Learn how to make pickles at home! This easy 8-ingredient recipe yields crisp, tangy dill pickles that are a delicious snack or sandwich topping.
The first time I tried this dill pickle recipe, I wondered why on earth I’d spent so many years buying pickles at the grocery store. Sure, store bought pickles can be tasty, but these little guys take dill pickles to a whole new level. They’re super easy to make (the refrigerator does most of the work for you!), and they taste awesome. They’re crisp, tangy, and refreshing, with an addictive garlic-dill flavor. Most often, I eat them as a snack right out of the fridge, but they’re delicious on sandwiches and veggie burgers too. If you like dill pickles, you’re going to love this recipe.
How to Make Pickles
My method for how to make pickles couldn’t be simpler! Here’s how it goes:
- First, slice the cucumbers. I usually make this recipe with Persian cucumbers, but small pickling cucumbers work here too. Slice them lengthwise into quarters to make spears, or thinly slice them horizontally to make dill pickle chips.
- Then, fill the jars. Divide the cucumbers among 4 8-ounce or 2 16-ounce jars, and add fresh dill, halved garlic cloves, mustard seeds, and peppercorns to each jar of pickles.
- Next, make the brine. I use a mix of water, white vinegar, sugar, and salt. If you’re not a sweet pickle person, don’t worry! The sugar doesn’t actually make the refrigerator pickles sweet. Instead, it balances the pungent vinegar and salt to create an irresistible sour pickle flavor. Heat the brine on the stove until the sugar and salt dissolve and pour it over the jarred cucumbers. Then, set the jars aside to cool to room temperature.
- Finally, chill! This is the hard part! These guys aren’t ready right away – they need some time in the fridge to soak up the brine and become really flavorful. Dill pickle chips will be ready in 24 hours, while spears will take at least 48. They’ll keep in the fridge for several weeks, and they get better as time goes on. For best flavor, wait about 5 days.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Dill Pickle Recipe Serving Suggestions
These homemade pickles taste great on sandwiches, burgers, and more! Pile dill pickle chips onto veggie burgers, mushroom burgers, cauliflower po’ boys, black bean burgers, or BBQ jackfruit sandwiches at your next cookout. Alternatively, serve spears alongside one of these sandwiches for a deli-style lunch:
- Caprese Sandwich
- Avocado Sandwich
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Egg Salad Sandwich or Vegan Egg Salad Sandwich
If you’re not in the mood for a sandwich, try adding your refrigerator pickles to a salad. I love to toss diced dill pickles into my Easy Macaroni Salad.
Last but not least, they’re delicious on their own! Enjoy them straight out of the fridge for a tangy, refreshing snack.
More Favorite Homemade Pickles
If you love this dill pickle recipe, try making pickled jalapeños, pickled red onions, or banh mi pickles next!
Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 12 to 14 Persian cucumbers or 8 to 10 pickling cucumbers
- 4 garlic cloves, halved
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons peppercorns
- a few good-sized dill sprigs, per jar
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
Instructions
- To make dill pickle spears, slice the cucumbers lengthwise into quarters. To make dill pickle chips, thinly slice them horizontally.
- Heat the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve, about 1 minute. Let cool slightly and pour over the cucumbers. Set aside to cool to room temperature, then store the pickles in the fridge.
- Pickle spears will be lightly pickled in 2 days, but their best flavor will start to develop around day 5 or 6. Pickle chips will be lightly pickled in 1 day, and will become more flavorful every day after that. Store in the fridge for several weeks.
I tryed these dills and fell in love with them. They are the best I have ever had. THANKS
I’m so glad you loved them!
Hi Julie…these were excellent, though a little bit too sour for us. If I take them out of the brine after 24 hours, what could I keep them in (safely) instead, so they’d be more like the “half sours” others have referred to?
I ordered my special jars, followed your recipe, and obsessively watched my pickles do absolutely nothing for a week. They looked exactly like your picture but I wasn’t convinced they would taste good. They were amazing and I’m so proud of myself! I’ll never go back to store-bought pickles and the ingredients I purchased should last for several batches. Thanks for sharing your pickles with us!
yay! So happy to hear they were a success!
Can I put more cut cukes in the brine from previous cukes? Reuse the brine?
You can – you’ll probably need to let them sit longer (and add more dill) for them to become flavorful since you’re not starting with a hot brine.
can I water bath these pickles to seal and so they will last longer?
Hi Gayln, I don’t have experience preserving, so I might check out a blog that has better guidance on what would preserve well.
I have a sweet pickle recipe from my aunt that you freeze. Do you think this recipe can be frozen?
Wondering how long is “several weeks” that the dill pickles will last?
