5-Minute Homemade Refrigerator Pickles

These 5-minute refrigerator pickles will be a hit with your family and friends and they will last for a few months in your refrigerator if they aren’t gobbled up immediately. Got five minutes? Let’s make some dill pickles together, shall we?

What’s So Special About Homemade Refrigerator Pickles?

It’s full-on summer here in Northwest Ohio, which means grills are being used on repeat and kitchen ovens and stovetops get a little more rest. It would not feel like summer without weekend cookouts and barbeques. 

And dill pickles go hand in hand with grilling. Dill pickles are high on the list of food “better homemade” in my opinion. Perhaps it’s the fluorescent green of pickles you buy in a jar at the store that turns me off. Or maybe it’s the chemical additives. The truth is, although conventional canning is an option for pickles, you don’t have to slave away for hours to enjoy them homemade. These are crunchy, full of flavor, and they look beautiful in a jar. I made them last year and we ate them all summer long. I use them and their juice in my recipe for Sourdough Turkey Cheeseburger Impossible Pie.

Yes, I realize pickles aren’t exactly expensive and it’s way easier to just toss a jar in your cart at the grocery store. But you know easier doesn’t always mean better, right? Plus, as I mentioned, it really only takes a few minutes to make them, and most of the ingredients you likely have on hand. 

What You Need to Make Refrigerator Pickles

• 3-4 pickling cucumbers or 1-2 thin, long cucumber (about 2 pounds), sliced into rounds or spears, ends removed and discarded
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped or smashed
• 3 fresh dill heads or 1 tablespoon of dried dill seeds
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt or kosher salt in a pinch
• 1/2 teaspoon of black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup white vinegar
• A clean, empty glass jar with a lid

Directions for Making Refrigerator Pickles

1. In a clean 1-quart mason jar or another jar with a lid, combine the garlic, dill, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, and vinegar.
2. Add the cucumbers on top, packing them in lightly so you don’t crush them. 
3. Pour cool water over the top to cover the cucumbers and fill the rest of the jar.
4. Put the cap on and give the jar a good shake.
5. Store in the refrigerator for a few hours or up to 3 months.

Watch Me Make the Pickles

A Few Notes: 

• Pickling cucumbers are not always easily found. They are smaller than conventional cucumbers. If you’re not growing them in your garden and if you can’t find them at your local grocery store, you can use a regular cucumber. Just look for one that’s fully green and smaller in size. Larger cucumbers mean pickles that are soggier and not as crisp.
• If you have the option to use fresh dill, go for it. The flavor is better than dried seeds.
• You don’t need to buy a mason jar. Any jar with a lid that’s similar in size, like a spaghetti sauce jar or empty pickle jar from the store, can be used. The only caveat is to wash the jar and lid well before making the recipe.
• The longer the pickles sit in the refrigerator, the more intense the pickle flavor gets due to the garlic. You can eat them in just a few hours. However, I think they taste best if you make them mid-week and then enjoy them over the weekend and later.