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Pickle chips are essential for hamburgers and sandwiches. Did you know that you can easily make them yourself at home?
With this method for refrigerator pickles, you don’t need to get out the canning equipment or have any special pickling know-how.
They’re made with a simple brine and pickle in just 24 hours right in the fridge. They’ll keep for up to a month — if they last that long!
You can make your own pickling spice blend, or use a store-bought blend. If you go store-bought, my favorite brand is Spicely Organic Pickling Seasoning, and it includes mustard seeds, dill seeds, bay leaves, coriander and other common pickling spices.
I also love seasoning them with whole cumin seeds, garlic, red pepper flakes for kick, or even a blend like panch phoron (a pungent Bengali five-spice mix). Really, you can use whatever whole spice blend you prefer.
Since we’re not actually canning these pickles, you can make and store them in any glass container. Any container with a tight-fitting lid will do.
I like to use canning jars, but I replace the metal lids and bands with plastic lids. These lids are much easier to take on and off, and you don’t have to fumble with two pieces each time you open the jar.
How to Make Easy Refrigerator Pickles
You can use this method to make pickle spears as well! They'll need to pickle for 2 to 3 days in the fridge before they're ready.
As is, the recipe makes a fairly sweet pickle. You can cut the sugar in half for a more sour and tart pickle, if desired.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Kirby or other small cucumbers
- 1 small sweet yellow onion
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pickling spice, homemade or store-bought
Special equipment:
- 2 wide-mouth pint canning jars
- Canning jar lids, plastic or metal
- Mandoline, or sharp knife
- Canning funnel (helpful, but not essential)
Method
1 Wash and dry the jars and cucumbers: Wash 2 wide-mouth pint jars and their lids in hot, soapy water. Set them aside to dry.
Rinse the cucumbers well under cold water, pat them dry, and then set them on a towel to dry completely.
2 Slice the cucumbers and onion, then pack them in the jars: With a sharp knife or a mandoline slicer, slice the cucumbers and onion into slices 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick.
Firmly pack the cucumbers and onions into the jars, fitting in as many as you can without smashing the vegetables. Leave 1/2-inch or so of headspace at the top of the jars.
3 Make the brine: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pickling spice up to a simmer. Stir occasionally and continue simmering until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
4 Pour the brine over the vegetables: If you have a canning funnel, use it here to make it easier to fill the jars. Carefully pour or ladle the hot brine into each jar, filling the jars until the cucumbers and onions are covered. It's ok if a few small pieces poke out the top.
5 Cool and refrigerate for 24 hours: Screw on the lids, then let the jars cool to room temperature (about an hour). The cucumbers will start off bright green, but will become darker and more "pickle-colored" as they cool.
Place them in the refrigerator. Wait at least 24 hours before eating the pickles in order to let the flavors develop. Use them within one month.
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Author of The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook and The Ultimate Instant Pot Cookbook. A self-taught cook and classically-trained soprano, Coco Morante writes and sings in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her husband and their beagle. For more recipes, visit her blog, Lefty Spoon.
How to Make Easy Refrigerator Pickles
Help please!!! Yikes, I went through all this prep and jarred 4 pounds of cukes and now 24 hours later my pickles aren’t sweet. I (now) double checked my ingredients and DUH I forgot to put sugar in the mix….is there anything I can do- Can I make like a sugar syrup and add it to the liquid? Geez I cannot believe I did this so I must blame the Pinot Grigio :-/
Hi, Teresa! Your comment is funny! I would give that a shot–simple syrup isn’t a bad idea. Just start with a teaspoon or so and see how it tastes, and go from there. Good thinking!
I really enjoy this recipe, except for one small variation. I divided the apple cider vinegar to half and half white vinegar. I use this recipe for all vegetable fridge pickles. Thanks for a great recipe
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Simple and easy to do. Left it sit for four day and “BINGO”. Great, crunchy and about near deli quality.
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perfect! I also add pickle crisp (calcium chloride) like they do in clausen pickles…these are so good, we ate them like a side dish
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from other experience making sauerkraut, after slicing the cucumbers, I salted them (kosher salt) and left them in a covered bowl to draw off moisture – you can get quite a lot. then rinse the slices and follow recipe as above. they seem to me they come out a little crisper this way.
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