You’ll never buy store-bought dill pickles again after trying this easy, refrigerated version made with Kirby cucumbers.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Everyone in my family loves pickles, so when I spotted Kirby cucumbers at the farmers’ market this week, I knew just what to do with them.
They’re just the right size for making Easy Refrigerator Pickles, which is probably why they’re considered the classic pickling cuke.
This recipe is pretty forgiving in terms of the herbs and spices, so feel free to add a bit less or more if you’d like. And it really is easy.
Honestly, the hardest part is peeling all those garlic cloves!
You can also add carrots, cauliflower, jalapenos, or even green beans to the jar with your cucumbers if you’d like to make a variety of pickled veggies.
This is just a great, general all around recipe for pickling things. Sometimes I double the batch and share with my neighbors.
This recipe will make 4-5 pint jars, depending on how tightly you pack your cucumbers. My family will eat an entire pint in one sitting, so even five jars doesn’t last long around here!
But if you don’t eat your pickles that fast, you’ve got 3 months to eat them all. I’m pretty sure they’ll be gone long before that though!
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Produce: garlic, fresh dill, cucumbers
- White vinegar
- Spices: salt, celery seed, coriander seed, mustard seed, fennel seed, black peppercorns
Easy Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
- 12-14 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 cups white vinegar
- 6 teaspoons salt
- 4-5 sprigs fresh dill
- 2 teaspoons celery seed
- 1 teaspoon coriander seed
- 2 teaspoons mustard seed
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 6-8 Kirby cucumbers quartered lengthwise
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the vinegar and salt and return to a boil, stirring until the salt dissolves. Remove from heat.
- Divide the dill, seeds and peppercorns between 4-5 clean, clear pint jars. Remove garlic from brine and add 2-3 cloves to each jar. Pack the jars tightly with cucumber slices.
- Return the brine to the heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, pour the brine over the cucumbers to cover completely. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 months.
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Notes
10 comments
Deb M Heitzman
Can refrigerator pickles last longer than 3 months if kept in the fridgerator?
Danelle
I wouldn’t keep them longer than that if they haven’t been processed in a hot water bath.
Julianne
Do you need to “burp” the jars to keep the pressure from building?
Danelle
I never do, but I do let them cool down before I put on the lids.
Patti
How do you “seal” the lids? Or is it not required. New to canning myself and it is a lot to learn. Thanks in advance!
Danelle
They do not need to be sealed if you keep them in the refrigerator.
Mark
I just made 5 pints and still had a lot of brine leftover. How long do you let them sit in the refrigerator until they are ready?
Danelle
I would let them sit at least overnight.
Danelle
Kirby cucumbers just work well because they are shorter and the right length for jars, but you can use any cucumber if you cut the length to fit in your jars. I have not pickled carrots, so I can’t say for sure about blanching. Perhaps for the refrigerator method you might want to blanch them first, but it would really depend on how crunchy/soft you’d like them.
Michelle
I am completely new to canning and pickling but have quite a large garden and want to try both. I am feeling a little intimidated but want to try. I don’t have a pressure canner so will try water bath method. For pickling cucumbers do they have to be Kirby cucumbers? I am not familiar with these. I have long English and field cucumbers in my garden will they work? do I have to blanch carrots first if adding?