If you want to make delicious, crunchy pickles without the hassle of canning, here is a recipe for you! Slice some pickling cucumbers, make a brine, mix them together, and throw it in the fridge for two weeks and you will have the perfect pairing for your burger or a tasty summer snack.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
My neighbor and good friend, John, shared this pickle recipe with me several years ago. I have lived next door to him for 32 years and he has been an invaluable source of gardening, cooking, food preservation, and general life advice.
His pickle recipe can’t be beat! The pickles are crunchy, flavorful, and have just the right amount of heat. They make the perfect addition to your burger or sandwich. They also make a great snack, I bet you can’t have just one!
What’s even better is how easy they are to make. Unlike canning, when you make refrigerator dills, you don’t have to mess with sterilizing jars or water baths. All you have to do is add cucumbers and homemade brine to a jar and place it in the fridge. That’s it! Waiting two weeks to eat them is the hardest part of the process!
Give it a try! I think these will be your new favorite pickles.
Materials Needed for Making Easy Refrigerator Dills
- 1-gallon glass jar with lid
- Cutting board
- Kitchen knife
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Whisk
- Large mixing bowl
- Refrigerator
We make a batch of pickles in a 1-gallon glass jar with a screw-on lid because it keeps the pickles fresh for months and the large opening is easy to get into. You can make a smaller batch in a smaller jar, reuse your empty store-bought pickle jars if you have them!
You will need a cutting board and kitchen knife for slicing the cucumbers and measuring cups and spoons for your other ingredients.
Make sure you have room in your fridge for the pickle jar. Since these are not canned, they will need to stay in the fridge until they are gone.
Ingredients for Making Easy Refrigerator Dills
- 18-24 pickling cucumbers
- 4 dill heads
- 10 grape leaves
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 6 cups water
- 1/4 cup pickling salt
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon garlic
Part of what makes these pickles so good is that we make ours with fresh ingredients. The cucumbers and dill come straight from the garden, and we forage wild grape leaves from the forest edge.
For information on identifying and foraging wild grape, click here to read an article by Meateater.com.
No worries though if you have to forego the grape leaves or purchase ingredients, I have made these out of season with store-bought materials and they still tasted great!
The number of cucumbers you need really depends on their size. We like to harvest ours before they get too big. Once they are overgrown, they aren’t as crisp or flavorful and they tend to be very seedy.
If you don’t have fresh dill heads, you can use dried dill weed instead. I use 1 tablespoon of dried dill in place of the 4 dill heads when I need to.
The purpose of adding grape leaves to your jar is that they release tannins, which help give the pickles their amazing crunch! You can use bay leaves as a substitute for grape leaves. I recommend using 10 to make this recipe, if you go that route. In addition to releasing tannins, bay leaves will add some of their own unique flavor to the pickles.
We use cool tap water to make our pickles. You can use fresh garlic, minced garlic, or garlic powder in this recipe.
Make it your own by adding other spices! If you want hotter pickles, add some cayenne or black pepper. Paprika, turmeric, mustard seed, and onion powder can add some extra savory flavor.
We have thrown onions, jalapeno peppers, and banana peppers into the brine with the pickles too!
Directions for Making Easy Refrigerator Dills
- 1. Wash your pickling cucumbers.
- 2. Trim the blossom end off so that your pickles stay crunchy and slice them into spears or round “pickle chips” with a kitchen knife and cutting board.
- 3. Place the sliced cucumbers into an empty 1-gallon glass jar.
- 4. Add 4 dill heads to the jar of cucumbers.
- 5. Line the jar with grape leaves.
- 6. Make the brine by combining vinegar, water, pickling salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic in a bowl with a whisk.
- 7. Pour the brine into the jar, over the cucumbers. Make sure all cucumbers are completely submerged in the brine. Add more water if necessary.
- 8. Put the lid on the jar and refrigerate for 2 weeks.
- 9. Enjoy your pickles within 6 months. Keep refrigerated!
Mother, farmer, author, and teacher by trade… She loves tending to things and watching them grow!