Refrigerator Pickles Recipe

Refrigerator pickling sounds complicated but is very simple. For the whole process, you’ll need to cut cucumber, make a simple brine, wait three days and pour the cucumbers. Seriously that’s the process as a whole!

No experience necessary, and no canning equipment or boiling water baths needed! On day two, my husband discovered the jar and I had to stash it all the way in the back of the fridge behind some leftovers so there would be pickles on day three.

You get a sweet style pickle with a golden brine that tastes like Grandma’s pickles (and probably is). These will last in the fridge for 3 months and one batch fills a full gallon jar.

Why Three Days Makes All the Difference

First of all, this is not a quick recipe for pickling. I will say it again, the three-day wait is not negotiable. It is the whole point of this recipe. That is why these taste like pickles and not just like vinegary cucumbers.

Initially, the outside of each slice absorbs some brine while the center just tastes like a cucumber. However, by the third day, the brine has soaked through each slice and the flavor is consistent from edge to edge.

You can’t make this pickle recipe now, but store-bought pickles can’t compare to what you’ll have to wait 3 days for!

What Goes Into Refrigerator Pickles

Each ingredient plays an important role in this recipe. You cannot just change certain ingredients and assume you will get the same result.

Cucumbers — 8 cups sliced

You need 4-5 medium-sized cucumbers that are sliced into rounds that are about ¼ of an inch thick. If you want the cucumber slices to be as crunchy as possible, use Kirby cucumbers. Kirby cucumbers are also known as pickling cucumbers. This variety has firmer flesh and thinner skins than other cucumbers. Standard slicing cucumbers are acceptable, as well.

Start with firm, fresh cucumbers. Get cucumbers without give when squeezed. There will be some give when squeezed, so the pickles will be soft. The brine will just preserve the beginning texture of the cucumbers, so it will not fix limp cucumbers.

Onions — 4 to 5 small, sliced

Brining onions mellows their sharpness and makes them taste sweeter. While you can use any onion for brining, including white and yellow , red onions are more pungent and will turn the brine a nice pink color. Some people really like this!

Non-iodized salt — ⅓ cup

This is the one ingredient where the type really does impact the overall result. Iodized table salt can affect flavor and cloud your brine. Pickling salt dissolves more clearly. Kosher salt is fine too—just use a little less since the grains are larger.

Standard iodized table salt is not what you want to use here. It works in theory, but you will notice the difference.

Sugar — 3½ cups

Yes, this is a sweet pickle, and that is the whole point of the bread and butter style. Try not to cut the sugar too much, as the vinegar will be too sharp without enough balance. If you are looking for a dill pickle, that is a completely different recipe.

Vinegar — 3 cups

If you are looking for a clean taste, then plain white distilled vinegar is the way to go. However, if you would prefer something with a mellower taste, try using apple cider vinegar. Just remember that apple cider vinegar will give the brine a dark golden color and the flavor will have a hint of fruitiness.

Turmeric — 1 teaspoon

The brine gets its signature golden yellow hue. While you will not taste it in any discernible way, bread-and-butter pickles without turmeric look unappealing and wrong. It is one of those cases where an ingredient is doing more visually than it is doing on your tongue.

Celery seed — 1 teaspoon

Even though they’re small, celery seeds are a must. They give an aroma and a slight bitterness that makes them taste like true bread-and-butter pickles and not just sweet cukes. Don’t leave it out.

Mustard seed — 1 teaspoon

A bit of spice and a hint of crunch, these will stay stuck to your pickles as you fish them out of the brine. They create that classic refrigerator pickles appearance and provide a touch of warmth to the back of your mouth.

How to Make Refrigerator Pickles

This requires a lot of refrigeration time. There are only about 15 minutes of preparation time.

Step 1: Prep the cucumbers and onions

Make sure you clean your cucumbers well to get rid of any dirt. Then, cut the cucumbers into circular pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Peeling the cucumbers is not necessary because the skin of the cucumber provides texture and helps the slices keep their shape.

Making sure all your slices are the same thickness is helpful. If they are different, some slices will be way too soft while others will be too firm by day three. A good way to ensure this is by using a mandoline. A sharp knife can also work, but will take more time to achieve the same result.

Slice the onions and put them in the gallon container with the cucumbers. Toss gently to mix in the onions.

Step 2: Mix the brine

In another bowl or large measuring cup, combine salt, sugar, vinegar, turmeric, celery seed, and mustard seed. For a minute or two, stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Turmeric will cause the brine to become a golden yellow color. The aroma should have a sweet, yet pungent scent. If the sugar is still visible, keep stirring. Grainy pickle texture is not desired.

Step 3: Pour the brine over the cucumbers

Gently stir so the brine surrounds all of the slices. Don’t worry if all the cucumbers are not submerged right now.

The cucumbers will settle while they sit. Put the lid on the container and place it in the fridge.

Step 4: Wait three days (and stir once a day)

Every day, give the jar a quick stir or shake. This helps the brines move so all pickles get exposure equally. You’ll definitely be tempted to try one by day two.

On day three, they are ready, and they all taste like pickles, not only on the outside but all the way through.

Things Worth Knowing Before Day Three

I want to share some experiences so that you don’t have to go through them yourself.

