Maybe you don’t know that making your own pickles at home is super easy as well as super delicious. I love the crisp texture of homemade pickles paired with tuna sandwiches (my go-to quick office lunch) or veggie burgers.
1/2 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 small pepper (jalapeño or serrano)
8-10 whole peppercorns
2-3 fresh dill sprigs
In a bowl, stir together the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar until the salt and sugar completely dissolve. Slice your veggies (I used a large cucumber and a few radishes) into super thin in coins, matchsticks, or wedges. How you choose to slice them may affect how crisp they will stay after pickling.
Sweet & Spicy Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 small pepper jalapeño or serrano
- 8-10 whole peppercorns
- 2-3 fresh dill sprigs
Instructions
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In a bowl, stir together the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar until the salt and sugar completely dissolve. Slice your veggies (I used a large cucumber and a few radishes) into super thin in coins, matchsticks, or wedges. How you choose to slice them may affect how crisp they will stay after pickling.
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Fill your clean jars with the veggies, sliced pepper, peppercorns, and dill. Fill with the vinegar solution. Seal the jars and refrigerate for at least two days (up to two weeks).
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The longer the pickles sit in the refrigerator the more pickled they will become. Enjoy!
Credits // Author: Emma Chapman. Photography: Sarah Rhodes and Emma Chapman. Photos edited with Piper from the Signature Collection.
31 Comments
Mmmmmm…I love making refrigerator pickles. I started last year after my little garden starting giving me tons of cukes and I had to big bags of produce from the community garden. I pickles cucumbers and okra with hot peppers. I can’t wait to start pickling from my garden this year too! xoxo
Love this one Emma! Love the idea of homemade. I actually keep a cupboard full of re-purposed jars and containers such as plastic ice cream buckets. This gives me a great opportunity to use some of my re-purposed jars for pickling things. Sweet idea!
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Laurali Star
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I love, love pickles, but never thought of making my own. Thanks for this, Emma!
My grandmother always made the best refrigerator pickles, though hers weren’t spicy. She even had a special big jug that had a built in strainer/scoop to make getting them out easy. I so wish I had that piece.
I need to try this ASAP!
Yum! I actually started making refrigerator pickles when you posted the original recipe (last summer, maybe?), because we had an abundance of cucumbers in our garden. I think my husband would love this version, too!
I’m brand new to pickling, but wondered: Could you use this same recipe but substitute the vinegar for Apple Cider Vinegar? I just like the taste of the ACV so much better!
Instead of sugar add a handful of Red Hots candies. My Dad used to make pickled green beans this way and they were great.
Such a great idea! My mother loves pickles and I’m for sure going to make her very happy with this recipe!
How do you seal the jar? Just close it or do you have to do some process to seal it? I’m clueless with jarring, but I’ve been wanting to learn how to do this!
I love homemade pickles! I haven’t tried radishes yet, but yum!
xoxo
Taylor
yum! so trying this. I love pickles especially homemade. p.s. these pics are amazing!!
Good one..will try to make one soon..
xo
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Would love to make these as gifts. This past Christmas one of my mom’s friends gifted her with a bunch of pickles like these and they were so good that I ended up using the pickle juice in salad dressings and even ended up drinking a bit plain…! :O
My mom and I made pickles last year, and homemade are SO much better than storebought! And it’s really fun to make them, too! These look delish!
xo
Kristina
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Yum! I’m actually going to try to make my own pickles. This looks pretty easy!
This is definitely going to my bookmarks! My god, I am such a fan of pickles, it’s unbelievable! It sounds so easy….
Question: what went into that sandwich on the picture though?
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Mmmm I love homemade pickles! The time I tried to make pickles they turned out WAY too salty, so I’ll have to try your recipe. 🙂
Mmm, they look yummy, I didn’t realise how simple these were, will definitely be trying these.
These don’t require a special sealing process the way canning does. Just close them the way you normally would and you’re good to go! 🙂 -Jacki
So easy! I remember watching my Granny make pickles in a giant bowl in her old-fashioned kitchen; it was a real treat to watch and they always turned out so good! Hers were the softy kind though, and I prefer the crunchy ones. I’m assuming these are crunchy, but do they soften up the longer the pickle?
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I was literally just talking about making my own pickles yesterday. On top of being DIY geniuses, I think you girls can read minds…
They get softer the longer they are in the jar, but they start out crunchy! 🙂 -Jacki
I’m surprised the pickles look so pretty in the jar! 🙂
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I’ve never made pickles before. I always imagined it to be some elaborate process. I love pickles; I can’t wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
OK…seriously…I can not wait to try this. Just pinned this so I could come back to it next week. I had no idea that you could do this so easily. Thanks so much for sharing!
I’m a weirdo who doesn’t like pickles, but your photography is beautiful:)
Sometimes I get really carried away at the farmers market and come home with literal bushels of random produce. Like, hmmm, what shall I do with these 12 cucumbers that I now possess? Refrigerator pickles are my go-to. When I pickle carrots with onions, I julienne them into thin strips and add a tbsp of chili garlic paste (from the people who make sriracha) into my pickling liquid. So so yummy!
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Ahhhhhh I LOVE PICKELS! Pickels on everything. This is great, and they looks very pretty. Thanks Emma!
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Thank you yum!!
Shannon
http://www.thewildhideaway.com
Great Post!!!
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These pickles are amazing! I subbed in a little thin sliced red onion for radish – incredible!