Easy Homemade Pickles

You'll love these fresh homemade pickles! This recipe for dill refrigerator pickles is ready in 1 to 3 hours, depending on how you slice your cucumbers. Recipe yields 1 medium jar of pickles (about 2 cups sliced pickles or 16 spears).

Recipe by Cookie and Kate on August 5, 2020

Prep time: PT15M

Total time: PT15M

Rating

4.9 stars ( reviews)

Keywords

refrigerator pickles, dill pickles, cucumber pickles

Ingredients

1 medium-to-large cucumber or 2 small cucumbers (ideally 12 ounces total)*
½ cup water, at room temperature or cooler
½ cup rice vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup or sugar
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
20 twists of freshly ground black pepper
2 leafy sprigs of fresh dill, roughly chopped (about ¼ cup)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 bay leaf

Cuisine

International

Steps

For pickle rounds (“chips”), slice the cucumber(s) into thin rounds, about ⅛-inch thick. Or, for spears, slice them in half lengthwise, then slice the halves lengthwise into quarters, then slice the quarters lengthwise into eighths. If your spears are long like mine (from one long cucumber), slice them through the middle so they’re not too tall for your jar. Set aside.
In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine the water, vinegar, maple syrup, salt, red pepper flakes (if using) and black pepper. Stir until most of the salt has dissolved into the liquid, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set aside.
Place the cucumbers into a wide-mouth jar about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, tall enough to offer at least 1 inch of extra space on top (for pickle spears, it’s important that all the pickles fit snugly, vertically—a wide-mouth pint-sized mason jar would work well).
Top the cucumbers with the dill and garlic. Tuck the bay leaf into the side of the jar. Pour the all of the liquid over the cucumbers so they’re fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (for pickle rounds) or at least 3 hours (for pickle spears). The flavor will continue to develop over the next couple of days. These pickles will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 spear or about 5 rounds (info is approximate—I don't know how much of the salt/sugar actually permeates the pickles but this accounts for their full amounts)
Calories: 16 calories
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Protein: 0.5 g
Fat: 0.1 g
Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 219.4 mg
Sugar: 1.5 g

Reviews

Sharon on 2025-07-21 (5 stars):
This was the easiest recipe to follow! And the taste?? Absolutely delicious!! I was amazed at how much flavor developed in an hour. The depth of flavor on day 2 is even better. Thank you!
Neil Juhl on 2025-07-27 (5 stars):
Great recipe
Susan on 2025-08-22 (5 stars):
10 stars!!!
Dave on 2025-09-02 (5 stars):
I love pickles and have tried dozens of brands. This my absolute favorite and I made themself! Insanely easy to make. I added extra garlic, pepper flakes and dill and they were perfect for my taste. Yum!