Simple Refrigerator Pickles

These addicting refrigerator pickles are the perfect snack. They’re also a great addition to sandwiches, burgers, and snack boards!

Refrigerator Pickles: An Absolute Must-Have.

Your sandwiches, burgers, and cracker and cheese plates need these refrigerator pickles, friends. They’re crunchy, flavor-packed, and they take a measly 30 minutes or so to pull together.

The best part? You can control the flavor and add a bit of heat if you’d like. I’m obsessed.

I always have them in my fridge, and I’m thinking maybe you should too ;)

Here Are the Ingredients I Like to Use.

• Mini cucumbers. I prefer using mini cucumbers because they’re ideal for snacking whether you cut them into chips or spears. However, if you prefer to use a large English cucumber, go for it.
• Pickling spices. I absolutely love the essence of pickling spices. There is something so warming and tasty about the flavor. If you’ve never used them before, give them a shot! You can always use them in one jar and omit them in another to see where your preference lies. 
• Chili peppers. I like adding a few slices of some variation of hot pepper (jalapeño, thai chili, habanero, cubanelle, etc.) for a tiny kick, but this is totally optional.
• Garlic. Garlic is an essential ingredient in most things. 
• Dill. I always like adding fresh dill to the jar for an extra punch of dill, but you can skip it.
• Apple cider vinegar. This is my go to vinegar, but you could also use distilled white vinegar.
• Maple syrup. A little sweetness really balances things out. You could also use brown sugar or honey.
• Salt. Sea salt or kosher salt do the trick.

How to Make Refrigerator Pickles.

1. Pour the vinegar and water into a medium-sized saucepan. Stir in the maple syrup and the salt, and heat until the salt dissolves, stirring occasionally. Once dissolved, remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside.
2. Cut your cucumbers however you prefer. I often do a batch of spears and the rest as chips. You can cut the chips freehand using a sharp knife or, if you prefer very thin and uniform slices, use a mandolin.
3. Pop the pickling spices, smashed garlic clove, fresh dill, and hot pepper slices into a jar, then fill the jar with pickles. Fit as many in as you can.
4. Place a funnel snuggly into the jar and carefully pour the brine into the jar—enough to cover all of the pickles.
5. Repeat until you’ve finished, and set the jars aside to cool to room temperature.
6. Once the jars have cooled, pop them into the fridge. They’ll be good for about three weeks!

Useful Tools for This Recipe:

• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Mandolin
• Pickling jars
• Saucepan
• Funnel
• Measuring cups and spoons

Recipe Tips + Tricks.

1. Smash the garlic clove with the flat side of your knife before popping it into the jar. Smashing clove releases some of the sulfur which makes the garlic flavor a little stronger. If you want a strong garlic flavor, feel free to add a few smashed cloves into your jars.
2. Adding a few slices of hot pepper can add a bit of a kick to your pickles. If you want to add more heat, you can add up to an entire pepper to your jar. Just slice it up and add it to the jar, seeds included.
3. You can go above and beyond pickles! Radishes, carrots, onions, and green beans are also great for quick pickling. Check out my post on quick pickled vegetables for more information.

Have You Made This Recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR rating & commenting below with feedback!

You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme

Ways to Use Your Refrigerator Pickles:

• Crispy Fish Po’Boy
• Tuna Veggie Wraps with Hummus
• Turkey Burgers
• Salmon Burgers
• Chicken Burgers
• Charcuterie Board

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Simple Refrigerator Pickles

These addicting refrigerator pickles are the perfect snack. They're also an awesome addition to sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and charcuterie boards!

5 from 11 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Author: Dana Sandonato

Equipment

• Glass jars You can use a 1L jar, or several smaller jars that amount to a 1L jar. I had a few different sized jars kicking around so I used them, as seen in the photos.

Ingredients

• 6 mini cucumbers
• 1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 cups water
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 4 tsp sea salt
• 1 TBSP pickling spices More if you'd like the flavor to be more potent.
• Garlic cloves, smashed an peeled You want at least one garlic clove for each jar
• .5 oz Fresh dill sprigs You can find 0.5 oz packages of herbs in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. If they don't have any, just get one bunch of fresh dill from produce and use up to 6 sprigs, more if you'd like.
• 1 hot pepper, thinly sliced

Instructions

• Transfer the vinegar and water into a medium-sized saucepan. Stir in the maple syrup and the salt. Heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until the salt dissolves.
• When the salt has fully dissolved, remove the saucepan from the heat; set aside.
• Slice your cucumbers to your preferred shape. I usually do a batch of spears and the rest as chips. You can cut the chips freehand using a sharp knife or, if you prefer very thin and uniform slices, use a mandolin.
• Place the pickling spices, garlic cloves, fresh dill, and hot pepper slices into jars, then fill the jars with the cut pickles. Fit as many in as you can into the jars.
• Place a funnel into the jar, somewhat snug between the cucumbers. Slowly and carefully pour the brine into the jar just enough to cover the pickles.
• Repeat this process until you've got all of your jars filled and set them aside; cool to room temperature.
• When the jars are at room temp, place them into the refrigerator. They will keep for a few weeks.