Quick Refrigerator Dill Pickles
I can not profess to you enough how much I love these dill pickles. After three years of failed attempts at preserving pickles, I’ve finally found my recipe. It’s all about the quick refrigerator pickle. These particular pickles are crispy, tangy and have an amazing garlic and dill flavor.
I’ve tried canning pickles the last 3 years. Always trying a new recipe, taking tips from fellow canners on how to keep them crisp but each time I’m terribly disappointed. I wonder if it’s the extra processing time I have to add because I live at such a high altitude or I just never found the right recipe. Either way, each year I’d put a ton of time and money into a batch of pickles that inevitably found their fate with the kitchen disposal.
This year I decided to forgo the lengthy process of canning pickles in lieu of the much easier refrigerator pickle. I’ve made plenty of pickled vegetables over the years always to rave reviews so I took this as my lead hoping to make a savory dill pickle. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the result. The pickles are ultra crispy, full of dill flavor the the garlic gives them the perfect bite. And not to mention EASY. After making a brine of vinegar, salt and water, you simply pour it over some cut up vegetables and stick them in the fridge. Boom. That’s it!
I love that these pickles are ready to go so quickly too. You can start digging in the next day or just a few hours if you’re impatient like me! The only draw back to these pickles is you need to store them in the fridge and if your fridge looks anything like mine, finding room for 8 quart jars can be a challenge! I guess the answer is to share them with friends or neighbors each time you make ’em! I used kirby cucumbers, carrots and cauliflower but any vegetables will do. I think I’m going to do some pickled zucchini later this month. And maybe some green beans too- my favorite for a bloody mary!
I got together with my friend Annalise last week for a day of canning and gabbing. Honestly, I can’t think of a way I’d rather spend my morning. She made some amazing jam that I hope she’ll be posting soon. I’ve said it before but one of the best parts of blogging is the friendships I’ve made because of it. Annalise and I met through blogging but she’s become a great friend outside of blogging too. Down to earth, an amazing mama and she really knows her way around the kitchen! The girl has crazy talent when it comes to baking. Whenever we get together, I leave inspired as we are constantly bouncing ideas of each other. I’m lucky to have her in my life and if you haven’t read her blog, Completely Delicious, you need to start. I promise you’ll love her and her recipes as much as I do!!
Have a great week everyone!!
Other pickled vegetable recipes from bloggers you might enjoy:
Pickled Okra from Simply Recipes
Bread and Butter Pickles from Smitten Kitchen
Easy Pickled Onions from Shared Appetite
Pickled Radishes from David Lebovitz
Quick Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Quick refrigerator dill pickles are crisp, tangy and perfect to use up fresh summer produce.
Ingredients
- 2 heads garlic
- 10 cups water
- 5 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons pickling salt
- 1 tablespoon dill seed
- 1 tablespoon mustard seed
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorn
- 2 lbs kirby cucumbers, quartered lengthwise
- 1 bunch small carrots, greens trimmed and halved if necessary
- 1 small head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 bunch green onions, tops removed and cut to a length they fit into a quart size jar
- 1–2 hot red chili peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
- sprigs of fresh dill
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, bring water and garlic to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Add vinegar and salt, raise the heat to high, bringing to a boil, stirring until the salt dissolves. Remove from the heat.
- Using 8 1-quart glass jars, place 2-3 sprigs of fresh dill in each. Divide the seeds and peppercorns evenly between the jars. Using tongs, remove the garlic from the brine and divide it evenly among the 8 jars. Then pack the jars full of cucumbers, carrots, scallions, cauliflower and chiles. You want them to be tightly stuffed.
- Bring the brine back to a boil, pour it over the vegetables to cover completely, let cool, then cover and refrigerate. The pickles will taste good in a few hours, but even better after a couple of days if you can resist them! Pickles will keep in the fridge for about 3 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Food Network
56 Comments
Hurray! Thank you so much.
I’ve been on the perfect pickle hunt as well. Based on your description, I think this will be the winner. I’m also impatient when it comes to pickles, so I can’t wait. 🙂
These pickles are seriously incredible. We’re down 2 jars already! So sorry you had so many failures up until now, but glad I was around for the successful one!! 🙂
Thanks also so much for the kind words. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that today. I love our working kitchen chats! xoxo
I was hoping to get around to canning dill pickles…I made sweet pickles but my son is requesting dill. I might have to give these a try. they look so good with all those other veggies in there.
