Easy Refrigerator Pickles

These Easy Refrigerator Pickles are one of my all-time favorite recipes to make in the summer. That is if you can consider this a recipe. It’s that easy!

If you have never made your own pickles before, you are in for a real treat! There are so many different flavor combinations to try. For me, I like the classic dill flavor and these pickles have a ton of dill! In fact, when you pull them out of the jar they will have little bits of dill still on them. You don’t find that from the typical grocery store pickles.

I recently expanded my container garden collection to include cucumbers. It has been SO much fun watching them grow in the intense sunshine and heat we’ve had! I don’t think my husband is quite as excited about me pulling him outside every day to see how much the plants have grown. I guess that type of stuff doesn’t float his boat. That might be because he doesn’t like cucumbers or pickles, but he does like THESE pickles.

What Makes These Pickles Stand Out?

The crunch! Grocery store pickles in the jar have been processed, shipped and waiting on the shelves for you to buy. That means they are getting more floppy and limp by the day. Making them fresh in your kitchen guarantees you’ll have crunchy pickles for many days to come.

Do I Need Any Fancy Equipment?

Good news – nope!

These are refrigerator pickles so they are meant for short term storage in, you guessed it, the refrigerator. That means you don’t need any canning equipment, other than a pint sized glass jar with lid.

How Long Do They Last?

Stored in the refrigerator, these will last up to two months. The longer they sit, the more flavor they will get from all the spices that are mixed in with it.

Does It Matter What Type of Cucumber I Use?

I’ve used fresh from the garden cucumbers and store-bought. The choice is yours. If I am buying from the store, I tend to lean towards the smaller seedless cucumbers. The kind I have in my garden are your regular sized cucumbers, which means you might have a few seeds floating around. But that is okay with me! Other than the diameter of the slices, I didn’t notice much, if any, of a difference in taste or texture.

Making Refrigerator Pickles

All you will need are a few ingredients:

• cucumbers
• vinegar
• water
• pickling salt
• peppercorns
• dill weed / dill seed
• garlic
• red pepper flakes (optional)

First, slice your cucumbers to your liking. I try to stick with 1/4 inch slices because I really like a good crunchy pickle. Next, put all of your spices (minus the pickling salt) into the bottom of a pint sized glass jar and tightly pack your cucumber slices inside.

Finally, boil the water, vinegar and pickling salt in a small pan and pour directly into the glass jar. Screw on your lid tightly and let these come to room temperature on the counter before placing in the refrigerator.

After a while, you’ll see the vibrant green color of the cucumbers start to turn darker. This is because the boiling water is ever so slightly “cooking” them and allowing for all the spices to marinate.

How Soon Will They Be Ready?

That depends on you! I find they have the best flavor and texture after they sit for three or four days, but I’ve been known to sample a few slices a lot earlier than that! They just might taste more like pickled cucumbers still instead of true pickles. As mentioned earlier, the longer they sit the more the texture and flavors come together.

If making these for a weekend barbeque, I would suggest making a week earlier than the party. Your guests will LOVE these and be coming back for more!

If you like this easy recipe, check out my homemade Pickled Jalapeno recipe here!

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