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This refrigerator garlic pickle recipe is easy to make and lasts for about a month in the fridge (but you’ll likely eat them before then!).
I have faint memories of a closet full of canned goods growing up. We canned everything from fruit to green beans, and tomato sauce to pickles. My family stopped canning as I hit my teenage years, so I’ve lost any recollection or skill that would help me fill my basement with loaded mason jars. Someday I’d like to can a summer’s bounty again, but until I’m ready to commit to a more labor-intensive canning process these refrigerator pickles will do the trick.
Related: Easy Homemade Pickles Recipes
Making homemade dill pickles is super easy when you use the refrigerator pickle, or quick pickle, method. No special equipment is needed and there’s no boiling involved in this recipe, which makes the entire process fast and simple. The only downside to the quick pickle method is that these refrigerator pickles will last only about a month in the fridge, unlike “real” dill pickles that are shelf-stable for a year or more. However, we’ve found that these pickles are crunchier than their store-bought counterparts, which makes the shorter shelf life worth it.
Making these refrigerator garlic pickles
This garlic pickle recipe calls for Kirby cucumbers, as they’re especially good for pickling thanks to their small size and firm flesh. However, an English cucumber will work in a pinch. You’ll just want to cut an English cucumber into smaller pieces so it fits into the jar, and you’ll likely need just one or two, depending on how big they are. The pickles should taste the same though, and I’m sure they’ll disappear from your fridge just as quickly!
One word of caution on making these homemade dill pickles: you must use kosher salt. Regular table salt is much finer in texture than kosher salt and will change the flavor of these pickles. Kosher salt is our seasoning of choice for most of our recipes since the larger flakes make it easier to sprinkle over veggies and other dishes.
Once all your garlic refrigerator pickles are gone, save the brine and use it in place of vinegar in salad dressings and marinades. It adds an extra zing to any dish without being too overpowering. Plus, this is a great way to avoid food waste!
Want more with preserving? Try our easy DIY: How to Make Sauerkraut.
Looking for more homemade pickle recipes?
Homemade pickles go way beyond cucumbers. Here are a few of our favorite pickle recipes:
- 1-Hour Quick Pickled Onions
- Mixed Vegetable Quick Pickles
- Butternut Squash with Pickled Onions
- Pickled Okra
- Quick Refrigerator Dill Pickles
- All Pickle Recipes
Looking for ways to eat garlic pickles?
- Incredible No Mayo Potato Salad
- Ultimate Rainbow Vegetable Sandwich
- Radish and Egg Salad Sandwiches
- Detox Bloody Mary
This recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Refrigerator Garlic Pickles
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 hours
- Total Time: 24 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 quart jar 1x
Description
This refrigerator garlic pickle recipe is easy to make and lasts for about a month in the fridge (but you’ll likely eat them before then!).
Ingredients
- 1 quart mason jar with lid
- 12 ounces of kirby cucumbers (about 6 small cucumbers)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 8 sprigs fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 2/3 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Wash the mason jar and lid in hot soapy water, rinse, and let air dry.
- Quarter the cucumbers into four slices each, lengthwise. Cut the garlic cloves in half.
- In an extra mason jar or covered container, combine 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt and 2/3 cup white vinegar. Tightly close the lid and shake vigorously until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add 1 cup water to the mixture.
- In the clean mason jar, tightly pack the sliced cucumbers, sliced garlic, and 8 sprigs of fresh dill.
- Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers. Tap the jar on the counter to release any air bubbles and top off the jar with extra water if any cucumbers are exposed.
- Place the lid on the jar and screw on the ring until it is tight. Leave the jar in the fridge for 24 hours before tasting. The pickles last up to one month refrigerated (but they won’t stick around that long in our house).
Notes
Inspired by Grace Parisi in Food and Wine
- Category: Snack
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American
how do I adjust the brine for pint jars?
Just do half!
Hello can you substitute ground coriander for the seeds?
I would just omit it!
Can you use minced garlic instead of whole garlic? I keep a mayo sized jar of it in the refrigerator year round to use on different things rather than buying garlic with whole gloves. I love, love, love garlic!
Yes! I’d try 3 tablespoons.
Totally awesome garlic pickles. Made them two weeks ago and need to make another batch already.
If I wanted to make these spicy what pepper addition would you recommend? or would crushed red pepper flakes be a better option? I can’t wait to make these pickles!!
Hi! You can use either red pepper flakes or whole chilis sliced in half! The flavor will really come through, so start with a just a little bit. Any pepper will work — if you can find a small red chili it looks really nice in the jar! :)
Any idea why my garlic is becoming moldy in the jar?
We’ve never had that happen, sorry!
these came out amazing (I did not have white vinegar so I subbed apple cider vinegar, and replaced coriander with caraway seeds) – thanks so much!
You are so welcome! So glad you enjoyed them.
So easy! …and tasty too. I didn’t have coriander seed so i used mustard seed. I like spicy pickles, I added dried red peppers. Yum Yum!
Pickles are my favorite food, so happy to find a recipe that can be eaten so soon after preparing. I have done some canning and it’s way easier than most people think. As a matter of fact, you could make 6 or 8 of these and submerge them in a hot water bath canner for 10 or 15 minutes to seal them and then store on a shelf rather than having to refrigerate.
I tried this recipe this week and it was delicious. I’ve got some photos of my pickles and link back here on my blog today! http://katydiddys.blogspot.com/2012/08/refrigerator-pickles.html
Thank you for the great recipe!
I know the title says “garlic dill” but I was just curious about the adding sugar part – it doesn’t make it too sweet like bread and butter pickles, right? Or should I omit the sugar if I want them more on the tangy, sour side?
Thanks for your help! Your photos are beautiful!
They are not sweet at all. The sugar just balances the taste. The are definitely tangy. I’m not sure, but they might taste too salty without it. We recently updated the recipe. See it here: https://www.acouplecooks.com/2012/06/quick-refrigerator-dill-pickles/
They are just a tinge too salty without the sugar. I added about an addition 1/2 tablespoon of sugar to mine to balance it out a little more for my taste – they do not taste like bread an butter pickes at all. And they are very delicious. I grew a cucumber plant on my deck just so that I could make these.
totally just made a jar. Can’t wait to eat them!!
Just found your site and love the photography and wonderfully inspiring dishes! I’m putting these pickles on my list for this summer. My five year old daughter is a pickle fanatic – I think making pickles together will be such fun! Plus I have a thing for anything in a mason jar ;)
I love that these are so quick to prepare! I’d never have the patience to wait for longer than 24 hours to eat these babies.
Wow, those photos are STUNNING. And although canning scares the daylights out of me, I just may have to try these, because pickles + massive amounts of garlic = my idea of heaven!
Thanks! You should really try this, it isn’t really canning – since you eat them right away. And they really taste good!
I’ll have to add hot peppers my repertoire and momzer to my vocab!
My grandpa used to make homemade pickles and he really loved to can hot peppers. When he ate a particularly hot pepper, he would start sweating and say “Whew, that’s a momzer!” My dad and I think that “momzer” is some sort of corruption of either a Yiddish or a Ladino word that basically translates to “bitch” or “son of a bitch”. (My dad’s parents liberally sprinkled Yiddish AND Ladino words in their everyday speech, sometimes with a twist–like pronouncing a Yiddish word with a Ladino accent–very unusual!)
i am even going to be brave and try one :) if anyone can make me like them, it will be you two!