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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Can you eat the fresh Garlic or it’s only used for flavoring. Thanks
Hi Philip,
It is for flavoring, but yes, you can eat them!
This recipe is amazing!! I add a couple more garlic cloves and a little bit more sugar only because that’s how I like it. Everyone that I’ve given these to has RAVED about them ❤️ My coworker took the brine home and ate it on a cucumber tomato salad too!
I love this recipe. I was waiting to know if you have ever canned it for the pantry?
I had 2 english cucumbers left in the fridge that I knew I wouldn’t eat before they went bad. I cut them into spears and used this recipe. YUMMERS! I did not think they would turn out. I am addicted now! I did add about a tablespoon of hot chili-flavored honey to the mix for a bit of sweetness/spice. I am hooked. Thank you! I can’t wait to harvest my cucumbers to make more!
I made these 3 days ago and tried my first just now. They are very tasty. Thank you!
I have made these pickles several times and they are my favorite! I would like to give them to friends and family…can I can them as long as I follow all canning procedures?
We made these pickles with my kindergarten class. The kids had so much fun and there were delicious the next day. Reminded me of the pickles I made a kid. Loved the sour taste. Thank you for sharing! I will be making these again and again.
Can you reuse the brine, or do you have to make fresh each time?
Hi Linda!
You CAN reuse the pickling liquid! Usually, I use it 2-3 times before I start a new batch. After that, the cucumber juices have diluted it a bit. Hope this helps!
Do you have to put the sugar in? I don’t use sugar so I’m wondering if they’ll still turn out without it.
Hi Diane,
Adding a sweetener does balance out the tartness of the pickles… You can skip it and see what you think, or try adding an alternative sweetener.
Adding 1/4 tsp of alum for every 2 cups of brine will lend for a crisper pickle longer! I used your recipe for cucamelons who knew how much these little vines produced lol! ALOT! lol I did process the jars for longer storage np! I liked your recipe bc of the cider vinegar! Most use white vinegar which is more potent!! If I had really good cider vinegar w/the mother I would use the refrigerator method so not to kill the good stuff in it – however I just had regular junk on hand! I also added some fennel fronds this time I’ve never done it before but it looks good?! If I wanted to add some heat/spice what would you recommend??
Hi Missy,
If you want to add spicy heat, I would add in some jalapeno slices or serrano slices!
You don’t need to add alum (aluminum potassium sulfate) to refrigerate dill pickles. They stay really crisp without it.
Very good! Seems to be just the right amount of garlic, herbs, spices and vinegar for me, using 1/2 tsp of sugar. Great recipe, thanks!
These turned out well. At first they had an overly strong vinegar taste, but as they sat longer the flavors blended together nicely. I made other batches where I adjusted the water to vinegar ratio. Overall a very easy process!