Name: Easy No Cook Refrigerator Pickles
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1450 min
Ingredients: 1 lb cucumbers - sliced about 1/4 inch thick; 1 jalapeno - sliced about 1/4 inch thick (omit for less spicy pickles); 4-5 garlic cloves - minced; 5 all-spice berries - crushed under a knife; 2 tsp sugar; 1 tsp dill*; 1/2 tsp dehydrated minced onion; 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes; 1/4 tsp fennel seed; 1/8 tsp black pepper; 1 cup hot water; 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar; 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

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These no-cook refrigerator dill pickles are quick to make and an easy way to have homemade pickles in your fridge all the time. Plus, you don’t need any special equipment! All you need is some cucumbers, equal parts water and vinegar mixture, some spices and mason jars – or any large glass jars with a sealable lid. And voila: you’ve made your own pickles!

Head on shot of a glass jar filled to the brim with sliced cucumbers and jalapenos in a no cook vinegar pickling brine.

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Every year I grow a plethora of fresh cucumbers in my tiny city garden just so I can keep the refrigerator stocked with these simple refrigerator pickles well into the fall. If you’ve ever had fresh, homemade cucumber pickles, you know just how tasty and addictive they can be.

And now you’re about to find out just how easy they are to make. With just a little time and the simplest of ingredients, before you know it you’ll be enjoying your own homemade pickles as often as you like!

I do have another quick pickles recipe with a hot brine for larger pickle spears and halves, but that requires a little more time and the stove, and sometimes during the hotter summer months, I don’t want to deal with the heat of standing over the stove in our tiny city kitchen.

Plus, this homemade brine is SO easy to make, it’s become our go-to simple recipe around here for pickling all types of cucumbers and loads of other fresh vegetables from the garden.

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Why We Love Easy Refrigerator Pickles

It’s a pickle-lover’s delight! With this quick and easy recipe and only a little effort, you can have homemade pickles and pickled vegetables in the fridge all the time!
It’s a great way to use up cucumbers (or other vegetables) growing in your garden (or going in the fridge)
They’re great with, well, everything or just by themselves as a light snack
It’s an easier no-cook way to make pickles for when you want them without having to deal with the heat of the stove.

Overhead shot of the ingredients you need to make no cook refrigerator pickles: a cucumber, jalapeno, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, hot water, garlic cloves, all spice berries, sugar, pepper, dehydrated onion, red pepper, black pepper, fennel, and fresh dill

Fridge Pickles – Ingredients

Cucumbers – There are specific “pickling cucumbers.” Some will say these are the best and only option for making pickles. However, I’ve used all sorts of sliced cucumbers with this recipe and they all turn out good!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Distilled white vinegar
Hot water
Jalapeno – Omit these for less spicy pickles.
Garlic cloves
All-spice berries
White Sugar
Dill – I prefer to use fresh dill sprigs when I can and try to keep a plant thriving throughout the year as best I can. If you don’t have access to fresh dill, you can use freeze-dried or dried dill. Freeze dried dill can be used in equal ratio to fresh. If you are using dry dill, the ratio is 1 Tbsp of fresh dill to 1 tsp dry.
Dehydrated minced onion
Red pepper flakes
Fennel seed
Black pepper

Head on shot of a large 32 oz mason jar filled with homemade refrigerator pickles

Substitution Options for No Cook Pickles

If you don’t have or can’t tolerate one of the ingredients in this recipe, here are our best substitution tips. Remember though, substituting any of the listed ingredients may lead to a difference in the final product. Let us know in the comments if you try any subs and how they work out for you!

FOR THE VEGGIES:

For the cucumbers: Truly any standard cucumbers will do, but if you can get pickling-specific cukes (like Boston pickling or Kirby cucumbers or English cucumbers), do so. Either way, you’re looking for smaller, even cucumbers with minimal seed for best results. You can also use this simple brine recipe to quick-pickle just about any vegetable, but be sure to use good, fresh vegetables for pickling. I sometimes like to blanch things like whole green beans or large carrot slices then shock them in an ice-bath to help boost their color before pouring the brine over.

