This Zesty Refrigerator Dill Pickles recipe take only 20 minutes to prepare! They are everything a good pickle should be, sour, crunchy, and the perfect complement to burgers and sandwiches. Refrigerator dill pickles also make a wonderful snack!
This easy 3-step Refrigerator Dill Pickles recipe yields enough dill pickles to pack one 32-ounce jar. You can begin enjoying the pickles in as little as a few days. However, if you can wait a week or more, they'll develop even more flavor!
Try these zesty pickles in a dill pickle chopped salad, it's so refreshing and light! Use them to make this yummy dill pickle pizza, or add to Chicago style hot dogs.
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This easy refrigerator dill pickles recipe requires no cooking skills whatsoever! Yay!
- Since the dill pickles will be refrigerated, you will not need any canning equipment either. It's a small-batch dill pickle recipe that makes enough for a 32-ounce jar. Unless you decide to make a bigger batch, which you will then need to can before storing it in the pantry.
- I'm keeping this Refrigerator Dill Pickle recipe pretty basic, which means you won't need hard-to-find ingredients, not even pickling spices!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredient & Substitutions
- Cucumbers — Pickling cucumbers are ideal, Persian cucumbers or Armenian cucumbers are also great options. However, you can use whatever cucumbers you happen to have.
- Vinegar — Distilled white vinegar which has 5% acidity is the best choice. This is enough acidity to preserve the cucumbers. Although cider vinegar can also be used, it can discolor the cucumbers.
- Dill — Fresh dill is needed for this recipe. Dill weed is not an ideal replacement. Fresh dill will impart much more flavor.
- Habanero Pepper — Adding spice to the pickles is totally optional. We love spicy food, so I always add one or two hot peppers. For a classic dill pickle, you can leave out the hot peppers.
*A full list of ingredients can be found at the bottom of this post.
🥒 How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Wash the cucumbers and slice them in half. Pack in a sterilized 32-ounce jar.
Step 2: Add garlic, dill, and hot peppers (if using) by fitting them in the spaces between the cucumbers.
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Step 3: Next, add vinegar, water, salt, and sugar to a small saucepan. For extra dill flavor, add some dill too. Bring to a boil, while you whisk the liquid until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Cool slightly, then pour the pickling solution over the jar ingredients until they're fully submerged and seal the jar.
Step 4: Refrigerate the pickles for at least 3 days before opening the jar. Yes, you can enjoy these refrigerated dill pickles as early as the next day, but they will get better as they sit. Good things come to those who wait... but, hey, it's totally up to you. 😉
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Refrigerated dill pickles can keep in the refrigerator for anywhere from 4 to 6 months as long as there is no cross-contamination between the pickle jar and other foods.
Pickling cucumbers are great for pickling. They are crunchy, the perfect size, and don't have obnoxiously large seeds.
However, if you can't find pickling cucumbers, Persian cucumbers would be an excellent choice to use in this refrigerated dill pickle recipe.
Although you can keep cucumbers whole when you're pickling them, the flavor of the pickling solution is absorbed into the cucumbers quicker when they are sliced in half, quarters, or rings. If you don't mind waiting a little longer, you can keep them whole.
Dill is not always easy to find in grocery stores so you may be tempted to use dill weed instead. I strongly recommend using fresh dill if at all possible because the wonderful flavor of fresh dill can not be duplicated with dried dill weed. 
There are many dill pickle recipes that call for pickling spices, mustard seeds, peppercorn, and the like. Yes, you can add any or all of the above. In this particular recipe, I decided to keep it simple and not add any spices that would compete with the dill flavor.
Although you can use apple cider vinegar to make dill pickles, distilled white vinegar is the best option. Not only will it impart a cleaner taste, but it won't discolor the pickles either.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Just because these are refrigerator dill pickles, doesn't mean you don't have to sterilize the jar. This is especially true if you want them to last a few months or longer.
- Laying the jar on its side as you add the cucumbers will keep the cucumbers from tipping over as you work.
- Besides using fresh dill, I recommend using fresh garlic as well. Whatever you do, don't use the pre-peeled stuff you find in jars. Yes, it's convenient, but it sure doesn't taste like fresh garlic.
- If you decide to add pickling spices, add anywhere from 1 to 2 teaspoons. If you don't have pickling spices on hand, you can make some of my homemade corned beef spices which contain a lot of the same ingredients!
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📖 Recipe
Zesty Refrigerated Dill Pickles
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb. pickling cucumbers (8-10 depending on size)
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
- ½ cup fresh dill
- 1 habanero pepper (optional)
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1½ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers and slice them in half. Pack in a sterilized 32-ounce mason jar.
- Add garlic, dill, and hot peppers (if using) by fitting them in the spaces between the cucumbers.
- Next, add vinegar, water, salt, and sugar to a small saucepan. For extra dill flavor, add some dill too. Bring to a boil, while you whisk the liquid until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Cool slightly, then pour the pickling solution over the jar ingredients until they're fully submerged and seal the jar.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 days before opening the jar. Yes, you can enjoy the pickles as early as the next day, but they will get better as they sit. Good things come to those who wait... but, hey, it's totally up to you.
Notes
- Although you will store the dill pickles in the refrigerator, you still need to sterilize the jar prior to filling it with the cucumbers. Especially if you want them to last a few months or longer.
- Laying the jar on its side as you add the cucumbers will keep the cucumbers from tipping over as you work.
- Besides using fresh dill, I recommend using fresh garlic as well. Whatever you do, don't use the pre-peeled stuff you find in jars. Yes, it's convenient, but it sure doesn't taste like fresh garlic.
- If you decide to add pickling spices, add anywhere from 1 to 2 teaspoons. If you don't have pickling spices on hand, you can make some of my homemade corned beef spices which contain a lot of the same ingredients!
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