Want to learn how to make easy homemade pickles?
Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles are the easiest pickles to make and you don't need any canning experience. These quick pickles are easy to make and only take about 30 minutes to make.
A few years ago I tried my hand at making refrigerator garlic dill pickles for the first time.
At that time, I had grown a few vines of Kirby cucumbers just so I could make homemade garlic dill pickles.
Jump to:
- What kind of cucumbers to make pickles?
- Growing pickling cucumbers
- What is the difference between refrigerator pickles and canned dill pickles?
- FREE Quick Pickling Guide
- Easy Homemade Pickles
- Brine Ingredients & Directions
- Directions on how to fill the jars
- Basic Canning Supplies Needed
- Gourmet Pickling Spice
- Pickling Tips
- Garlic Dill Pickles Canning Label
- More quick pickling recipes
- How to Make Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles
I am so glad I did because they turned out so delicious.
What kind of cucumbers to make pickles?
I haven't had much luck growing Kirby cucumbers since so when I saw what I knew to be pickling cucumbers at the grocery store I bought almost all they had.
I wanted to make a bigger batch of Spicy Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles.
Growing pickling cucumbers
Summer is winding down and you may or may not be staring down at a growing pile of pickling cucumbers from your garden.
That is if you are lucky enough to have a garden.
Or maybe you happen to have an awesome farmers market close by. Maybe occasionally you entertain the idea of making pickles as you walk by the bins of pickling cucumbers.
Making pickles is so easy and they taste so much better than store bought.
So if you have the chance to grow or buy some small pickling cucumbers do it!
Try this recipe and I promise you will look forward to the cucumber season every year.
What is the difference between refrigerator pickles and canned dill pickles?
With refrigerator or quick pickles, you never process them in a hot water bath canner. They are not meant to be stored long term in a cabinet.
You make them and refrigerate them. You can eat them after a day but they taste so much better after about a week.
Refrigerator pickles stay nice and crunchy because they are not exposed to the high heat from the hot water bath canner which will soften the cucumbers during the canning process.
I have made homemade pickles both ways and prefer a refrigerator pickle that is crisp when I bite into it.
The refrigerator garlic dill pickles I make taste awesome.
I like to make them spicy. I even make a few jars of extra garlicky and spicy.
As with any canning process all utensils, jars, and lids still need to be sterilized.
FREE Quick Pickling Guide
New to making pickles? Grab my Quick Pickling guide for tips to get started.
Easy Homemade Pickles
If for some reason you thought making pickles was too difficult let me ease your mind. If you can....
- wash and sterilize jars & lids
- measure spices
- slice cucumbers
- boil a brine
Then you can make these pickles. That is all there is to making refrigerator dill pickles. You can make them spicy.
You can make them garlicky. You can make them mild. It's up to you.
Let me know if you try it. I'd love to hear what you think about this homemade refrigerator pickle recipe.
Brine Ingredients & Directions
Ingredients needed to make enough pickling brine for about 4 pints size jars of pickles.
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pickling salt
- Kirby or other small thin skinned pickling cucumbers (sometimes labeled salad cucumbers)
Spices to place into each jar. Into each jar of pickle spears or rounds add:
- 1-2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 sprigs of fresh dill per jar if you don't have fresh dill on hand you can add 1 tablespoon of dried dill to each jar. I prefer fresh dill when I am making pickles but dried or dehydrated dill will also work.
- 1 teaspoons peppercorns and ½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes(adjust for personal taste)
- Or use my Gourmet Pickling Spice in place of the peppercorns and pepper flakes.
Directions on how to fill the jars
- Sterilize jars + lids by boiling them or running them through the dishwasher.
- Put 1-2 whole garlic cloves into the bottom of each jar.
- Add 4 dill sprigs to each jar.
- Add peppercorns and hot pepper flakes.
- Wash and trim the ends of your cucumbers.
- Cut into thin rounds or spears and pack into the jars tightly.
- To make the brine boil the water, vinegar and pickling salt.
- Pour the boiling brine into the jars over the cucumbers and put the lids on the jars.
- Let cool on the counter and then refrigerate.
- Cure for one week before eating.
- Please follow proper safety measures for food storage when canning or pickling!
Basic Canning Supplies Needed
- Wide Mouth Canning Jars Amazon Best Seller!
- Wide Mouth Funnel makes filling jars with brine mess free
- Pickling Spice
- Pickling Salt: you must use pickling salt.
This recipe was adapted from Food In Jars Urban Preserving: Refrigerator Dill Pickles.
You can find the original recipe here. Take a look while you are there. She has some of the best canning recipes out there.
Buy my new Gourmet Pickling Spice to make the best homemade pickles ever.
Gourmet Pickling Spice
The perfect blend of eight herbs and spices for all your pickling needs.
Pickling Tips
- Filtered water: Use filtered untreated water for best results. Treated (city water) has a tendency to turn the garlic cloves a weird dark almost black color. The garlic is still safe to eat but it is very unappealing looking.
- Dill: fresh dill is best when making refrigerated pickles but in a pinch you can use a teaspoon of dill weed or dill seeds instead.
