Save It
Saved
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!
VIDEO! How to Make Easy Refrigerator Pickles
The Best Pickling Spice Blend
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.
The Best Jars for Storing Pickles
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.
From the editors of Simply Recipes
The Best Cucumbers for Refrigerator Pickles
Use Kirby or another small cucumber to make these pickles. Look for ones that are about 6 inches long and have bumpy skin (verses the smoother skin of English or Burpless cucumbers).
Kirby cucumbers hold up better to the pickling process and have a crisp, snappy texture after pickling. Other varieties can be pickled, but will often have a softer texture.
How to Slice Your Cucumbers for Pickles
For this recipe, we sliced the cucumber into rounds, but you can really slice your cucumbers however you want!
- Coins
- Crinkle cut coins
- Long sandwich slices
- Spears
Note that spears and sandwich slices will take a bit longer to pickle. Wait 2-3 days before serving.
More Pickling Recipes to Try!
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.
Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. Thank you!
Products We Love
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.
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
I made these two weeks ago and they are delicious. As you know it is very hard to find 16 oz canning jars at this time. Is it okay if I use 32 ounce jars?
Hi Denise, yes, it is hard to find canning jars at the moment, isn’t it? Sure you may use a larger jar to can these pickles.
Love it! Even my grade-school kids are devouring these pickles. One question: could we re-use the brine? It just seems a bit of a waste to throw them out, esp the organic apple cider vinegar!
xxxxxyyyyy
Hi Lisa,
Glad you and the crew are enjoying these! Sure, you can re-use the brine a few times. Just don’t let the brine become a family heirloom in the refrigerator :)
Bribe is great for a fried chicken marinade
Hi there! I bet you mean brine, not bribe. I have tried bribing people to help me out in the kitchen, but it does not seem to get me as far as bribing people with food. Anyhow, I hope you do mean brine, because marinating chicken in it sounds great! Thanks for sharing!
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
xxxxxyyyyy
Simple and easy to do. Left it sit for four day and “BINGO”. Great, crunchy and about near deli quality.
xxxxxyyyyy