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
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 crushed 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 qt (1L) 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.
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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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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.