Quick pickled cucumbers are the definition of easy. All you need is cucumbers, dill, garlic, and salt. It’s the perfect crave-worthy snack!
When my family still lived in Ukraine, a garden full of cucumbers was a yearly summer occurrence. There were plenty of times when we had more fresh cucumbers than we knew what to do with. Aside from eating them fresh, we would put them in a variety of salads (like in this creamy cucumber salad), make marinated cucumbers, or we would pickle them! These quick pickled cucumbers are slightly different from canned pickles, but they’re equally as tasty. Flavorwise, they lie in-between fresh and traditionally pickled cucumbers.
When my family immigrated to Washington state (and now Tim and I live in Tennessee), our love for cucumbers continued. My mom still has a large garden at home with tons of cucumber plants, and I have my own cucumber plants, too (although much less than my green-thumb mom). We enjoy fresh cucumbers frequently in the summer, and when the craving hits for salty and crunchy pickles, this is my go-to recipe.
Looking to pickle more veggies? Use our pickled vegetables recipe for ideas on how to pickle a plethora of veggies such as radishes, cauliflower, carrots, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and more.
How To Pickle Cucumbers
These quick pickled cucumbers are much simpler than the canning versions. Instead of pickling in a white vinegar acid solution like most pickled cucumber recipes, we use a salt water brine instead. Follow these easy steps to get crunchy cukes every time.
- Prep the cucumbers: Wash and slice off the ends of the cucumbers. Rinse the dill and peel the garlic cloves.
- Stuff the jar: Add salt, fresh dill, and garlic into a jar. Stuff the jar with the cucumbers.
- Add water: Pour the water up to the top of the jar.
- Cover the jar: Close the jar with a lid and let it sit at room temperature for at least 48 hours. Once pickled, store in the fridge.
Hot tip: These mason jars are our favorite containers for pickling veggies. They’re easy to clean, aesthetic, and overall so versatile!
What Cucumbers Are Best to Pickle?
All cucumbers are delicious, but not all are created equal when it comes to pickling. Medium-to-small-sized kirby cucumbers are the prime choice for turning into pickles. Their skin remains crunchy and keeps the signature snap even when refrigerated in pickling juice for long periods of time.
Pass over thin-skinned cucumbers like English cucumbers. They don’t stand up well to the pickling liquid and become soggy and break apart easily.
Hot tip: Get your pickling cucumbers from a farmer’s market. These cucumbers often taste better than most store-bought cucumbers. They also come without the wax coating most farm-to-supermarket growers use for protection during shipping.
Extra Pickle Seasonings
Want to pump up the flavor of your dill pickles? Here are a couple extra ingredients to throw into the jar to spice things up.
- Red pepper flakes: For a nice punch of heat, add a tablespoon of red pepper flakes.
- Mustard seeds: These seeds will make the pickling jar look super pretty, but more importantly, they will add a mellow sweet and spicy flavor to the pickle.
- Coriander seeds: If you like lemony and floral flavors, add a couple tablespoons of coriander to the mix.
- Bay leaf: Bay leaves add flavor and tannins to the pickle. Tannins help to keep the pickle crunchy.
- Fresh herbs: Experiment with other fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, or rosemary for more herby flavor.
Serving Quick Pickled Cucumbers
These pickles are crazy versatile — they go with almost any entreé or appetizer. Serve the pickles on a plate of their own, as part of a charcuterie board, or slice them lengthwise and put them into an egg and sprats canape. Or, slice them horizontally and layer them inside a chicken sandwich or on burgers.
When you’re craving a tangy salad with pickles, dice them up and make these tasty Slavic salads: beet salad, shuba (fur coat salad), or olivier potato salad. If you prefer a non-Slavic salad, tuna salad is a great way to use these pickles.
Making Quick Pickles Ahead of Time
Making pickles ahead of time is not only okay, it’s recommended! Since quick cucumber pickles take at least two days to marinate, prep them at least two days before planning to serve. Or, prep them a week in advance for even more brine-y and crunchy pickles!
Storing the Pickles
Quick pickles last up to a month in your refrigerator. Afterwards, they start to become mushy. Store them in an airtight mason jar to really stretch out their shelf life. Make sure to twist the lid back tight after every use!
