe. But Jenn ALWAYS delivers with her recipies and these pickles are amazing! Another OUAC winner 💞
Had a stellar crop of small cucumbers this summer and just packed two more jars today. These are really good, but wondering if I can cut back on salt a bit? Will this affect shelf life in fridge?
Hi Dan, Glad you enjoyed them; you can cut back on the salt without impacting the shelf-life. 🙂
Ok, finally made the pickles and put them in the fridge. Tomorrow at 4 should be ready. But probably won’t eat then until Friday with lunch.
I bought “pickle” cukes yesterday. They come in a see thru bag, 16oz.ea.
So this morning I was ready to proceed.(no tennis this morning). Got everything ready. Noticed I had bought yellow mustard seeds in error🙁. But was going to use them anyway. After I had all the seasoning in little bowls and the garlic peeled, but uncut, I was looking for my stash of red pepper flakes. Unsuccessfully. Though had just enough in my jar. In my quest looking, low and behold, there was a jar of brown mustard seeds. So just added them to the other ones.
Now here’s the kicker, open the bag of cukes, which I just bought yesterday, and they were wet and mushy. I could have screamed. I didn’t. Called the manufacturer and let them know. No way of knowing their package date. They are sending me coupons. But I still had to take them back to Publix. Bottom line at 3:45 I finished making them.
Will test them out before we go out to dinner with friends tomorrow or maybe wait one extra day.
Sorry this is so long. I am finished venting😂😂.
Sounds like quite an adventure! Hope they turn out nicely. 🙂
What’s life for, other than for adventure. Though it’s usually when I’m in the kitchen!
Decided I would be patient and have the pickles with our lunch tomorrow🤞🤞🤞.
Made these a few times now. Love them and so does the family.
Made these and they were delicious! The grandkids even loved them. The first time I actually made them without the coriander or mustard seeds and they were still delicious. Getting ready to make them again! Yum
I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed making and eating these wonderful refrigerator pickles. My Grow-Box produced an abundance of cucumbers, so thankfully, I came across your recipe again and had the right kind of cucumbers to make them. I made a few batches of them and shared them with my son (who absolutely loved them) and daughter-in-law and some friends. Everyone loved the crunchiness of them, and I loved that they were so well-balanced in flavor. I have had dill pickles that were so sour they made me cough, but these had just the right amount of vinegar to be “gently puckery”. Thanks so much! I always love your recipes and am never disappointed!
Tried this recipe, it’s fantastic. My husband said save that recipe. Just used a dash of pepper flakes and it was just right for us. Couldn’t find coriander seeds but turned out great.
Have you ever tried zucchini in the place of the cucumbers? Seems like a great way to use up the zucs this time of year.
I can’t say I have. Please LMK how they come out if you try it!
In case anyone else is wondering, I added zucchini slices to my leftover brine and they are delicious even after 6 hours. They do have a slightly zucchini-ish funny aftertaste, but I don’t mind and will probably do a whole batch since I for some reason planted 5 zucchini plants this year…
Hi, really would like to try this recipe for pickles, however, can this recipe be used for pickling other vegetables such as jalapeños or red onion?
Sure!
This is an awesome recipe!!!
Easy and unbelievably tasty!!