Home ยป Easy Garlic Dill Pickles

Easy Garlic Dill Pickles

Sometimes people ask me if recipes ever go wrong. The answer is yes.YES. Sad, but true. Can’t win’em all!

Prior to this recipe, I tried 2 other refrigerator pickle recipes. Both…failed. Miserably failed. Inedible, even. While pickles are a controversial topic in our house (Team Any-Pickle-Will-Do vs. Team Claussen), I was going for a crispy, fresh dill pickle.

And for the love of pickles, I didn’t give up on my pickle recipe hunt. Yes, pickles were wasted. Yes, I caught a lot of flack from you-know-who. It was worth it to me to continue the pursuit of the perfect refrigerator pickle and in the end, I found a winner. You can thank me now…or later (after sampling!) for saving you time and money 😉

The first recipe was SO tart. Pickles should pack a little tart punch, but these just made your cheeks ache in a very unpleasant way. The second recipe was sweet, but flavorless for pickles. A bad attempt at bread and butter, it seemed.

Back to the drawing board.

3 was the lucky number.

This refrigerator dill pickle is a keeper. And simple to boot. Plus, you only have 24 hours to wait before they’re ready 😀 Check your local farmer’s market for pickling cucumbers…or your local grocer. They’re everywhere this time of year…take advantage! Ones by me are $0.39/each!

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Easy Garlic Dill Pickles from A Couple Cooks

1 quart mason jar with lid
3-4 pickling cucumbers
3 cloves garlic
8 sprigs fresh dill
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
2/3 cup white vinegar
1 cup water

Directions:

Quarter the cucumbers into four slices each, lengthwise, or cut into 1/4-inch chips. Cut the garlic cloves in quarters.

In an extra mason jar or covered container, combine coriander seeds, sugar, kosher salt and 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 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. Yield: 12 pickle quarters.

Nutrition Information: These are very low in calories (less than 10 calories/pickle). Other than a few grams of carbohydrate and about 1/3 gram fiber, these contain some sodium. I have no idea how much brine is absorbed, so I haven’t a clue on the sodium content. However, many pickle recipes call for WAY more salt that this recipe.

Result: Many dill refrigerator pickle recipes were disappointing, but this recipe is a keeper. These come together in 5 minutes or less and are ready in 1 day…can’t beat it! Simple ingredients and clean, fresh flavors. These dill pickles have lots of crunch and the perfect balance of vinegar, salt, and garlic! Enjoy!

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I had some with dinner last night and more are packed for lunch today 😀 I need to make another batch soon…they’re not lasting very long!

Tonight is my hockey skills and drills. I’m nervous! I haven’t attended a hockey “practice” since college! I don’t miss suicides (if you’ve seen the movie Glory, you know what I’m talking about!). Should be a great workout!

Question: Dill, sweet, or bread and butter pickles? Whole, halves, spears, or chips?

xo,

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32 Comments

  1. Ammie
    August 2, 2011 / 6:47 am

    Claussen girl here! Whole garlic dills. Love them and can’t get enough of them!

  2. Erika @ The Teenage Taste
    August 2, 2011 / 9:11 am

    I’ve been making homemade pickles out of home-grown cucumbers for years and I love it! They taste 100x better than store-bought. ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Regan
    August 2, 2011 / 9:17 am

    My son is a pickle lover. He would be so happy if mom would try her hand at these. Thanks for the inspiration!

  4. renee@mykitchenadventures
    August 2, 2011 / 11:36 am

    MMMM…so the ones with no salt didn’t cut it then? I was wondering how that turned out. These look FABULOUS! I just posted about some refrig pickles this week too…Fresh Sriracha Refrig Pickles….they were easy and good too! But your pics are soooo much better than mine! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Anne Marie@New Weigh of Life
    August 2, 2011 / 11:52 am

    I love all kinds of pickles, especially bread and butter pickles!

  6. Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather
    August 2, 2011 / 12:22 pm

    You’re a girl after my pickle loving heart. I want these! Glad you found a winner!

  7. Roz
    August 2, 2011 / 12:41 pm

    I may have drooled a bit on the keyboard when I looked at your pickle pictures. YUM!!! The way I see it, any pickle is a good pickle. I just don’t eat them that often because I puff up like a blowfish from all the sodium. I should try and make my own and cut back on the salt. Thanks for the inspiration Nicole!!

  8. Liz
    August 2, 2011 / 12:43 pm

    Bread and butter chips or half sours for me! I’ve been looking for a refrigerator pickle recipe. I can’t wait to try this!!

  9. Leah @ Why Deprive?
    August 2, 2011 / 1:04 pm

    I love dill pickles! My moms dog tried to snatch one out of my hand the other day without realizing what it was. The look on her face was classic. ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. Linda
    August 2, 2011 / 6:41 pm

    I’m glad you did all the experimentation for us. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Those look so crunchy and fresh!

    In answer to your pickle question – Yes to all!

  11. Todd
    August 4, 2011 / 7:24 am

    We have four people in the house, and everyone likes different pickles. Myself, I’m all about a dill spear complimenting a great sammich.

  12. Aidan
    August 7, 2011 / 12:02 am

    These exceeded my expectations. I admit, I couldn’t wait much longer after hour 12 – they were already quite good. ๐Ÿ™‚ I did wait until 24 hrs for the majority of them and it was worth it. They were AMAZING!

