Description
This easy homemade dill pickles recipe uses fresh cucumbers, garlic, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and dill sprigs soaked in a simple brine of vinegar, water, cane sugar, and sea salt. Perfectly tangy and crisp, these pickles can be made as spears or chips and are ready to enjoy in just a day, with flavor improving over time. A quick refrigerator pickle method that yields deliciously refreshing pickles with minimal prep.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Pickles
- 12 to 14 Persian cucumbers or 8 to 10 pickling cucumbers
- 4 garlic cloves, halved
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons peppercorns
- Fresh dill sprigs, a few per jar
Brine
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare the Cucumbers: Slice the cucumbers lengthwise into quarters for spears or thinly slice horizontally for chips, depending on your preference for pickle shape and size.
- Fill the Jars: Divide the cucumbers evenly among 4 (8-ounce) or 2 (16-ounce) jars. Add halved garlic cloves, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and a few fresh dill sprigs to each jar for flavor.
- Make the Brine: In a medium saucepan, combine water, distilled white vinegar, cane sugar, and sea salt. Heat over medium heat while stirring until the sugar and salt fully dissolve, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
- Pour the Brine: Carefully pour the slightly cooled brine over the cucumbers and spices in each jar, ensuring cucumbers are fully submerged.
- Cool and Refrigerate: Let the jars cool to room temperature before sealing with lids. Store the jars in the refrigerator to pickle.
- Pickling Time: Dill pickle spears will be lightly pickled and ready to eat after 2 days, with best flavor developing around days 5 to 6. Chips pickle faster, becoming lightly pickled in 1 day and more flavorful with each day after. Keep refrigerated and consume within several weeks for optimal freshness.
Notes
- Use fresh cucumbers for crisp and crunchy pickles.
- If you prefer spicier pickles, add a pinch of red pepper flakes or a few slices of jalapeño.
- Make sure cucumbers are fully submerged in brine to avoid spoilage.
- Store pickles in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 weeks.
- The sugar balance can be adjusted according to taste preference.
- The pickling jars should be sterilized before use for best food safety.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pickle spear or equivalent
- Calories: 10 kcal
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 300 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
