This post contains affiliate links for your convenience which means if you purchase something I recommend I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
When we decided to make pickles I thought it would be a big production involving canning and all of that. Turns out you can also make small batch refrigerator pickles and they are SO easy! I’m talking you can have them prepped in a matter of minutes. I made 8 jars in 30 mins the last time and then they only take a few days to be ready to eat! I told you guys…. easy peasy!
Below are 3 of the recipes we’ve used that I recommend! The fun thing about making pickles too is you can experiment and get a little creative on the spice side of things. Pickling cucumbers are preferred for these but honestly I’ve used just normal cucumbers too (because that’s what we grew in the garden this year) and they turned out great!
Sweet Pickles
This recipe fills about 3 pints jars of pickles
Couple of pounds of cucumbers
Yellow onion
3 cups of sugar
1/4 cup Kosher salt
2 cups white vinegar
2 teaspoons mustard seed
Make them sweet and spicy (my favorite)
Add 1/4- 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes to each jar (depending on how much spice you want)
Directions:
Wash jars and rinse cucumbers and onion. If they’re homegrown cucumbers be sure to rub off the spikes too.
Roughly chop onion and cut cucumbers how you’d like them — you can keep them whole if they’re pickling cucumbers or try quartering them or slicing for bread and butter pickles (my go-to)
Mix spices and vinegar mixture into bowl and stir well
Fill jars with cucumbers and a couple tablespoons of onion then top with pickling mixture
Put lids on jars and shake each a couple of times.
Put in refrigerator and shake each day for 2-3 days and then enjoy!
The pickles will be good in the fridge for about a month and I do want to note if you make spicy pickles they will get spicier the longer they’re in there so just keep that in mind.
Dill pickles
This recipe fills about 3 pints jars of pickles
Couple of pounds of cucumbers
1.5 cups white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
1/8 cup of Kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
3 sprigs of fresh dill
6 garlic cloves
3 teaspoons dill seed
1.5 teaspoons black peppercorns
Make them spicy
Add 1/4- 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes to each jar (depending on how much spice you want)
As an alternative, you can also add sliced jalapenos or serrano peppers to the jars
Directions:
Wash jars and rinse cucumbers. If they’re homegrown cucumbers be sure to rub off the spikes too.
Cut cucumbers how you’d like them — you can keep them whole if they’re pickling cucumbers or try quartering them or slicing for bread and butter pickles (my go-to)
Mix vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a bowl until dissolved
Add a sprig of fresh dill, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns and chili flakes (optional) to each jar. If you don’t have fresh dill you can double up on dill seed or if you’re in a pinch you can use dried dill it just makes the mix a little messier.
Fill jars with cucumbers and then top with pickling mixture
Put lids on jars and shake each a couple of times.
Put in refrigerator and shake each day for 2-3 days and then enjoy!
