Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickles
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Refrigerator pickles are quick and easy to make — no sterilizing jars or special equipment required.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
The kids and I discovered a jar of these homemade refrigerator pickles in my parents’ refrigerator 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 sterilizing jars or special canning equipment required. All you do is slice Kirby cucumbers into spears, cover them with brine, tuck them into the fridge, and they’re ready to eat the next day.
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
Begin by making 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.
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.
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.
Cover the cucumbers with the chilled brine.
Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, then serve. The pickles will keep in the fridge for up to one month.
These pickles will disappear quickly and you’ll likely get requests for 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
Refrigerator pickles are quick and easy to make — no sterilizing jars or special equipment required.
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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Hey there! I made these before and they were amazing!!! I’d love some for the fall and winter months do you know how to can these? Do you need special tools? Thanks!!!
Hi Lindsey, so glad you enjoyed them! Unfortunately, these pickles are not intended for canning– sorry!
I asked Google, but didn’t find the answer: What is a sprig of dill? Is it the whole piece or is each little branch a sprig? Thanks for your help. I prepared this last night, but I am not sure if I used enough. Thanks for providing so many reliable recipes!
Hi, A spring is one “branch.” Hope you enjoy the pickles!
These are the absolute best pickles I have ever had. I’ve tried to make a few recipes over the years the old fashioned canning way, and they were a mushy mess. I’m now 4 months pregnant and make these refrigerator dills once a week. Haha. My husband and 3 year old love them and routinely ask for them. I also have made them for my office and my neighbors and everyone goes nuts for them. I omitted the sugar and add a sliced jalepeno. The jalepeno doesn’t add much spice at all, just another flavor dimension. Love the whole coriander flavor but the seeds can be hard to find, Whole Foods has it for surprisingly cheap. Please do yourself a favor and make these!!
These look delicious! I love dill pickles! Have you ever tried fermenting them? Not a quick process, but so yummy.
I haven’t Rhianon – sorry!
Great pickles. Soooo easy. Will be serving them on Thanksgiving in a relish tray. Though I hate to share. lol
I love this recipe and so does my family. And so do our friends. Ever since I started making them, I get requests from people to please, please bring a jar when we visit. The recipe is incredibly easy and it truly takes little time to whip up a batch. For our home I double the red pepper flakes as we do like spicy here. But I bring the original recipe to others!
I have no experience with canning & wanted to try to make my own pickles since someone had a garden & brought in small fresh cukes. I didn’t have corriander, & I love pepper so I substituted with peppercorns. The hardest part was waiting to try & boy were they delicious!! I will never buy store bought again. Thanks so much:)
Hello and thanks for the great recipe, I am super excited to start. I do pickles every year but wanted to try something new. I have about 27 pounds, is it ok to quadrupole the recipe and can I leave the pickles whole or do I have to cut them? Thank you!!!
Hi Shannon, It’s fine to quadrupole the recipe and leave the pickles whole; they may just take a bit longer to pickle.
Hi Jenn!
Can you use regular table salt instead of kosher salt and if so is it the same amount? What is the difference between kosher salt, sea salt, and table salt in recipes?
Thanks!
Denise
Hi Denise, yes you can use table salt here in place of kosher salt. I would cut it back to 2 tablespoons. And all the varieties of salt you mentioned taste the same; the texture and the size of the grains are what distinguishes them. You can read more about it here. Hope you enjoy the pickles!
First of all thank you to Jenn for this amazing recipe. I too am a classically trained chef and mom now cooking for my family. Unfortunately I never got to cook in the fancy restaurants…..yet! Lol
Anyhow, I love, love, love this pickle recipe. Not only do I love it but but I made the mistake of sending pickles to work with my husband for the ladies in admin. Every day he comes home telling me stories of how much everyone loves them and now I am being begged to make more. So I made another double batch this morning for my family and my hubbies work family. I actually grow cucumbers and use those. I have been using lemon cucumbers and oh my gosh they are the best pickles I have ever had and everyone who has had them says the same. Thanks again for the wonderful recipe, it will be passed along and down to the kids! 🙂
Made these today. Halved the sugar, omitted the garlic and red pepper flakes and added peppercorns. Delish and so easy!