Hi Cheri, two to three.
Are you saying that these pickle will be ready to eat after a 2-3 days in the refrigerator?
How long will they keep, being stored in the refrigerator ?
I just put them in the fridge a few minutes ago. I can’t wait to try them when they’re ready in a few days. It was so easy for this novice to the whole canning process. I just love how fantastic all the spices and seasonings smell and how pretty they look. So excited!
Does it matter if the vinegar is distilled or not?
Hi Presley, I use distilled, thanks for pointing that out.
How can I water bath can these? They look and sound delicious!
Hi Melissa, these are meant for the fridge. I don’t have experience canning, so I would probably look for someone more knowledgeable about it.
I was wondering the same thing. I made them today, but it is just my husband and I in our household, so we don’t eat them fast enough. I do can, but I’m a beginner. I would love it if I could keep them longer than a could of weeks.
I have been searching for a while for a pickling recipe. My mom made these, and we have a winner! Except, I want to water bath them.
Comparing the Ball Blue Book recipe for dill pickles to this recipe, the vinegar, salt and water ratios are the same as this recipe. The Ball recipe is for 7 pints, while this is for 2 pints (16oz). Ball calls for 4C of vinegar, while this calls for 2C. In my math minded-ness, there is enough vinegar in this recipe to safely water bath the pickles.
I have found my dill pickle recipe!!! Thank you!
Amy, were you able to water bath these pickles? I, too, would like to process at least a jar or two for the fall/winter months
Hi Melissa, you can try canning them with instructions from this site: https://practicalselfreliance.com/dill-pickle-recipe-home-canning/
I think I’m going to try the recipe here for refrigerator pickles but I also will try canning for longer storage times using the instructions from that website.
Hi Dianna, did you try canning this recipe? If so did they remain crunchy?
Thanks!
I really like the Weck jars but your link is broken. Would you please repair? Thanks.
oops! They’re Weck 975: https://amzn.to/39aqkkc
Will these last over the winter on the shelf? I’d like to enough to last until next summer.
Hi Jocelyn, I’m not sure if this recipe is fit to water bath and preserve. They’re meant to be refrigerator pickles, I might check out another site that has more info about preserving.
Some of the liquid simmers out so this ratio always works for me.
I will recommend this to my mom! Thank you for sharing this!
Hi,
Do the pickles have to be refrigerated? I don’t have room in my fridge to put all the jars in
I love that these are ready so quickly. Might just have to try and make a batch.
I was wondering where there jars and closures for them, are from? I’m excited to try this recipe with my Mom, thank you for sharing. I would love to get those jars too!
Hi Ashley, sorry for my slow reply! They’re these Weck 975 jars: https://amzn.to/39aqkkc
Have you processed these (boiling) for a longer shelf life outside the fridge?
Hi Joanne, I’m sorry, I haven’t.
Can you please tell me the brand of your 2-cup triple pour measure in the picture? I love the recipe and how easy it looks to fill jars with these spout options!
Hi Lorraine, it’s Anchor Hocking. A pyrex would work too.
Can I use apple cider vinegar instead?
you can!
Thank you
Do you have a recipe using salt for the brine instead of vinegar?
Hi David, I don’t, this is my go-to recipe and they’re super delicious.
Can we make these whole, how long would it take ? . I also
Saw in other posts , if we eliminate the vinegar then they are half sour ? I am not Jewish but did grow up in NYC and
Hi Trish, depending on the size of your cucumbers, I’d say whole ones would be ready in about 3-5 days. They get more flavorful the longer they go, they’d probably taste best after about 1 week.
Kosher dills are usually made without vinegar. I looked for a recipe for a long time and finally discovered they are called half-sours. They take a little longer to pickle, but are the taste of my childhood.
thanks Debbie. We like this recipe because it’s fast and easy 🙂
Debbie, I also just recently learned this! I’m Jewish and always had half sours growing up and when we visited the Jewish delis in New York. So yummy!
I would hesitate to can these without vinegar. The vinegar is the only thing keeping the non acidic cucumbers from growing botulism… very dangerous! They would probably be fine in the fridge or in a pickle barrel, but not a sealed canning jar processed by water bath.
These are delicious, I made them and shared at work everyone loved them. I too am going to look to process some. But these are so easy. They stay nice and crisp. I did add a few hot peppers to one of the jars to add a nice kick
Hi Michael, I’m so glad everyone loved them!
Hey! These pickles look amazing! Is there a way to make these without the sugar or is there some other substitute that can be used in place of it?? Thanks!
Hi Becky, you could reduce it a little bit. I wouldn’t recommend skipping it because it helps balance the flavor.
Sounds good! Thanks for the speedy response!!