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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Do you take the spines off cucumbers before pickling?
Hi Mati,
If the cucumbers have spines you can definitely take them off. It’s not neccessary, but will make them easier to eat.
Looks wonderful and easy to make!
I have another question. Can you make these with raw organic ACV with the MOTHER it says it has 5% acidity? That was all they had. I made some with white vinegar those were good but, I do like them better with ACV. Some sites say no that you have to use distilled ACV.
PLEASE HELP. I DON’T WANT to throw them out but, I will if need be.
I’m also wondering this as I made it not realizing there was a difference and now I hope they taste ok.
Yes because your not “canning” them and these are just refrigerated. Good vinegar doesn’t do well for long storage and if you did a water bath it would kill good bacteria
These are AMAZING! Thank you sooo much for this recipe.
My grown son and I made them together with homegrown cucumbers from his garden! That meant the world to me. We made quart size and pint size! 3 jars gone in 3 days! One of them was qt. size!
All of our jars sealed. Is that ok? Was the brine too warm. Were they supposed to seal?
We made several batches AGAIN! Same thing all jars sealed?!
I’m concerned we added fresh clean green beans without blanching. Is that safe? I didn’t think of it at the time (obviously) but, started to think that I probably needed to blanch them all other sites say yes. PLEASE HELP I AM SO WORRIED. Couldn’t sleep.
Keep them in the fridge and they will be fine. Just note that they are NOT shelf stable even though the jars sealed.
Eliza thank you soo very much. I’ve been so nervous haven’t slept.
This pickle recipe is the absolute best! The first batch we shared with friends they came back the next day and asked if they could have more! That warmed my heart. ❤️🤗💫
Forgot to rate it at 5 stars.
Made it with my nieces and had so much fun doing it. Simple clear directions. Can’t wait to try our homemade pickles. Especially since we grew the cucumbers ourselves. The little ones don’t like the cucumbers but LOVE pickles !
5 star rating
Very easy; delicious pickles the next day. I’m a 74 year old man; I do basic cooking. My Polish grandmothers & aunts all made pickles in 5 & 10 gallon crocks. It never occurred to me that I could make a small batch this quickly! My adult son is visiting, and asked how pickles are made, so I googled it to find your recipe. Since we had everything needed in the house, I tried it. My wife was suspicious! The next day, the three of us ate a whole quart of your pickles! Thank you! (I have your pickled eggs working, too. We will try them tomorrow. Yes, they ARE bar food!)
Wow these pickles were amazing!! Thank you! I used fresh dill, cucumbers, and onions all from my garden. They taste so good and it’s my first time making pickles! So easy
Made these just a few days ago.
Husband “those pickles you made are Amazing!”
Now he’s “looking for excuses to eat them” lol I told him he doesn’t need a reason, just eat them.
Perfection! I’m a pickle junkie and my faves are at a fruit stand 6 hours away. I stop there every time I go through and they are usually sold out. These are actually better! I compared ingredients and these are very similar, with the addition of sugar (added just a hint ’cause I shouldn’t have it) and Walla Walla sweet onions. I absolutely agree that I would love a canning recipe to make these last longer into the fall and winter. I made 5 jars and they’re going too fast. I’m planting more cucs next year just to pickle. LOVE!
These are soooo good! Everyone has raved how delicious they are. Oh how I wish you had a recipe for canning so I could make the goodness last into the winter. Please consider doing so 😊. Thank you for this recipe.
Can you use dried dill instead of fresh? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Jen!
Yes, you can. Generally, you use one-third of the amount when converting fresh herbs to dried. Here, I’d start with about 1/2 teaspoon.