- You can use a mixed pickling spice in place of the pepper corns and red pepper flakes. If you want extra spicy pickles add the red pepper flakes even if you use a pickling spice.
- You may need to double or triple the amounts for the brine depending on how many jars of pickles you are making.
- Choose firm unblemished cucumbers.
- Test out the recipe and then make adjustments to the garlic and pepper flakes to find your perfect spicy garlic pickle flavor.
- You can use recycled glass jars to make refrigerator pickles because they will not be processed in a water bath canner.
Label your pickle jars with these cute Dill Pickle Canning labels. Perfect for quick pickles or water bathed pickles.
Garlic Dill Pickles Canning Label
Dress up your homemade garlic dill pickles with these printable canning labels!
They’re perfect for water bath or refrigerator quick pickles. Add your own date for easy tracking, and print as many as you need right from home.
Bonus:
Make your homemade pickles look as good as they taste! Grab these printable Garlic Dill Pickles labels free with any Gourmet Pickling Spice purchase. Print them at home, stick them on your jars, and you’re all set to show off your delicious creations. Freebie code will be printed on your invoice.
More quick pickling recipes
Email questions or recipe requests to flouronmyface@gmail.com. Follow me on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
How to Make Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. kirby or other pickling cucumbers
To Make the Pickling Brine for about 4 pints jars
- 2 cups water (unfiltered untreated water is highly recommended)
- 1 cup 5% white vinegar
- 1 tablespoons pickling salt
Into each jar of pickle spears or sliced rounds add
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 4 sprigs sprigs of fresh dill per jar
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (or pickling spice)
- ½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes (adjust for personal taste)
Instructions
Sterilize the jars
- Sterilize jars + lids by dipping them into a pot of boiling water. Allow the water to drain on a towel near by. Or run them through the dishwasher on high heat.
Prepare Canning Jars
- Put 1-2 garlic cloves into the bottom of each jar. Add 4 sprigs of fresh dill to each jar.
- Add the peppercorns and hot pepper flakes. Or ½ a teaspoon of pickling spice.
- Wash and trim the ends of the cucumbers.
- Cut the pickles into thin rounds or spears and pack the cucumbers into the jars tightly.
Make the brine
- Measure the vinegar and water into a large saucepan.
- Add the pickling salt to the pan.
- Bring to a boil.
- Use a ladle to pour the boiling brine into the jars over the cucumbers leaving ¼ inch head space. Use a chop stick or canning bubbling tool to release the bubbles in the jars. If there is room in the jar push more cucumber pieces in. Wipe the jar rims and place a flat lid on top of the jars and twist a band on.
- Place on a towel and let cool on the counter to room temperature before refrigerating.
- Refrigerate the pickles for about a week to cure before eating.
Video
Recipe Expert Tips
- filtered water: treated (city water) has a tendency to turn the garlic cloves a weird dark almost black color. The garlic is still safe to eat but it is very unappealing looking.
- dill: fresh dill is best when making refrigerated pickles but in a pinch you can use a teaspoon of dill weed or seeds.
- You can use a mixed pickling spice in place of the pepper corns and red pepper flakes. If you want spicy pickles add the red pepper flakes even if you use a pickling spice.
- You may need to double or triple the amounts for the brine depending on how many jars of pickles you are making.
- Choose firm unblemished cucumbers.
- Test out the recipe and then make adjustments to the garlic and pepper flakes to find your perfect spicy garlic pickle flavor.
- You can use recycled glass jars to make refrigerator pickles because they will not be processed in a water bath canner.
- I tasted mine after 4 days and they were awesome.
- Please follow proper safety measures for canning or pickling!
- Use within 2 months (if they last that long!)
Nutrition
Did you enjoy the How to Make Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles post? Since I made them I have canned Dill Pickles.
After making and processing Kosher Dills a few years later I have to agree.
You can read about it over at the How to Make Kosher Dill Pickles recipe.
Looking for more canning recipes? Head over to my canning recipes page where you will find all my canning recipes.
Susanne
Just made these. Are the seals supposed to “pop”? I wasn’t expecting that.
Arlene Mobley
Susan
Yes the flat lids will seal (popping sound) but they must be refrigerated because they have not been hot water bath canned. They are not really sealed in the same sense. The heat from the hot brine will cause the lid to seal.
Laurie
I have never canned or made any type of pickles, so I have no experience. I’ve been reading recipes and trying to learn because I desperately want to make the refrigerator pickles I remember from my youth. Unfortunately, there is no one left to ask how Nana did it. I’m a little confused by something. You say that hot water causes the pickles to soften, yet you pour boiling brine over these pickles. Is there a difference between a hot water bath for canning and pouring boiling water over these pickles ? I have seen many refrigerator pickle recipes that don’t require hot water. What is the advantage of the boiling brine? The thing I remember most is how crispy Nana’s were.
Arlene Mobley
Laurie
Great questions!
