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.
This recipe tasted Exactly what I was after.
I made these and they are absolutely delicious.
How long do they last? It says they should be ready after a day but after opening them to eat, how long until they go bad?
Hi! This looks so yummy and easy! Are these fermented?
Hi Shannon, These are quick pickles, so they’re not fermented.
I need to drink pickle juice for my foot/leg cramps and the recipes I’ve tried so far are just too salty and intense to drink. I try really hard to stay away from all sugars, so I haven’t put any in my pickle juice, but is that why I haven’t been able to reproduce the juice that is made commercially and available in the pickle jars from the store (I can drink that okay)? Is there any other ingredient I could use instead of sugar to counter the salt and the intensity of the vinegar? I have to make some more right now, and I’m dreading what I’ll end up with. Going to use much less kosher salt this time, and less pickling spices, more dill weed and hope for the best. Would coconut sugar or date sugar be okay to use? What about xylitol or stevia? Thanks for whatever you can suggest.
Hi Phyllis, coconut or date sugar should be fine – once dissolved the liquid will turn brown which will look a little weird but the taste should be fine. I’m not sure about xylitol or stevia but I think they should work fine – use less of those because the sweetness is more concentrated.
Thanks so much for Your response, Jeanine! I really appreciate it.
I made the pickle juice the other night and used regular sugar, but only about 1/4 tsp, and boyo, did that make a difference, even just that little bit. So far, it seems okay, doesn’t bother my belly as sugar usually does, probably because it was such a small amount. But it made the taste much more tolerable. I’ve also been mixing it with regular pickle juice. I also put 1/4 tsp of tumeric in. Next batch, I may try either the coconut or date sugar just to see the difference. I don’t have any issues about how it looks, it’s the taste that’s important here, and how it works for my cramps, and how it settles in my stomach. Thanks again!
Can you make whole pickles with this recipe or only spears /chips?
Thanks
Hi James, you could use this recipe to make whole pickles. They’ll just take longer to take on flavor from the brine. I’d recommend pricking the cucumbers in a few places with a fork or knife tip to help the brine penetrate the skin. Hope you enjoy!
A few follow-up questions:
1. In a response below, Jeanine wrote that they Get soft in the brine if the brine is warm. But the instructions say to pour warm brine over the cucumbers and then let them sit till they hit room temp then put in fridge. Just confirming that we are supposed to pour warm brine on cukes, not room temp brine.
2. Assuming weed to pour warm brine over cukes, should we immediately seal the jar and then let it get to room temp, then in fridge? Or keep jar open till reaches room temp, then seal, then put in fridge?
Thanks!
Ended up going ahead and maing these.
– poured warm brine over pickles.
– left the jars open till they cooled to room temp, then sealed and put in fridge.
Made one jar of pickle slices, one of whole pickles.
Pickle slices are OUTSTANDING. Crunchy, perfect flavor. My wife, who is a pickle-phile, was blown away.
Haven’t tried the whole pickles yet, as they need more time in the brine.
But wow are those pickle slices gooooood!
Hi James, Awesome! I’m so glad you loved the pickles!
Easy to follow instructions. I made this in big Ball mason jars to give as Christmas presents. Very practical and tasty. Thank you.
Easy to follow recipe and turned out really yummy! Thank you for sharing
I’m so glad you loved them!
I made these and loved them. I have made them several times now and plan on making them many times in the future.
I’m so glad you loved them!
I made these pickles but they became limpy after a few days.. What happened?
Hi Patty, they should get softer as they sit in the brine. Did you let the brine cool all the way to room temp? If the brine was warm, it could soften the cucumbers.