More Pickled Vegetables
- Pickled Mushrooms – These are the perfect addition to your next charcuterie board
- Pickled Beets – Perfect for adding to a salad or eating straight from the jar
- Quick Pickled Asparagus – Pickle a bunch of spears for an easy side
- Easy Pickled Red Onions — Add a handful of these to a steak sandwich or on top of street tacos
- Pickled Jalapeños — The flawless kick of heat to add to almost any dish
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs kirby cucumbers
- 6 sprigs of fresh dill
- 10 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp salt
- 1 qt lukewarm water
Instructions
- Wash and snip off the ends of cucumbers. Rinse the dill and clean the garlic cloves.
- Put the dill, salt, and garlic into the jar.
- Fill the jar with the cucumbers. Pour water over the cucumbers and make sure to bring the water all the way to the top.
- Cover the jar with a lid and let it sit at room temperature for 48 hours. Once the cucumbers are pickled, store them in the fridge.
Hello, so I did the 24 hours on my counter and the water is cloudy and bubbling. Is this correct and then put in fridge? It seems like it's fermenting...
Hi Sasheen! It is normal for some cloudiness and bubbling to occur. If you like the flavor of them after 24 hours, you can put and leave them in the fridge. This will slow down the fermenting.
Hi, I need more clarification for after 48 hrs...do you empty the water and leave pickles in jar for up to a month?
Hi Lauren! Thanks for asking that question! You do not need to empty the water. You can keep the pickles and the liquid in the jar for up to a month in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Easy, fast and delicious. I used dry dill and still was very good. Thank you for sharing. Do you have any pepperoncini or banana pepper recipes? Thank you!
Thanks Dawn! I'm glad you like it! Are you looking for a recipe to pickle pepperoncini and banana peppers or recipes that use those ingredients? You can search the blog by ingredient to find some recipes, such as Mississippi Pot Roast (uses pepperoncinis).
Hi! My pickles are in a big mason jar and floated to the top with murky water and water was foaming and fizzing when I opened it. Are they okay to eat?
Oh no, Karrie! It sounds like those pickles may not be safe to eat anymore! A little change in the clarity of the liquid is normal, but if it really turned murky and began foaming/fizzing at the top, that's not a good sign. How long were they in the refrigerator? Were the cucumbers and the jar washed really well before pickling? Let me know if you need more troubleshooting help!
Why do you cut the ends of the cucumbers?
My Dad never did that and his dills were great.
SLAVA UKRAINA.
Cutting the ends off cucumbers—especially the blossom end—is a common trick in quick pickling because the blossom end contains enzymes that can cause softening over time. Removing it helps keep the pickles crisper. That said, for quick pickles (the kind you eat within a few days or weeks), it's often less crucial. Your dad’s dills were probably just fine without trimming because his method worked well for his ingredients and process. There’s more than one way to get a great pickle! 💛💙
Does this recipe require “burping”?
Great question! Quick pickled cucumbers don’t require “burping,” as they’re meant to be a quicker process compared to traditional fermentation.
Do I need to sterilize the jar to use this recipe?
Hi Sarah, The jars do not need to be sterilized for this quick pickled cucumber recipe. Jars are sterilized when canning. I hope this helps!
Are these supposed to be made without vinegar? Or am I missing something? 🤔
Hi Caitlin, That's right - no vinegar. Give them a try and let us know what you think.
Help! These did not work for me. I followed directions to a tee. The 61 oz jar I got at Ikea with a wooden top and plastic ring was not a complete, secure, snug fit. I made 1.5 batches of the entire recipe. I did not crush the garlic, left them whole. I used course sea salt but did not fully dissolve it in the water. The pickles started to float at 24 hours and at 36 hours the water was getting cloudy, murky. These are not good signs. At 48 hours the pickles taste like cucumbers. What did I do wrong? What do I need to correct? Get a more snug fit container? Does it have to be glass? Use boiling water and fully dissolve the salt? Partially crush the garlic cloves? TIA
I've also read that pickling salt can prevent that murky cloudy appearance vs other types of salt
Hi Jennifer, The salt needs to be dissolved or the water will have no flavor. You can dump out the water and use warm water and dissolve salt. Add to back to cucumbers and it should help. Also, with the current weather it make take them longer to get the pickling flavor. This recipe works great on a warm summer day and allowing them to fermented in a warm room helps. Let me know if this helps 🙂
I have made these pickles for many years. The only addition I would add is to use boiling salted brine ( which I make separately) , for first 24 hours I cover the top with rye bread( things ferment quicker) remove and make sure the pickles are submerged at all times. I use the same technique for all different size containers from jars to large crocks!
