Spicy Refrigerator Pickles

These easy, spicy refrigerator pickles are loaded with flavor and super crunchy. Make them with garden cucumbers, garlic, dill, pickling spice and crushed red pepper flakes.

Enjoy on a burger, sandwich, sloppy joe, or just as a snack. These quick pickles are the ones you want! 

How to make spicy refrigerator pickles

Ingredients Needed

• Cucumbers: Grab a crate of pickling cucumbers at the farmer's market or get them from the garden when they're ready. Clean them, slice or wedge them, and they're ready to get pickled!
• Garlic: I like a lot of garlic in my pickles! But, if you’re not a huge fan, feel free to reduce – or even omit – the garlic. But, I really do like the bite they bring to dill pickles!
• Water: This may sound like the most basic of ingredients, but you need to offset some of the acidity of the (oh, so delicious) vinegars.
• White Vinegar: This provides a good bite to the pickles. It’s a little in your face, bold, and assertive. And we like that in our dill pickles!
• Apple Cider Vinegar: This rounds out the bold flavors of the white vinegar with a tart, tangy, and slightly sweet taste. And it pairs perfectly with the cucumbers and spices.
• Pickling Spice: You can buy the premade spice blend in a jar, or you can make your own. I really enjoy combining whole black peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, dill seeds, allspice berries, red chili flakes, and broken bay leaves.
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: They bring the heat! The flakes you buy in a bottle are typically a mix Jalapeno, Fresno, and Anaheim flakes. But, the majority are typically cayenne pepper flakes. So, when we say they bring the heat – we’re not joshing around!
• Dill: This really is the star of the show. Dill is completely addictive and delicious! If you have some in your garden or at the farmers market, you’re all set! And usually you can find fresh dill in the produce section of the grocery store. But, if for some reason you’re not able to get your hands on some fresh dill, you can substitute dried dill. The ratio is 1 teaspoon dried, per 1 tablespoon of fresh.

Equipment Needed

• A cutting board and chef's knife.
• 32-ounce jars with lids.
• A medium-sized saucepan.
• A spoon or whisk.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Wash 2 32-ounce jars with soap and water.
2. Bring water, vinegars and salt to a boil in a saucepan and boil until salt has dissolved, whisking regularly. Allow brine to slightly cool.
3. Pack cucumber slices/spears in the jars, then pack a few garlic cloves in each. Distribute dill, pickling spice and red pepper flakes into each jar. Pour brine to the top of the jar and secure tightly with the lids. Allow jars to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.
4. Allow to pickle for at least a week. Pickles last in the refrigerator up to one month.

Recipe Variations

Other vegetables you should be pickling:

• Beets
• Carrots
• Cherry tomatoes
• Jalapenos
• Green Beans or yellow beans
• Giardiniera (a mix of carrots, cauliflower, celery, olives)
• Radishes
• Pearl onions

Other pickling spice add-ins:

• Star anise
• Cardamom
• Whole Cloves
• Fennel seeds
• Juniper berries

Storage Tip

Refrigerator pickles last about one month. Just make sure to date the jar to eliminate any guess work!

Make "fried" pickles!

Fry these babies up! Fried pickles are the perfect pub food.

If you have an air fryer in your kitchen, you can whip up a healthy batch of pickles for a fun game day snack! You can also batter and bake them in the oven until browned and crispy.

Serve with a side of ranch and feel like you’re being far more decadent than you really are.

Other garden-inspired recipes:

• Tomato Jalapeno Salsa
• Spicy Zucchini Soup
• “Fried” Green Tomato BLTs
• Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
• Rustic Heirloom Tomato Pizza
• Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Muffins
• Strawberry Cucumber Salad
• Cinnamon Crunch Zucchini Bread

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