1. When you Can pickles using the hot water bath method the filled jars are place in a pot of water and the water is brought up to a boil. You then boil with jars for 10 miuntes. The hot water and the tem minute boiling time will cause the cucumbers/pickles to be soft and not crunchy as crisp and crunchy as refrigerator pickles
2. For refrigerator pickles you boil the brine so the pickling salt dissolves before pouring it over the cucumbers. You then allow the jars to come to room temperture before refrgerating them. They are not submerged in boiling water and cooked for 10 minutes. It is the extended time the jars are in the boiling water that soften the pickles.
Does that make more sense and explain the difference?
Christy Roppel
Hi!
By pouring hot brine over the cukes, does this make them less crispy?Thanks!!
Christy
Arlene Mobley
Hi Christy
Refrigerator pickles are a little more crispy than hot water bath canned pickles. The heat from the hot water bath is what usually takes the crispiness out of the pickles. You can buy a product from Ball call Pickle Crisp that is supposed to help keep the pickles crispy. I've never tried it so I can't say how crispy the pickles stay. (affiliate link) https://amzn.to/2T71Ajn
Louis
These were addictive. I hate the whole jar in two days! 😡
Christine Huerta
Anyway, I love canning and making pickles. I'm in Mexico, so having some trouble finding jars, but we'll have to because we're going to have a big garden. I canned when I lived in Italia several years ago, but don't have 1of those lovely jars now. My husband and I are making refrigerator pickles. We put two batches in large mayonnaise Jars I got from a local restaurant. We made a big of refrigerator dills, and a large jug of mixed veggies sweet. They going to be so good. When they cooled, they'll go in the fridge to cool properly. Can't wait!!
cammie mcclure
These sound amazing and I can't wait to try them. I do have a question though. In your canning supplies list, you have mixed pickling spice listed but it's not in the ingredients list. How much am I supposed to use for this recipe? Thank you!!
John Burke
Thanks, I wasnt sure if I mixed it wrong. Would adding more garlic and dill change it.
Arlene Mobley
John
Yes, you can add more garlic and dill until you find the perfect combination for your tastes. Keep notes and mark your jars with the amounts so when you find the perfect pickle flavor you can make them again.
john burke
I made the refrigerator garlic dill pickles and waited about two weeks to eat them. They are crunchy but the vinegar taste seems to overpower the garlic and dill taste. Should I add sugar or is that how they taste.
Arlene Mobley
Hi John
That is how they taste. The amount of vinegar used is needed to preserve the pickles. If you add sugar it will change the flavor to more like a sweet pickle.
Michele
Do they taste like cucumbers? I love pickles but not a fan of cucumbers? I think I’ll try them and also some green beans and asparagus.
Arlene Mobley
Michele
They taste like pickles to me. Hope you enjoyed the recipe!
Jenny
Dill pickles are my favorite. Thanks for sharing the recipe at Merry Monday!
Andrew
I love pickles, especially Claussens. However, I'm on a low sodium diet restriction because of my heart health. Would it be possible to omit the salt used? Would really love to try to make my own pickles because store bought ones are so high in sodium. But a tablespoon of salt has almost 7000 mg of sodium in it and I'm on a 2000 mg restriction. At a conservative estimate, each pickle would have 300 mg (probably more) of sodium which is too much and would require a lot of planning for my meals during the day to fit in. Do you think it can be done? Would the vinegar and seasoning brine be enough to pickle the cucumbers?
Arlene Mobley
Hi Andrew
This How To Make Kosher Dill Barrel Pickles can be made omitting the salt.
Phil Reilly
I adjusted the tecipe for two 4 pt jars. I added a lil more garlic and half the red pepper flakes. After 1 week they were good.....after two weeks they were KILLER! This is now the go to refrigerator garlic dill recipe for this family.
Phil Reilly
Arlene Mobley
Phil
Glad you enjoyed the pickles recipe!
Billy
I've never gone through the worry of canning pickles - I've always just refrigerated them and they turn out fine! In my opinion, I want my pickles refrigerated and every little speck of nutrition to stay around - I don't want to process them at all if I can help it. Thank you for this great recipe! Your pictures look wonderful.
Arlene Mobley
Billy thanks so much. Enjoy the pickles!
Sandra
Do you think this would work to make pickled green beans? My boyfriend loves them and they are really expensive in stores we've been wanting to make them ourselves but the canning process is kind of scarry to me... so we've waited... but this looks way easier and possibly tastier as well!
Arlene Mobley
Sandra yes this method will work with green beans and other vegetables that will be eaten within a couple of weeks. Refrigerator pickling is not meant to be kept for long periods of time. If you try it let me know what you think. You might have to play around with the spice amounts to get a flavor that is good with the green beans. I suggest following my recipe for a small batch and then make adjustments from there.
Debra @ Bowl Me Over
Great step-by-step tutorial, love canning, love pickles! YUM!! Wanted to pop by from Foodie FriDIY to let you know I'm sharing your recipe this week as a feature - come link up again!
Arlene Mobley
Debra
Thank you so much for the feature!
Jamie Marie
Yummy, and with nice little labels too!
Thanks for sharing with us on the Homesteader Hop!