Great post! I haven’t ever tried pickles… but I LOVE to eat them 🙂 Sounds like a good idea. Fridge pickles 🙂 Thanks for making it approachable.
These look fantastic! I’ve done 30 pints of bread and butter pickles so far this summer with cakes from my garden! My secret to crisp dill pickles and/or green beans is to out a grape leaf in the jar. Hey, that’s how my granny did it! My mom passed it down to me and it really works. So, here’s how it plays out. I get everything ready and then walk around my neighborhood looking for some poor guy who has grapes growing on his fence, ring the bell, ask for some leaves and promise to return a jar in a few hours. Never fails!
Great tip! Maybe we could swap a jar of dills for a jar of bread and butters? 🙂
*cukes
The pickles look perfect! Pretty too!
I think this might be the way to go, nary a steamy canner in sight.
If u are a serious fridge canner and have the room somewhere, I suggest purchasing a small dorm type fridge just for your canning creations! Instead of beer what would be better than fresh pickles and other canned goodies! 🙂
Great idea!
Just reading the comments. The next best idea is a second mini/ dorm fridge for the beer!
Can’ t wait to try this recipe later today. Last time I tried refridgerator pickles I mixed all the brine ingredients without cooking them and the salt settled to the bottom of the jars and never dissolved.
Do you peel your garlic cloves and put them in whole before boiling?
Nice to find you from the FoodieCrush article. Congrats on the feature and yay for me for finding a new blog to follow.
Thanks for the kind comment and happy to have you here!
WOW is all I can say. I am soooooo excited to try these.
Have you tried making them spicy pickles? Our old fashioned recipe calls for dried red chili peppers or flakes and this recipe sounds so much easier yet I’d like to spice them up a little. Thank you for posting this recipe. Very excited to try it.
I have! You can add part of or a whole chili depending on how spicy you like them. This is a very forgiving recipe!
These look great. I always make the pickles from the Victory Garden Cookbook but it is a 2 day process. This looks like an easier solution and I really like the addition of the other veggies!
These are so easy and really, REALLY delicious. I’m making a batch today!!
I made these and they are amazing – especially the cauliflowers. Thank you from Scotland x
Aren’t they amazing? I love the cauliflower too!
I read recipe reviews religiously, because there don’t seem to be enough hours in the weekend for “trial and error”. So I wanted to leave my heartfelt recommendation for this recipe. THESE ARE INCREDIBLE. I used Morton’s Sea Salt instead of pickling salt, added a tablespoon of coriander, and only had mason jars instead of the quart size. It didn’t matter. I made them last night and I could not believe how quickly they became “real” pickles. They taste exactly how a dill pickle should taste. Crunchy, tangy, and the perfect amount of salty. This will be my go-to pickling recipe from here on out. I gave a jar to a friend–with confidence! I cook and bake frequently, but “project” cooking–like pickling or fermenting or something outside of the daily cooking ritual–scares me. That said, I found this to be quite easy, and a pretty “safe” way to jar something (I am still afraid of canning things that aren’t going directly to the fridge). It is well worth making the time for–these are so good and fresh that I really don’t want to purchase store bought ever again and I would definitely consider carving out a couple hours every two or three months to do some fridge pickling. Anyone that is on the fence should absolutely give it a try. Thank you!
You’re so welcome. Thank you for the detailed comment. Glad you enjoyed the pickles!
Ok…I made a half a batch of these pickles and I could not resist trying them this afternoon! WOW! Seriously delicious, I can’t imagine what they will taste like tomorrow. I followed the recipe almost exactly, I substituted red chili flakes because that was what I had, but everything else the same. So, easy and so, yummy! Wish I made a full batch…back to the store for more cucumbers! Thank you so much for posting this recipe! Try it you will not be disappointed!! 🙂
Thanks! They’re great, aren’t they? I just bought everything to make a batch!
i know i am a year late to this post, but i had to comment. i made these pickles–with mistakes due to referee-ing disagreements between my kids–3 days ago. ToolMan and I just opened the first quart. and ate the first quart without calling the kids! delicious! we’re already plotting what else can be pickled. i’ve been searching for the best refrigerator dill pickle recipe. i believe i’ve found it–you are a genius! thanks!
