The Easiest Refrigerator Pickles

A few of the reasons I love this pickle recipe: minimal trash and food waste, total prep time of about 5 minutes, flavors can be adjusted to your liking, and vinegar and fermented foods are great for your gut! I often crave pickles but many store bought pickles contain food coloring and preservatives which leads me to disappointedly not purchase pickles. With a tiny bit of work and a little patience, you can easily make your own pickles that are far healthier for you.

EQUIPMENT YOU WILL NEED:

• Jar(s) of any size - reuse a jar of store bought food and avoid waste!

• liquid large measuring cup

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large cucumber 

• Filtered Water

• White vinegar

• Dried dill or dill seeds 

• 1 clove garlic

• Salt and pepper

Cut the ends off your cucumber and slice into whatever pickle shape you want. If you’re making spears, check the length with your jar height. Fill your jar with the sliced cucumber. In a measuring cup, measure equal parts water and white vinegar. For my 12 oz jar I needed just over 1 cup of liquid, so about half a cup of each.

Add to your measuring cup about a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of dill, and half a teaspoon of pepper (adjust for a larger jar and multiple cucumbers). Stir to combine.

Crush the garlic clove and put it in the jar with the cucumber. Pour liquid mixture over the cucumber and secure the lid. Give it a quick shake and refrigerate for two days before eating or a week for maximum pickle flavor. These will keep up to a month in the fridge. Enjoy!

You can try making these with red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, if that’s what you have on hand! Try alternating dill seeds with other whole seed spices or with sliced onions.