easy homemade pickles recipe

One of the most wonderful things about summer is all the fresh veggies you acquire and all the things you can do with them, such as, knowing how to make your own easy and fresh homemade pickles. I love to make these and share with friends who provide us many cucumbers during the summer months.

Making your own pickles has never been easier, so crunchy and fresh. You know exactly what ingredients goes in them, AND you don’t have to worry about those pesky dyes.

So, read along and you can learn how to make your very own pickles out of fresh cucumbers.

why should you make your own easy and fresh homemade pickles?

You should make your own because they’re absolutely natural making them at home. They’re also 100% customizable to your taste, and they have the crunchiness that store bought pickles don’t. Also, this recipe requires no canning and can just go straight into your refrigerator.

Store bought pickles are made using additives and preservatives making it harmful for your health in the long run. They contain dyes to make them more green to entice the consumer, when in reality, pickles aren’t really supposed to be that green.

The health benefits of making your own pickles are:

• they may help digestion
• a good source of fiber
• filled with vitamin K & A
• low calorie
• low fat
• they provide the body healthy bacteria

How to make your own pickles

Things you’ll need:

• mason jar
• cutting board
• knife
• small pot
• measuring cup
• small pickling cucumbers
• fresh dill
• salt
• distilled vinegar
• red pepper flakes
• peppercorns
• water

In this recipe, we will be using a 2 cup mason jar, if you’re using a 4 cup jar just double the recipe.

First, slice up your pickling cucumbers into fourths and stuff tightly into your mason jar.

Next, add in your distilled white vinegar, water and salt to your small pot. Heat the mixture on med-high for about 5 min so that the salt dissolves. Then, let cool to room temperature, this creates your brine.

While your brine is cooling, add in your red pepper flakes, peppercorns, and fresh dill to the jar that’s already filled with the pickling cucumbers.

Once your brine is cool, add it in to the jar. Close the lid tightly and place in the fridge.

How long do the cucumbers take to pickle?

The taste of them is completely up to you, you can try them in 2 days or wait until 5 days to try them. It all depends on what you like your pickles to taste like, taste test one every day to see what you like best.

How long do the easy and fresh homemade pickles last in the fridge?

They will last up to 3-4 weeks in the fridge, you will notice if they’ve gone bad by the brine. If the brine is cloudy and murky, then that’s a clear indicator that it is going bad. They’re so good I highly doubt they will last 3-4 weeks!

variations you can do:

A few variations and additons of this pickle recipe you can do are:

• garlic cloves
• apple cider vinegar
• add sugar for sweet dill pickles
• onions
• mustard seeds
• rosemary
• cloves
• chili peppers (if you like it spicy)

Really, the list can go on for customizing these yummy pickles to your taste. I love a plain jane pickle, I might venture out into the world of different variations but for now, I’m sticking with old faithful. It’s just so nice to know that you can experiment with so many different flavors of homemade pickles.

Homemade pickles make great gifts too, if you have a pickle lover in your life, this is the perfect homemade gift. Bonus points if you grew the cucumbers yourself!

printable easy and fresh homemade pickles recipe:

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Yield: 1 mason jar

easy homemade pickles recipe

Print

These homemade pickles are so easy, fresh, natural and crunchy! I don't know about you, but I like a good and crunchy pickle. In this recipe, you'll find this is the most simple and easy pickles recipe. No canning involved, just simply refrigerating them for 3-4 weeks.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 pickling cucumbers
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 4-5 sprigs of fresh dill

Instructions

1. Slice your pickling cucumbers into fourths.
2. Add your 1 tbsp salt, 1/2 water and 1/2 cup distilled vinegar to a small pot and heat on med-high heat for about 5 minutes or until the salt is dissolved. This creates your brine.
3. Let the brine cool down to room temperature.
4. While your brine is cooling, add your cucumbers to your jar. Tightly pack them in so they will be standing up right.
5. Add in your 1 1/2 tbsp peppercorns, 4-5 dill sprigs, 1 tsp red pepper flakes to your jar of cucumbers.
6. Once brine has cooled to room temperature, add your brine to your jar.
7. Close the lid tightly and place in the fridge.

Notes

*these pickles will last in the fridge for 3-4 weeks

*you can customize these pickles with different flavors and add ins to make them to your liking

*you will know if the pickles have gone bad if the brine is murky and cloudy

*there is no canning involved with these pickles, if you can them, please follow all the canning rules closely.

Have you made your own pickles before? If so, what do you put in your homemade pickles recipe? Comment below in the comments section to let me know! I’d love to hear what everyone does for their personal taste.

I hope this recipe has opened up a whole new world to you. If you have an amazing amount of cucumbers you’re not so sure what to do with, homemade pickles are always a good option. I love making these and keeping them around for a healthy and all natural snack. I know all my pickle lovers will enjoy these too.

Thanks for visitin’ y’all!

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