Easy Refrigerator Pickles (2 Ways!)
How to make quick refrigerator pickles to top burgers, sandwiches, salads, or snack on! This recipe makes pickles two ways and is easily customizable with whatever you like. Make pickle chips or spears!
Homemade Refrigerator Pickles!
They add color, texture, and so much flavor to just about anything!
I love making a big batch of these and keeping them around in the refrigerator when I want to spice up homemade burgers, chicken sandwiches, tuna salad, make fried pickles, or my homemade fried pickle dip!
I prefer pickle chips for burgers but when I’m looking for something to crunch on, it’s pickle spears all the way. So you’ll see me sharing a couple different versions.
Pickling cucumbers is a great way to use up fresh cucumbers if youve got them growing in the garden. I also love that the pickle brine is totally customizeable with you being in the driver seat to control the sweetness, spiciness, and add in ingredients like mustard seeds, garlic cloves, and peppercorns.
I’ve got two versions for you to try today! The first one is lightly salty-sweet-vinegary flavor, one that has just the tinest kick of heat and pickled onions in the mix. It tastes great on it’s own and even better on peanut butter and honey sandwiches!
The other homemade pickle recipe is traditional dill pickles.
Ingredients for homemade pickles
- Pickles: I’m using my favorite variety of Persian pickles for today’s recipe but the kind of pickles you use is entirely up to you! You can use any variety you like, but kirby cucumbers are said to be the best as they have a thicker skin that can stand up to the picklingliquid and maintain a good crunch! Make cucumber slices or spears, either will work for this reicpe.
- Distilled white vinegar: though you can use a variety of different vinegars when pickling (think rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar) I prefer good ol’ white vinegar.
- Sugar: We’ll use a hint of sugar in the dill picklerecipe and a bit more in the sweet and spicy picklerecipe.
- Kosher salt: What would a pickle recipe be without a source of sodium? We’ll add the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar to a saucepan and bring it to a simmer so that salt and sugar dissolve before we allow the pickles to soak in the brining liquid.
- Add-ins: These will vary based on the recipe you decide to make. You can also play around with these ingredients based on what kind of flavorings you typically like for your pickles. You’ll need ingredients like fresh dill (dried works too), celery seeds, whole black peppercorns, coriander seeds, garlic cloves, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, Thai red chilies, and sliced white onions.
Tips for success! Bought Thai red chilies and looking for other ways to use them? Make Thai Basil Fried Rice, Garlic Lovers Thai Basil Chicken, Sweet and Tangy Green Mango Salad, and Peri Peri Chicken.
How to make refrigerator pickles
- Let’s treat the pickles right. Start by deciding whether you want to make pickle chips or pickle spears. Give the pickles a good wash under cold running water. Then you’ll want to slice the pickles into 1/4-inch thick slices or make 2-4 spears depending on the thickness of the pickles.
- Bring the pickling liquid to a boil. Add the water, vinegar, sugar, salt and any of the additional add-ins you wish to use to a saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil until the sugar and salt dissolve. Once boiling, stir, then turn off the heat and allow the liquid to come to room temperature. Pouring hot liquid over the pickles will cause them to soften. I like to do this once the luqid is room temperature so that the pickles don’t cook.
- Grab a clean jar, let’s get pickling! Place any additional add-ins like bay leaves, garlic cloves, or fresh dill weed into a clean jar that has a tight fitting lid. Add the chips or spears to the container. Pour the cooled pickling liquid over the pickles, let the pickles sit for 5 minutes then place a lid on top.
- Store until ready to eat. Place the pickles in the fridge (they are not shelf stable) and let them refrigerate for atleast 48 hours before you enjoy them so that they have a chance to pickle.
Full ingredients list and directions are below.
FAQs about refrigerator pickles
You can store them for 3-4 months in the fridge (or even longer!)
Canned or commerically jarred pickles often contain preservatives and go through a canning process that makes them shelf stable. Refrigerator pickles are made without any added preservatives and must be kept refrigerated.
You can consume the pickles right away but they do taste best when they’ve had a minimum of 48 hours of refrigeration.
Yes absolutely! Like with any other type of refrigerated food, you want to be sure to place the jar back in the fridge promptly after using.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Quick Pickled Onions
- Pickle-Brined Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich (with pickled carrots + daikon)
- Crispy Vietnamese Chicken Bowls
- Sweet Heat Southern Deviled Eggs
Easy Refrigerator Pickles (2 Ways!)
How to make quick refrigerator pickles to top burgers, sandwiches, salads, or snack on! This recipe makes pickles two ways and is easily customizable with whatever you like. Make pickle chips or spears!
Ingredients
Sweet and Spicy:
- 6 Persian or Pickling cucumbers (trim the ends)
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cups distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1-3 thai red chilies
- 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup sliced white onions
OR:
Traditional Dill:
- 6 Persian or Pickling cucumbers (trim the ends)
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cups distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon dried dill (use a bunch if fresh)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- PICKLES: trim the ends of the pickles and slice them into ¼ inch rounds or cut each pickle into 2-4 spears depending on the thickness. I make pickle chips for the sweet and spicy ones and spears for the dills! Set the pickles aside for now.
- SWEET AND SPICY: If you’re making the sweet and spicy pickles, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, kosher salt, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, and red chilies in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. When the sugar and salt dissolve, remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- TRADITIONAL DILL: If you’re making traditional dill pickles, combine the water vinegar, sugar, kosher salt, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, and celery seeds in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. When the sugar and salt dissolve, remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- ADD INS: if you’re making the sweet and spicy pickles, add the cucumbers, garlic and white onions to the jar. If you’re making traditional pickles, and the cucumbers, garlic, bay leaf, dried dill, and red pepper flakes to a jar. Pour the prepared brining liquid over the pickles once it’s close to room temperature.
- STORE: Let sit for 5 minutes before covering. Cover and refrigerate. Pickles are ready to enjoy once cooled for 48 hours in the refrigerator. You can easily keep them in the fridge for 3-4 months – or even longer!
Thank you very much for the nice recipes.