Andrea Dekker

27 Comments

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

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I would consider Dave and myself fairly NON-picky eaters. Of course, we both have our favorite foods, but we will try almost anything… and we like almost everything we try.

That said, neither one of us will eat pickles — any type of pickles.

We don’t like the taste, we don’t like the smell, we just don’t like pickles.

Ironically, dill pickles were one of the very first foods Nora ever ate (at almost 2 years old)! She would eat strawberry yogurt, instant mashed potatoes, and pickles… that’s it!

So of course, I fed her pickles!

(In case you’re wondering how we ever figured out she liked pickles… it’s because my dad jokingly let her suck on a pickle at Culver’s. We were all beyond shocked when she actually kept it in her mouth and swallowed it!) 

Since then, all 3 of our older kids have been obsessed with dill pickles — they will eat them with almost any meal I allow, and Nora frequently requests them as “dessert”. Crazy girl!

A few years ago, once I realized how many pickles we went through every year, I decided to try pickling my own garden-grown cucumbers… and to my surprise, the process was SOOOOOOOOOO simple!

I’ve been making several jars of refrigerator dill pickles every year since, and the kids just love them (I haven’t let Clara try pickles yet… we’ll wait and see if she joins in on the pickling craze too!)

The one super nice thing about refrigerator pickles is that you don’t need any traditional canning equipment and you can make as big or as small of a batch as you’d like (you could literally just try one jar if you want).

Of course, the one down-side to making refrigerator pickles is that you’ll need extra space in your refrigerator to store them (they last 6-8 months). Thankfully, we have an extra full-size refrigerator in our outbuilding that we use for our pickles (among other things!)

I’d like to eventually try canning pickles, but for now, these refrigerator dill pickles are so quick and easy to make, and we can easily eat them all up within the 6-8 month time-frame.

If you’d like to try “canning” your own cucumbers, I doubt you’ll find an easier recipe to start with!

Recipe for Refrigerator Dill Pickles

{print recipe}

INGREDIENTS: 

**NOTE: I have no affiliation with Mrs. Wages; this is just the only brand our Meijer sells and it’s what I’ve always used with great success!

DIRECTIONS:

Mix up vinegar, water, and “spice” mixture via the directions on the back of the Mrs. Wages package and bring to a boil.

While vinegar mixture boils, thinly slice cucumbers and pack them into clean jars (I run mine through the dishwasher right before so they are still hot).

Ladle hot vinegar mixture into jars until cucumbers are covered.

Tightly screw lids onto jars.

Let cool at room temperature for several hours.

Refrigerate and eat within 6-8 months.

Yes, that’s it! 

The whole process takes maybe 20 minutes, and most of that time is spent slicing the cucumbers (I just use a knife).

This time of year, I make a double batch of refrigerator pickles every 3-5 days to keep up with all the cucumbers we have in our garden… I give some of the pickles away, and the kids enjoy the rest until they are gone (they never actually last the full 6-8 months in our fridge!)

I’d love to know… do you love pickles or hate them?

As always, visit my virtual recipe box for more simple, delicious, family friendly recipes!

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Comments

  2. Sally says

    Have you tried Mrs Wages Bread and Butter Pickles? Just wondering if they are good. We go through a lot of them here.

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      I’ve never tried it b/c our kids don’t like anything other than dill pickles. However, I get tons of compliments on the dill pickles so I have to believe the bread and butter would be great too!

      Reply

  3. Lauri says

    My husband and I both love dill pickles and when ordering food we always order extra pickles.

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      yes, we are ALWAYS requesting “extra pickles” on everything the kids order. They especially love the Subway pickles and we usually ask for a big container of pickles “on the side”. It’s a favorite treat!

      Reply

  4. Bonnie Grysen says

    I love dill and bread and butter pickles…so refreshing. !! Thanks for the recipe!!

    Reply

  5. Lee says

    My husband and I LOVE pickles, of almost any sort! And not just pickled cucumbers: carrots, green beans, cauliflower! Also cabbage, (raw and cooked), olives of all sorts, and pickled hard boiled eggs too!

    I am definitely going to find that mix and try it!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      WOW — I did not know you could pickle all of that! I might have to try pickled cauliflower — I could eat raw cauliflower all day long I love it so much!

      Reply

  7. Trudy says

    My family loves pickles and if I have cucumbers, I like to make this recipe for dills….it’s from a blog called Annie-Eats and it’s worked really well for us.

