Refrigerator Pickles
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jul 14, 2025 
Best Homemade Refrigerator Pickles Recipe: How to make pickles, no canning required! These perky crisp dill pickles make great sandwich toppers.
Refrigerator Pickles
Pucker up for the Best Homemade Refrigerator Pickles we’ve ever tried! These zesty garlic dills are quick and easy to make, and also pack a punch of flavor.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
If you don’t like hot water canning, our Refrigerator Pickles are a great solution. You can make one jar or multiple jars of refrigerator pickles, and they are ready to eat after just one day of refrigeration.
Another beauty of Homemade Dill Pickles is that you can put them in any clean jar with a lid. You don’t need to buy canning jars because you don’t actually can them in the traditional way. Simply pack the jars with cucumbers, a bit of onion, and dill. Make the brine and pour it over the top. Then pop the pickles in the fridge.
If you are using unconventional jar sizes, you may need to adjust the amount of brine to fill the jars you have.
It is also fun to cut the cucumbers in whatever shape you like. I made long sandwich slices, spears, and crinkle-cut round slices. With a large enough jar and small enough cucumbers, you could leave them whole as well. Have fun with it!
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this pickle recipe…
- Pickling Cucumbers – These are not regular cucumbers! Look for shorter cucumbers with bumpy skin.
- Vidalia Onion – This is a type of sweet onion grown in Georgia. If you can’t find these, just go with a regular sweet onion.
- Fresh Dill Weed – You’ll know this produce item by its distinct aroma. It also gives these pickles their signature dill taste.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – This has a mellow fruity flavor that melds well with the spices that go along with this recipe. (white vinegar works too!)
- Water – To fill the jar to the top.
- Garlic Cloves– You can’t go wrong with garlic!
- Pickling Salt – If you can’t find pickling salt, use kosher salt instead.
- Granulated Sugar – This balances the savoriness of the pickles but doesn’t overpower it.
- Whole Black Peppercorns – Whole black peppercorns are used instead of ground pepper for a milder taste.
- Whole Yellow Mustard Seeds – Super-small, yet these seeds are packed with bold flavor!
- Red Pepper Flakes – Adjust the spice level to your liking by adding more or less to your pickles.
How To Make Pickles
I use small pickling cucumbers with thick bumpy skin. They hold up well and stay crunchy. It doesn’t take too many cucumbers to fill a jar either; I was able to fit three 4-inch long sliced cucumbers in a pint-sized jar.
Zesty garlic dill pickles are my favorite. However, you can adjust this recipe to your own tastebuds to make it less garlicky or even sweeter.
Find the full Refrigerator Pickles recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Serve These Quick Pickles On…
- Grilled French Onion Steak Sliders
- Best Slow Cooker Carnitas
- Smash Burger Recipe
- Ultimate Southern Chicken Salad
- Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich
- Best Hamburger Patty
- Best Ever Tuna Salad Sandwich from Simply Recipes
Homemade Refrigerator Pickles Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pickling cucumbers, each about 4 inches in length, sliced evenly
- 1/4 cup Vidalia onion, sliced
- 3-5 sprigs fresh dill weed
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pickling salt, or kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1/4 teaspoon whole yellow mustard seeds
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Pack a clean pint-sized jar with sliced cucumbers, onion slices, and dill sprigs. Leave a 1/2 inch of space at the top of the jar for liquid.
- In a small pot heat the vinegar, water, garlic, and all spices until the mixture comes to a simmer and salt and sugar dissolve.
- Cool the brine down to warm and fill the jar so everything is covered with brine.
- Close the lid tightly and refrigerate for 24 hours before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Homemade pickles should last for two months in the refrigerator in their jar. However, the longer they sit, the less crunchy they become.
The pickles themselves are pickling cucumbers soaked in brine (water, vinegar, and salt) mixed with pickling spices. As the cucumbers soak in the mixture, they are transformed into pickles.
This question is easy. These pickles are the best! Obviously! They are homemade and straightforward to make. Knowing exactly what you are putting into your body is so empowering, especially when it tastes just as good, if not better than, store-bought.
If you are not a fan of cucumbers, consider using this pickle brine with green beans, cauliflower, bell peppers, or hot peppers.
More Pickled Recipes
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My family loves these pickles! Wonderful recipe!
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope they will like it.
I accidentally planted pickling cucumbers and had no idea what to do with them. This recipe was just perfect. I made spears and used 1 teaspoon of sugar. They are delicious. I’m already making jars for everyone!
I plant a few cucamelon plants lol!! Holy crap do they produce ALOT!! Thats why I’m here! You know you can chop those pickling cucumbers fine and make relish?? Thats what I do some sweet some dill and its soooooo….much better than the store bought junk! I ran out of homemade and had to buy some – I was shocked just how bad the store bought was I had forgotten!!
Fantastic recipe best pickles ever ! Made these with my granddaughter we did 3 quart jars ( I had a ton in my garden) we added extra pickling spices for hot ones – seriously could have sold these !
Fantastic pickles! I used 1/2 apple cider vinegar and 1/2 white distilled vinegar. Came out fantastic.
Really a great recipe!! I added a little more sugar because that’s what I like. I tried so many and this one is the best!! Thanks!!
I just started pickling and canning a few years ago and so far have not had a lot of luck achieving crispy pickles. I have tried multiple techniques and additives with little success. While the long term storage of traditional canning is nice, everybody I give them to wants to eat the pickles now anyway. I tried 2 batches of traditional vs these refrigerator ones. THESE were fantastic. So flavorful and crispy. I was very excited and will probably never go back to the traditional method. Not to mention, I did 8 jars in under an hour. LOVELOVELOVE 🥒
1/4 tsp of alum for every 2 cups of brine keep them crisp
Have you ever tried canning this recipe? If so, how long did you boil at the end?
I made 12 pints of this recipe as it was published. I gave 1/2 to my daughter. My son-in-law took a jar to work with him and shared them. Now I have to make more because all of his co-workers want to buy them!
I have a full bushel of cucumbers. I made these last weekend and they were the best ever! ….. So the question is do I triple the recipe or keep making more brine?
Your response is greatly appreciated.
Can I reuse the brine after all pickles are eaten ?
I did and they tasted just as good:)
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope they will like it.
Pickles are my guilty pleasure. lol