For the jalapeno: If you’re looking for less spicy pickles, you can omit the jalapeno and maybe use some bell peppers. Or, have you ever heard of a Coolapeno? I accidentally grew them last year, and they’re just like jalapenos without the heat. Now if you’re interested in spicier, hot pickles, I’d recommend slicing up a habanero or any hot chili pepper of your choice (like a cayenne or tabasco) and adding it to the brine.

FOR THE BRINE:

For the vinegars: I like to use a combination of apple cider vinegar and white vinegar to give these pickles a deep flavor with a crisp, clean taste to them as well. You can feel free to play around with the amounts of each type of vinegar. You can also give the pickles a slightly sweeter flavor without adding more sugar by using rice vinegar or white wine vinegar for slightly sweet pickles. The only vinegars I tend to stay away from for these are aged red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar.

For the dill: Dill is almost synonymous with pickles, but you can use almost any herb in pickling brine. Stemmy herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano hold up great while leafier herbs, like parsley or cilantro, tend to break down faster.

For the fresh garlic: You can use jarred minced garlic if that’s what you usually keep on hand. I like to use about 1 Tbsp of minced garlic per clove required in the recipe.

For the spices: Feel free to play around with the variety of spices you use in your pickling brine. You know what you like! You can try whole peppercorns or coriander seeds instead of ground pepper. Whole mustard seeds and celery seed or celery salt or kosher salt are also common ingredients you might like to try next time.

A grid with four photos showing the process of layering refrigerator pickle ingredients in a large mason jar.

How to Make Crunchy Pickles (No-Cook)

Prepare: Get a clean 32 oz glass container with a sealable lid. (Though I have had enough cumbers at times to make up to a gallon jar of pickles!)
First layer: Slice your cucumbers and jalapeno into 1/4 inch slices and place half of the cucumber slices and peppers in the jar.
Second Layer: Mince your garlic cloves, and crush the all-spice berries and fennel seed under your knife to help release the oils. Add these and all the rest of your spices to the jar.
Third Layer: Cover with the remaining cucumbers and jalapenos.
Add the liquid: Pour in your vinegars and hot water carefully until everything is covered completely.
Shake it up: Put the lid on the jar and give it a good shake.
Refrigerate: Place the pickles-to-be in your refrigerator and allow to steep for at least two hours. (I prefer overnight. They are so good the next day!)

Overhead shot of a hand pulling a pickle slice out of a large mason jar. There are sliced cucumbers in the background.

How to Serve Classic Dill Pickles

Vegan Burgers – These are the perfect pairing for any plant-based patty, like our Broccoli Quinoa Burgers or Homemade Vegan Burgers!

Chopped up into salads – Better than regular cucumbers, these homemade dill pickles add a zesty addition to any salad!

Falafel bowls/On a hummus platter with pita chips – An integral part of any platter or bowl with falafel and hummus.

Make dill pickle hummus – Dill pickle hummus is a dill-lightful take on the traditional favorite. You’re going to love this one.

Vegan Sloppy Joes – These refrigerator pickles are the ideal side for the sloppiest of joes

SandwichesWraps – What sandwich or wrap is complete without chips and pickles? We like adding these pickles to our Mediterranean Hummus Wraps + Vegan Toona Sandwich!

Close up head on shot of a large glass jar filled with pickled cucumber and jalapeno slices. There is a sliced cucumber in the background.

How Long Do Refrigerator Pickles Last?

Refrigerator pickles will last about 4-6 weeks when refrigerated properly in an airtight container. (Good luck getting them to last that long. We can go through a jar a week here!)

We do not recommend freezing refrigerator pickles. Most definitely not.

More Recipes for Cucumber Season

Vegan Buttermilk Ranch Dip – The perfect cucumber dip!

When you make these no-cook, refrigerator pickles, let us know! Leave a star rating and review the recipe below, and that will help other pickle-loving people find us. If you’re on IG, make sure you tag your pickles with @theplantpowercouple so we can cheer you on!