Use those fresh garden cucumbers and make these Super Easy Dill Pickles from scratch for your own crunchy, dill, pickle treat!
Welcome to Cucumber Season! One of my favorite parts of summer, all of the fresh fruits and veggies. Nothing beats a cucumber straight from the garden. Except making those fresh from the garden cucumbers in these Super Easy Dill Pickles!
With very limited effort and a little time in the fridge, you can turn those garden cucumbers into homemade dill pickle spears!
The Best Cucumbers for Pickles
These cucumbers are Japanese Cucumbers, but really you can use any kind of cucumber for pickles. Most often, you'll see Kirby Cucumbers or Pickling Cucumbers used, but if you don't have any in your garden, have no fear!
Japanese or even English Cucumbers make a great pickle. The standard cucumbers that you get in the grocery store are typically American Slicing. They're a little less firm, have a slightly higher water content, and often a kind of waxy coating, which is why they're best for recipes that require peeled cucumbers. I would avoid using a thicker cucumber with bigger seeds like Lemon or Burpless cucumbers for this recipe.
Ingredients Needed
- Cucumbers - Japanese, Kirby, or English!
- Baby Dill - Unlike regular dill, baby dill has a much more delicate dill flavor and the plant itself small and tender. I think that it works best for this recipe and looks better in the jar.
- Garlic - Fresh is best, but you can also use powder if that's all you have. See recipe notes.
- Yellow Mustard Seed and Coriander Seeds- Yellow, not brown! Brown is much hotter and more pungent than yellow.
- Red Pepper Flakes and Black Peppercorns - For a little heat and kick!
- Salt and Water - A pickling salt is best for the brine, but you could also use a Kosher salt, too.
Easy to Make
Step 1: Slice your pickles into spears and pack them into large mason jars.
Step 2: Add garlic, dill, mustard, red pepper flakes, and peppercorns to jar and mix water and salt in a measuring cup with a pour spout.
Step 3: Loosely seal the jars and let the cucumber spears ferment in a cool dry place.
After 3 days of fermenting, check for bubbly and cloudly jars which is a sign of fermentation.
Now is a good time to check your pickles to see if they have the right amount of crunch and flavor. If you want more flavor, you can continue to ferment for up to 7 days. If they're ready, then you can fully seal and store in the fridge.
Yuummm. Great briny flavor, with just the right texture. Not too crisp like a raw cucumber but just enough. Definitely not a limp pickle, which no one likes. So. Easy. Even better, it's almost truly from scratch since I grew the cucumbers myself!
Pickle Making Tips
- Be sure to use kosher salt or another non-iodized salt.
- Be sure that the cucumbers are completely submerged in the brine. You can do this by either using a fermentation weight or even just a little plastic bag filled with (more) brine placed on top of the cucumbers.
- During the fermentation process, put your lids on loosely, this will allow the gases to escape.
- Place the jars on a baking tray to be able to catch any overflow from the fermentation process.
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
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Super Easy Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 5 medium to large fresh cucumbers
- 4 cloves fresh garlic
- 4 sprigs of fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons pickling salt or kosher salt
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Slice your cucumbers into spears or if small pickling cucumbers, keep whole.
- Pack them into a quart jars, super tight.
- Add garlic, dill, mustard, coriander, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes in on top.
- In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of pickling salt or kosher salt until it dissolves. Pour in water over cucumbers and spices into jars (or as much of the water that fits). Be sure that the cucumbers are completely submerged in the water. See recipe notes.
- Loosly cover the jars with lids, place on a baking sheet or plate to collect brine overflow and store in a cool dry place to ferment for at least 3 days
- After 3 days test your pickles for flavor and crunch. If to your liking, put jars in fridge to stop fermentation process.
Notes
Tracy, what a beautiful post, and gorgeous pickles! I, too, would have picked chocolate doughnuts when I was nine, but would go for dill pickles now. Since we live in an inner city apartment I can only imagine how satisfying it would be to grow your own cucumbers and make pickles from them. Thank you for such a sunny, summery post for this week's Fiesta Friday!!
You're so sweet! Thank you so much!! Having a garden in our rental, even though it's a house with a yard, still makes me so happy since the house has a temporary feel- but nothing feels more like home than veggies from a garden 🙂
They look tantalising, but I tried some made by Hungarian migrants once, and no. Not for me. Maybe yours have more taste and less salt? Should I draw up the courage to try again? Hmmm. Bookmarked this, just in case I ever do.
Aw, I hope you do try it! These definitely have more than just a salt taste. The dill and coriander really come out with them, and you can always add a little more of something and less salt 🙂
How lovely to be able to jar and ferment produce from your very own garden! This is definitely something I need to do put thought into in the spring (not too far off now, in Australia) when I decide what veggies to plant. Thanks so much for the inspiration Tracy and thanks for bringing such a delicious fresh treat along to Fiesta Friday #27! Cheers, Margot
Thank YOU, Margot! Fermenting produce from my own garden is something I didn't think I'd ever do but am so thrilled we're able to! Garden planning is so fun- I hope you have a short winter and early spring over there 😉
These look great Tracy, and I concur with you regarding the goodness of pickles! Yum! Awesome that you can grow your own pickles.
Thanks, Ngan! I love that- growing my own pickles!
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!! AH Dill pickles are THE-BEST. Yours look like those expensive ones at the grocery store, I want one! I like eating dill pickles and American Cheese at the same time, weird right!? I want some nowwww. Mail me that pickle! Love the pics too, as alwaysssss 🙂
Hahahaha omg I love you but American cheese and dill pickles?!?! Ok ok, I won't knock it 'til I try it... But omg I'm sure we will have soooo many cucumbers this year and (hopefully) so many jars of pickles, I just might have to send out a care package! 😉
woah dill pickles- sounds interesting and looks amazing Tracey. just droooling by the name pickles.. Happy FF..
Thank you! Happy Fiesta Friday to you too! 🙂
Mmmm - so good - I can almost hear it snap as I bite into one! Happy Fiesta Friday!
😀 Happy Fiesta Friday! 🙂
I always wondered about these... you just got bookmarked!!
Awesome!! Thanks!
BIG TIME !!
Ummmmm yummmmm....Tracey..gorgeous recipe and beautiful pictures x
Thank you! 🙂
So fun!!
Thanks Lori! Fermenting used to scare me but it's definitely a ton of fun!