    I like spears… and my favorite sort of pickles out of those three are dill. However, my favorite type of pickle is my Grandmother’s sour pickles. But no one has the recipe so I haven’t had them since I was a kid but they were sourer than warheads. xD

    • Nicole
      Author
      August 7, 2011 / 12:33 am

      SO glad you liked these! I ate the whole jar last week…such a fun addition to my lunches! I am making more tomorrow so they’ll be ready Monday ๐Ÿ˜‰

  13. Krista
    August 13, 2011 / 11:16 pm

    I made a jar of these last week. I ate the whole thing in two days. I just ran an assembly line with my bf to make enough pickles for my grad party. Totally worth it!

    • Nicole
      Author
      August 15, 2011 / 9:37 am

      I am so glad you loved them! ๐Ÿ™‚ I am making a TON for the fall/winter/spring, too! Thank goodness for 2 fridges in the house!

  14. Jamie
    August 18, 2011 / 12:35 am

    Made these, Love them! Will Make them again and again! Thank you for the recipe!

    • Nicole
      Author
      August 18, 2011 / 6:43 am

      So glad you loved them! I am making quart after quart for the fall and winter… ๐Ÿ™‚

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  17. Telisa
    March 19, 2012 / 4:51 pm

    I’m new to your website and seen this pill recipe. It was so easy to make and the pickles were very yummy. I’m a very picky eater and was a little skeptical. I must admit these taste totally different from store bought pickles but they were a very pleasant surprise. Thanks so much for posting this.

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      March 19, 2012 / 7:34 pm

      Telisa, I’m so glad you enjoyed the pickles! It took me several attempts to find a winning recipe…and this was it!

  18. Pam McDonald
    July 4, 2012 / 9:50 am

    I love these, I must confess I only made it 13hrs before I tasted and they were already great!!!! So I didn’t cheat anymore and I just came back from our garden with enough cucumbers to make at least three more jars because the first jar only lasted 24hrs !!! Thanks for this great recipe …

  19. Claudiapo
    July 27, 2012 / 2:27 pm

    Dill Pickles – I made these, and they are incredible! I can’t stop eating them! I also tried a spicy version adding a little old bay seasoning – Delish!

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      July 27, 2012 / 4:35 pm

      Yay! Another lover of these pickles! I am actually doing a “Recipe Repeat” on them because they’re THAT good! ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks for letting me know you loved’em! The spicy version sounds amazing, as well!

  20. Aidan
    December 3, 2012 / 12:41 am

    I’ve been making these since August 2011 and have made about a dozen other pickle recipes since. If you’re looking at this recipe and wondering if you should choose it for your first ever batch of pickles or your hundreth – the answer is yes! In all this time and all those pickles this is still my go to recipe when I’m craving something crunchy and sour! They’re wonderful! Thank you so much for posting these, I’ve said it once before but I’m happy to say it again! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      December 3, 2012 / 6:55 am

      I couldn’t agree more! Thanks, Aidan! ๐Ÿ™‚

  21. Joy
    April 1, 2013 / 5:27 pm

    Great pickles! I recently discovered ‘refrigerator pickles’ after they went on sale at the grocery store & decided to see why they were so special to need their own section and I fell in love with the crisp clean taste.
    That said I wound up trying the only 2 kinds they sold. I thought the Claussens were a bit salty after I compared them to the second type I tried that came in a plastic bucket. Which I really enjoyed. So much I woofed the whole container down in thes than 2 weeks.
    Then I decided after searching recipes & ingredients that it would cheaper & funner to make my own. Luckily this was the first recipe I tried!
    They came out incredible. I followed the directions exactly, but I got impatiant & ate one about 17 hours later and decided to toss in some peppercorns & a bay leaf. After sitting for another 12 hours they tasted perfect.
    I’m unsure if the added ingredients mattered, but I will indeed be making these again and again! Oh and they look beautiful as well!
    Thank for posting this recipe.

  22. Melody
    March 22, 2014 / 10:50 am

    Hey! I have made refrigerator pickles before and they didn’t turn out so well so I thought I’d try your recipe since you had failed attempts too. So I made these the other day and they still turned out like watery, vinegary cucumbers (still good but no cigar). Do you have any idea why this could be?

    • Nicole, RD
      Author
      March 22, 2014 / 12:22 pm

      Hi Meldoy! Thanks for your comment. I have to say, this is surprising to me…I make these ALL the time and I’ve never had a batch fail. People who we’ve shared with want the recipe, even! Did you use cukes and not traditional cucumbers? Also, maybe let them sit a few days longer? I make these and often eat the jar 9-12 months later. They only get better ๐Ÿ™‚ I hope that helps some – I’m sorry they weren’t a hit!

  23. Melody
    March 22, 2014 / 5:24 pm

    Thanks for your response. I think I used regular cucumbers. Is that bad? I will let them sit for awhile. Thanks again!

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  25. Angela Hopp
    July 30, 2014 / 8:17 pm

    I made these last night and couldn’t wait to try them tonight. They are AMAZING! I may be obsessed. I wanted to save them and try one after a week, two weeks, month, etc. to see how the flavor changes. I hope I’m able to resist that long! I already ate quite a few. So fresh and good. I love that it’s just for one jar because I can just make a jar every time I pick from the garden. I’m am glad I tried these!!! Thanks for resharing or else I never would’ve known. ๐Ÿ™‚

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