    Refrigerator Dill Pickles

    1 bunch fresh dill
    4 cloves garlic, peeled
    3-4 medium large cucumbers
    3 cups water
    6 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
    3 tbsp. kosher salt

    Yields 3 or 4 16oz. jars of pickles

    Add 1 minced clove of garlic and a few sprigs of dill to the bottom of each jar. Don’t stress over exact amounts, it will be fine)

    Cut the cucumbers into spears. Add the spears to the jars, packing in as much as you can without forcing.

    In a large measuring cup, combine water, vinegar and salt. Stir till salt is dissolved. Pour the mixture into each jar until the cucumbers are completely covered. Top with additional dill if you wish.

    Screw on the lids. If you run out of brine, make more, it’s quick.

    Refrigerate for two days before eating….then keep in refrigerator and enjoy

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      Thanks for the recipe. I might try growing Dill next year too — that would be a fun project to can with my own cucumbers AND my own dill!

      Reply

  8. Heather G. says

    Hey Andrea,

    Does it matter what kind of cucumbers you use – pickling v. regular slicing? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      I have a feeling it would work with any type of cucumber — but since my intentions are to pickle them, I always use pickling cucumbers.

      Reply

  9. BB says

    Wow, I’d never have figured that pickles could be made so fast – but when are they ‘really ready’ to eat and taste like they should? About all the dills we eat at our house are the really crunchy dills that Claussen makes – great for pickle roll-ups appetizers/snacks – get the Dak-type rectangular sandwich ham slices, and blocks of cream cheese (whatever kind you prefer). Let cream cheese soften, then dry of slices of ‘Dak’ ham, spread the cream cheese on the ham, put a whole Claussen dill pickle on one long end and roll up. Make a bunch of these and put in fridge to meld flavors. When take out to eat, cut the ‘roll’ into slices and put out some Ritz crackers to eat them on (if you pre-prepare them together, the Ritz will get soggy-ish!). We’re not big pickle eaters either, but love dills this way!
    By the way, I do like bread & butter pickles, so does Mrs Wages make a ‘mix’ for that too?
    Thanks Andrea!

    Reply

  10. kimi says

    I think what Ruth was trying to say is that even though Nora liked the taste it also perhaps settled her tummy in the process….a lucky coincidence? who knows…..

    Reply

  11. Lorrie says

    At our house, my husband and I love pickles of all kinds (including beets & okra) but our boys wouldn’t touch them for years. Our very favorite ones are “Foods of the Smokies” brand bread & butter pickles, “hot and sweet with garlic.” We buy them at the Mountain Farm Museum right outside Cherokee, NC whenever we travel thru.

    My diabetic friend says her morning glucose level is always lower when she eats pickles after supper the night before.

    Reply

  12. PW says

    When I had a huge garden I made pickles/sauerkraut in crocks from an old family farm recipe. Super simple, no work and fermented food is excellent for you. We now buy expensive pickles, and hubby likes the ones with hot spices. When jar empty I save the liquid/spices, boil on stove, run bottles thru dishwasher, put cut cucumbers and heated liquid in jars with spices, close refrigerate, u can do that 1 time and u loose no flavor, 2nd batch freebie. Little work.

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      thanks for sharing this!! And yes, you CAN reuse the brining liquid again. I was going to put that in the post, but figured it might be somewhat controversial and I didn’t want to mess with negative commenters! That said, I’m glad you DID mention it 🙂

      Reply

  13. Ruth says

    Those look really good and DO look so simple! We’re not huge pickle eaters, but I do love them with burgers and sandwiches. And since you say these last in the fridge, I’m going to try to make them.

    That is so interesting about your daughter eating pickles when she ate nothing else.
    No one ever knows these things for certain, but I wonder if she had a imbalanced gut system and eating the pickles made her stomach feel better…
    Most cultures eat fermented/pickled foods daily. I’m Korean, make my own kimchi and eat it with everything. The kimchi just settles my stomach down, especially after eating heavy foods. I think the good bacteria in the food helps the digestion along.

    have a great day!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      I know what you’re saying about gut health, but the fact that she was even willing to put a pickle in her mouth without spitting it out and crying is the amazing thing. She wouldn’t even put food in her mouth — so I doubt she was smart enough at 2 years old to know that fermented foods could help her digestion 🙂

      Reply

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