Select a jar that has a secure lid. If the container isn’t sealed well, the pickles will absorb smells from the fridge. A mason jar is ideal. Please do not use old takeout containers, as they posess a loose lid.

Place a date on the jar to avoid confusion. Three months is a long time and come October, it is easy to forget when you made these. It will take you about five seconds to put a piece of masking tape with the date.

You really should stir your pickles daily. It’s not like you have to be *obsessive*, but pickles on the top can become under-brined while those on the bottom can become over-brined. So go and stir the jar!

Always sample the food before doing anything else. On day three, take a pickle out and taste it. If you think it needs anything else, then you are mistaken. This is a sweet pickle, so if you think it will have a dill flavor, you will be disappointed. Your recipe is well balanced as is.

For a cookout, it could be nice to let some pickles warm up before serving. Chilling pickles can be nice, but if you let them sit out before serving, the chill won\u2019t be as intense and the flavor comes through more.

Four Ways to Change It Up Once You Have the Base Recipe Down

As I’ve now made the recipe a few times, I’ve learned how to easily adjust some of the steps. Here, I will go through the adjustments I’ve made that are real changes I’ve tried, and not just hypothetical substitutions.

Add garlic

In my experience, preparing pickles with three to four cloves of smashed garlic takes your pickle game to the next level. The garlic notes in the pickle juice to not overshadow the pickles but rather provide a compliment that gives the pickles a savory flavor. This is the other variation I make the most, aside from the plain version.

Add red pepper flakes

Use a teaspoon of red pepper flakes as a heat surprise. The heat will build even more the longer the pickles sit, so start with a small amount. Use a small amount because you can always add more in the next batch. If you were expecting sweet pickles, a jar of spicy pickles will disappoint you.

Swap to apple cider vinegar

Brining with apple cider vinegar (ACV) instead of plain white vinegar will produce a more mellow and slightly fruity flavor. Although it is a genuine difference and some people do like it better. The ACV brine will also be a darker golden color and because it has more flavor complexities. You should at least try it once.

Add other vegetables

You can put sliced green bell peppers, pieces of cauliflower, or rounds of jalapeños in the jar with cucumbers. They all soak in the brine well, and give you a little more variety when you reach in the jar. Jalapeños are especially good this way.

How Long Refrigerator Pickles Keep (and What Happens After)

You can keep these in the fridge for three months. Do not store them in the pantry. The brine is not processed and sealed like canned pickles, so they must be kept cold from day one.

The taste can get a little bland, and at the three-month mark cucumbers start vinegar will soften, but up until that time the quality stays high. Most people eat the jars well before they get to that time period.

Keep them sealed until you’re ready to use them. If the brine smells off or gets cloudy, toss it. In the case of this recipe, I’ve never had issues as long as they’ve been stored correctly.

Don’t freeze refrigerator pickles. Cucumbers do not survive the freezing and thawing process, and for thawed cucumbers, there’s no turning back.

Refrigerator Pickles FAQ

Can I use regular table salt instead of pickling or kosher salt?

Brine can become cloudy and affect flavor with time, it will not affect the texture, but it will look murky. This is due to the iodine in table salt. For this reason, it may be worth it to look for pickling salt or kosher salt in your local grocery store’s baking aisle.

Why do my pickles taste more like cucumbers than pickles on day one?

They’re not fully pickled yet. At this stage, the brine has only begun to activate on the outside of each cucumber slice. The inside has yet to become pickled. By the third day, the brine will have fully penetrated each slice.

You cannot negotiate the three-day wait.

Can I eat them after 24 hours?

Yes, but they will taste like cucumbers soaked in sweet vinegar for a day, which is fine, but not really what you want. If you need something pickle-like the same day, try a quick-pickled cucumber recipe that uses a hot brine to speed things up.

My brine did not fully cover the cucumbers — is that a problem?

That is incorrect. Over time, more water will be released by the cucumbers and the liquid levels will increase. If you stir the pickles every day, you will redistribute the brine and achieve contact with the pieces that are sitting above the liquid. If you see cucumber slices above the brine on day 1, you may use a small zip-lock bag with some excess brine as an anchor to submerge the cucumber slices.

What kind of cucumbers work best?

If you want the crunchiest results, use Kirby cucumbers (which are sold as pickling cucumbers at the store). Slicing cucumbers are also good. They use soft English cucumbers. Do not use cucumbers that are yellow or soft.

Can I reuse the brine for a second batch?

Sure! Once you finish the first batch, add some fresh cucumber slices and onion into the leftover brine. The second batch will probably be milder since the brine will be diluted from the moisture of the cucumbers. A third batch doesn’t seem worth it. You can just make new brine at that time.

Equipment That Makes This Easier

You can use some extra items for this recipe, but none are necessary.

• Mandoline slicer — Gets you even slices without thinking about it. Uniform thickness means uniform texture in the finished pickles. Use the guard every single time.
• Wide-mouth gallon mason jar — Easier to fill, easier to stir, easier to get pickles out of than a narrow-mouth jar.
• Pickling salt — Dissolves faster than kosher salt and has no additives that affect brine clarity. Worth keeping on hand if you make pickles regularly.

More Easy Sides and Summer Staples

• Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
• Broccoli Salad
• Cucumber Salad
• Spicy Pretzel Snack Mix

Let us know in the comments how the refrigerator pickles recipe turned out for you. Did you make the garlic version?