Hi Sonia, Thank you for the amazing tips! I am glad you were able to work with the recipe to make it fit your needs best. Thank you for the feedback! Enjoy!
What kind of salt is best?
Hey Carol, currently I use Himalayan salt but kosher salt would be a good one for this recipe.
Great recipe! Just a tad too salty for me, but my husband loved them!
Linda you could always change the amount to suit you; I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe regardless!
no vinegar?
Hey Sandy, Yes, this recipe does not require vinegar. I hope you love it!
Wow - I really enjoyed making these and love the way they turned
out!!
I am so happy to hear this Melissa! Thank you
hi Natalya. where did you buy this cute glass jar with the glass lid?
Hey Maria, they are from Ikea. 🙂
This recipe is so delicious and tasty! I can't wait to make this!
Hey Beth, thank you for sharing. So good to hear.
how about a bread & butter pickles recipe? those are so good do you have a recipe that i can follow?
Hey Daria, I don't have one on my blog currently.
Do you notice a difference in taste if you let it sit longer than 48 hours? Thank you for sharing!
Yes, they do become more fomented.
Actually, I just made picked cucumbers as I will say via my mom in laws recipe (which is exactly as you described here) . Last year I made via same recipe, and it turned out bad. Why? Last year, I used Kosher Salt for pickling. This year I used Sea Salt (3.5 tbsp for 2 L of Boiled Water) + everything else (oh + parsley). Actually, it turned out so delicious... Even my kids enjoy eating them...
So definitely this is a delicious recipe.
I cannot wait to make this recipe. Before we left for Cali I actually bought all ingredients but never got to it.
hi, i was wondering if maybe you can post bread & butter pickles in a jar recipe before summer? if you have time...your directions to cook food is so easy...thanks so much.
Hey Tiffany, my mom has a recipes that she has used for years. I will try t get it form her and post it on here. I appreciate the feedback on the recipes 😉
i'm so disappointed, i was so excited for this recipe. but i see it didn't work out =(.
Sorry it's didn't work out for you. What went wrong?
hi, what i meant was i thought you were going to post a bread & buttered pickles in a jar recipe but i see it didn't work out.
Oh lol, I see 🙂 Yeah, I work full time now. Hard to do more complicated recipes.
=) me too, hi i would love the bread & butter pickles recipe also, i just followed you on pinterest so hopefully if you ever do i will be able to pin it right away. that is so wonderful.
Hey!! Thanks for a follow ;)) I will definitely share it when they are in season. Thanks again!
YOU ARE AWESOME...i love bread & buttered pickles in a jar but they're expensive from the store & my mom rarely buys them so i suggested to her to make them but i need a step by step directions & i know your website is the best but i you don't have this recipe on here so i thought i ask & hopefully you maybe post it one day..thank you very much.
I will keep it in mind for the summer, for sure. Mom has a garden with cucumbers and she has an endless amount of them. 🙂
How long can these sit in the fridge and still taste good?
I think for a little over a week is good.
I thought the description above said up to four months in the refrigerator? Did I read that wrong?
Hey Tonya, it can stay for a few months if you keep them refrigerated. The only thing, they really get that strong pickling flavor. First few weeks, they have a fresh & pickled flavors at the same time.
These do sound delicious. I am at my sisters now and she has a lot of cukes in her garden. Need to try your recipe asap:) I just post fresh cucumber subs on my blog. I just love cucumbers!!!
I saw those subs, such a good idea.
I love refrigerated pickles, I just had some at mom's house...something about the flavor that never gets old :). She grows horseradish in her garden so we add some roots in our recipe for extra crunchiness.
Yeah, I saw your recipe. This pickles also come out crunchy but one day when I find horseradish I will try your recipe.
My Family loves these type of pickles....Iryna.
I so happy that found this one,,only question how I can canning them for winter?thank you.Natalia
You can't can them for a long time. Here is a pickling recipe for winter, http://momsdish.com/recipe/12…