Easy Pickle Recipes for Canning

Which kind of easy pickle fits you

“Easy” can mean two different things when it comes to pickles, and it helps to pick one before you start.

• Refrigerator pickles are the least effort. You pour a hot or cooled vinegar brine over cucumbers, put the jars in the fridge, and eat them in a day to a week. There is no canner and no processing, but they are not shelf-stable.
• Water-bath canned pickles take a canner, jars, and a timer. In return, the jars can sit in a cupboard and keep for months. Safety depends on following a tested recipe closely.

If you only want a jar or two to snack on, refrigerator pickles are usually the simpler choice. If you have a bushel of cucumbers and limited fridge space, canning makes sense. The rest of this guide covers both, with the canning section built around a recipe tested by the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP).

Do you have to water bath pickles?

If you want pickles to be stored at room temperature, then yes. Pickles are a high-acid food, so a boiling-water canner is the standard method rather than a pressure canner. The processing step is what makes the jars safe to keep on a shelf. Sealing a jar with hot brine and simply letting it cool is not a substitute, and neither is leaving jars to sit in a canner as the water cools down. Some online recipes describe shortcuts like these; they are not backed by tested processing times, so we suggest avoiding them.

If you do not want to process jars, make refrigerator pickles and keep them cold. The same jars cannot later be treated as shelf-stable.

What is the 321 rule for pickles?

The “3-2-1” rule is a popular shorthand that circulates online for a quick pickle brine, commonly described as 3 parts vinegar, 2 parts sugar, and 1 part water. It is meant for refrigerator pickles. It is not a tested canning formula, so do not use it for jars you plan to store on a shelf. For canning, use a recipe from NCHFP, USDA, or a similar tested source and keep its vinegar, water, and salt proportions as written.

Ingredients and equipment

For canned cucumber pickles you generally need:

• Pickling cucumbers, ideally fresh and firm, about 3 to 5 inches long. Pickling varieties such as Kirby tend to give a crisper result than long slicing cucumbers. Skip cucumbers with a waxy coating.
• Vinegar of 5% acidity. Both distilled white and cider vinegar are common. Do not dilute it more than the recipe says.
• Canning or pickling salt. Table salt with additives can cloud the brine, so a pure salt is preferred.
• Spices and aromatics, such as dill heads or seed, mustard seed, garlic, and pickling spice.
• Equipment: a boiling-water canner with a rack, canning jars, new lids and bands, a jar lifter, a funnel, and a clean cloth.

Always use jars made for canning and check them for chips or cracks. Use new flat lids each time.

A tested starting point: quick fresh-pack dill pickles

NCHFP publishes a recipe called Quick Fresh-Pack Dill Pickles. It is a good place to learn, because it comes with processing times for different altitudes. As published, it makes about 7 to 9 pints from 8 pounds of 3- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers. Here is the outline of the method:

1. Wash the cucumbers. Cut a thin slice from the blossom end and discard it, leaving a small piece of stem attached.
2. Soak the cucumbers in a salt brine for 12 hours, then drain.
3. Heat the pickling solution of vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and mixed pickling spice (tied in a cloth) to boiling.
4. Pack cucumbers into jars, add mustard seed and dill to each, and cover with the boiling solution, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.
5. Wipe the rims, apply lids, and process in a boiling-water canner for the time listed for your jar size and altitude.

Check the NCHFP page for the exact quantities rather than relying on memory or a copy, since the proportions of vinegar, water, and salt matter for safety.

Processing times by altitude

For the raw-pack quick fresh-pack dill recipe above, NCHFP lists these boiling-water canner times:

Start timing once the water is at a full rolling boil with the jars covered by water. These times apply to that recipe, not to every pickle recipe, so check the times for whatever you make. NCHFP also describes a low-temperature pasteurization option, which holds the water at a controlled temperature to help keep pickles firm; read their instructions in full before trying it, since it relies on a thermometer and a narrow temperature range.

How to keep pickles crunchy

Soft pickles are the most common complaint. These habits help:

• Use fresh cucumbers. Ideally pickle them within a day or so of picking.
• Remove the blossom end. It contains enzymes associated with softening, which is why tested recipes call for trimming it.
• Chill or ice the cucumbers before packing. Some recipes soak them in ice water for a short time.
• Do not overprocess. Extra time in the canner softens pickles. Stay with the recommended time.
• Consider a firming ingredient. Some cooks add calcium chloride products sold as pickle crisp. If you use one, follow the package directions.
• Avoid unsafe fixes. Alum is not necessary for crisp pickles according to NCHFP, and reducing the vinegar for a milder taste is not safe in a canned recipe.

Easy refrigerator pickles (no canning)

This is a simple fridge version that does not need a canner. It is not shelf-stable.

Ingredients for about 2 pint jars

• 1 pound small pickling cucumbers, sliced into spears or rounds
• 1 cup white or cider vinegar (5%)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon canning or pickling salt
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• A few sprigs of fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dill seed
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed (optional)

Steps

1. Pack the cucumbers, garlic, and dill into clean jars.
2. Bring the vinegar, water, and salt to a simmer, stirring until the salt dissolves.
3. Pour the brine over the cucumbers so they are covered. Let the jars cool, cap them, and refrigerate.
4. Wait at least 24 hours before eating. Flavor improves over a few days.

Keep them refrigerated and eat within a few weeks for the best texture. For sweet versions and bucket-style batches, see ice cream pail pickles, and for a cucumber pickle that follows a low-carb diet, see keto pickled cucumbers.

Flavor variations that stay inside the tested recipe

Dill is only one direction. With a tested canning recipe, the safest changes are to the dry seasonings, not the liquid or vegetables:

• Add a clove of garlic or a small piece of dried hot pepper to each jar.
• Swap or add whole spices such as peppercorns, coriander, or bay leaf.
• For heat, see our jalapeno garlic dill pickles.
• For a sweeter jar, use an actual tested sweet pickle recipe rather than adding sugar to a dill recipe. Our sweet and spicy pickles for canning article explains this.
• For the old-fashioned crisp spear style, read about icicle pickles.

Do not add extra low-acid vegetables, change the vinegar-to-water ratio, or use a smaller vinegar strength than 5% in a canned recipe.

Storage and when to throw pickles out

After processing, let jars cool undisturbed for about 12 to 24 hours, then check that each lid has sealed (it should not flex when pressed). Refrigerate any jar that did not seal and eat it first. Label sealed jars with the date and store them in a cool, dark place. Flavor usually improves after several weeks of resting.

Discard any jar with a bulging lid, leaking, spurting liquid when opened, mold, off smells, or unusually cloudy or slimy brine. When in doubt, throw it out without tasting. Opened jars belong in the fridge.

Where to go next

• A pack-it-in-a-bucket fridge method: ice cream pail pickles
• A fast stovetop alternative with a multicooker: Instant Pot dill pickles
• Traditional long-method spears: icicle pickles
• A sweet, spiced take from another tradition: Indian sweet carrot pickle
• Other vegetables in a quick brine: pickled cauliflower, carrots and celery

FAQ

What is the easiest way to make homemade pickles? Refrigerator pickles. Pack cucumbers into jars, pour over a simmered vinegar-and-salt brine, and chill. No canner is needed.

Can I use any cucumber? Pickling types usually give the crispest result. Thin-skinned varieties can work for refrigerator pickles, but they often come out softer.

Why are my canned pickles soft? Common causes include old cucumbers, not removing the blossom end, too long in the canner, or too much heat. Use fresh produce and keep to the recommended processing time.

Can I reduce the salt? In canned recipes, follow the published salt amount. In refrigerator pickles, you have more flexibility, but flavor and texture will change.