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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Hi there, Can I use regular vinegar instead of Apple cider. I’m just really not a fan of apple cider vinegar. Thanks 😊
Hi Heather!
Yes, you can use white vinegar, rice vinegar, or even coconut vinegar in this recipe. :)
Easiest and very best dill pickle Recipe I have ever used! I’ve received rave reviews on the pickles I made!
Can you can these?
Hi Nicole,
No. This recipe is meant for non-canners. However, here is a fantastic canned pickle recipe to try: https://www.foodiewithfamily.com/homemade-claussen-knock-off-pickles/
These are fantastic! They take a few days in the fridge but oh so worth it! The first couple days it tasted too much like vinegar. Around day 5 they were perfect! Everyone in my house keeps grabbing them and the neighbors love them! I did not change a thing in the recipe except I needed a little extra liquid at the end to fill the jars. I just added and mix of 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water to it. No extra spices, salt or sugar. I have passed this recipe around already! Thank you so much.
In the middle of making these but do not have any mustard seed on hand… has anyone made them without?
I stopped and ran to the store for mustard seed!! (IM)Patiently waiting to try them tomorrow !!
Our family is loving this recipe. Its easy to make and delicious. My grandmother said it was the best part of her lunch. Thank you for sharing!
First time pickling cucumbers and these came out phenomenal! Making many more with this recipe. Next time I will add mushrooms, carrots, and maybe okra! Thank you!
Outside of not re-reading the directions and having to take my cucs and dill out so I could make the brine (put the seasonings in first 🤣) this came out amazing! I’m also growing some sriracha peppers, so I think I’m going to make a special batch for me!
Is it possible to do these in plastic containers rather than jars? Just curious.
Hi Julia, Absolutely!
Is it possible to freeze the jars of pickles? Has anyone tried it do they maintain crunchiness when thawed? We ended up with a ton of cucumbers this year. I’ve given many away but still have an abundance. Planning on putting in plastic jars just wasn’t sure how they do freezing.
Hi Natalie,
You can freeze pickles, however, it does affect the texture a bit. They are much limper after thawing. Hope this helps!
Thank you for this recipe! I liked it because there is less sugar then many recipes. I did however make some adjustments. I added double the salt (though the recipe is not too salty for those limiting their salt intake.) I also added a bit more sugar. The brine was a bit short so when I doubled the recipe for my cucs, I made 3 times the brine. That worked out perfect. I also added more different kinds of spices just to try them put. This is the second time I have used your recipe. Thanks again
These are so delicious!! I’m never buying pickles again. So happy I found this recipe, thank you! I accidentally bought quart sized jars so had to make some extra brine but it’s so easy I didn’t mind at all. Yum!
I have a question! Is the onion necessary? I’m severely allergic to onion (not garlic though oddly enough, and I’d love to try this recipe but I can’t use the onion.
If it isn’t necessary, I’d love to know what you’d use to substitute it with!
Onion isn’t necessary at all. It just adds another layer of flavor. Leave it out if you’re allergic.
My cucumbers are coming out like crazy right now and I didn’t want to spend the time to can this recipe is so delicious and so easy my second double batch in a week and I’m going to pass them jars out to my family tomorrow thank you for sharing