I know the refereeing game all too well! I just made a batch yesterday. These are my favorite as well. Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Can I still put these in a hot bath to preserve longer??
This recipe isn’t made for canning. Sorry!
How come?
Because when canning, you need to make sure the acidity/alkalinity is spot on and I haven’t tested this recipe to see if it’s safe for water bath canning. I have a few other pickle recipes on the blog that are safe for canning. Check one of those out if you want a longer term pickle recipe.
Have tried many pickled recipes.. This was so easy and the pickles were amazingly delicious.. Thanks to you this will be the one every time…even my family and friends loved them!!!
Thank you for this recipe! We used it to make pickles recently and loved them! We loved them so much, we wrote a post about them. http://www.lifeinmichigan.com/time-make-pickles/
Everybody loves the crunchiness of these pickles. I did a half batch and it was just my speed, QUICK AND EASY! They are going so fast I’m making another batch tonight.
Hey! I just made whole batch of your recipe…I’m waiting for it to cool before refrigerating.
I’m new to pickling, and like a zesty, spicy pickle. I recently tried a different “quick fridge” recipe that was very flavorful and vinegary (which I like). I think it the ratio was 3 cups vinegar to 2 cups water. So it pickled really quick, and was very tasty. Yours is a ratio of 1 cup vinegar to 2 cups water. Very different. Is this a mild dill? Like a half-sour? Or, do the other ingredients make up for the lack of vinegar. (My fingers are burning from the chili peppers!)
I guess what I want to know is: If the pickle juice is too mild for me tomorrow, can I pour the juice back into a saucepan and add another 5 cups of vinegar to it, then pour it back into the jars? Or is that not sanitary?
You could certainly add more vinegar if it’s not zesty enough for you!
I really like Clausen Dills, but at $3.88 and climbing your fridge pickles sound like an answer…but will I have achieved the Clausen taste as well?
Hi, I live in South America and I’m not sure what Pickling Salt is called here or if they even have it, is there another type of salt that can be used instead?
You could use kosher salt too!
LOVE these pickles ~ can not make them fast enough . Thank you , thank you thank you !!
I have made these for years and they keep a long time I have had some up to 2 years also use the same recipe for pickled jalapeños I make 2 quarts and they last all year
Going to make these today. Do you think I could use baby carrots instead of large ones?
Just have dried dill, would that work also? thanks.
Yes and yes!
I have fresh peppers in the garden. Could I throw in a tabasco or jalepeno pepper instead of the chili peppers?
Sure thing!!!
Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of praise for this recipe! So easy, so delicious. Will be my go-to non-sweet pickle recipe from now on. Thanks for the great recipe!
Awe, thanks! They’re my favorite too!
So—I made these and thought they would last at least a week. Not so. My 2 yr. old Great
Granddaughter was here from Tennessee and decided these were her favorite snack. They took some back to Tn. and her mom tells me she took the jar to bed and ate them all before the next day. ( Good thing I knew what went into them. Everything good.) They are the best recipe ever. After trying new recipes every year, I threw out all the rest and this is the one I kept.Today I added radishes I had sliced on my mandolin into the left over juice in an almost empty jar, can’t wait to taste them. Thank you for this treasure.
You are so welcome! Your granddaughter is a girl after my own heart!! xo
I made this recipe yesterday and I’m already addicted but want to wait a bit longer for the best result in a couple weeks. I added some quartered yellow summer squash to the mix and they work fine. I had to increase the amount of vegetables to get a tight fit and at the end I was quite short of liquid to fill 8 quart jars. Never fear, I just boiled more water, vinegar, and salt (actually double the original fluid recipe when done) without sacrificing the taste.
Hi! I’m new to pickling. Can I slice the pickles into round discs with this recipe and reap similar results? Thank you! I’m excited to try this!
Yes!
Just wondering if you’ve used a gallon jar for these?
I haven’t.
Love your website. I can hardly wait to try this recipe. Sound quick, easy and delicious. Have tried other refrigerator pickles and they were a failure. Thanks for all your hints.