Homemade Pickles Cold-Packed Pickles are perfect for anyone who has an ample harvest of pickling cucumbers. Find everything you need below to make the most flavorful refrigerator pickles, easily.

While there were quite a few steps in making cold packed pickles, it was still easier than fully canning them with heat. We made two batches that “marinated” for two weeks before we dug in and tried them.
I think the fresh dill, garlic, and mustard seed really kicked this Homemade Pickles Recipe up a notch! The jars looked so pretty before we added the juice to them.
Do you have a lot of pickling cucumbers too in your garden? If so, this recipe is ideal for you to use some up!
Cold Pack Pickles Ingredients for 2 Large Mason Jars
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups white vinegar *must be 5% vinegar
- 1 1/2 oz pickling salt (about 1/4 cup).
- 4 pickling cucumbers
- 4-5 fresh garlic cloves
- 2 heads of fresh dill for each jar
- 1/4 tsp of dill seed per jar
- 1 tsp mustard seed per jar
- 1/4 crushed red pepper per jar
Important Pickling Tip
You will also need sanitized mason jars. You can sanitize all components of your jars by boiling them and allowing them to dry in a clean place. This is important to prevent bacteria growth.
You want to try to use pickling cucumbers because they are smaller in size. You can also use regular cucumbers if you only have them. I find the pickling ones are the most ideal though.
How to Make Cold Pack Pickles
Add vinegar, water and salt to a medium stock pot (larger if you are making many jars).
Bring brine to rolling boil, and remove from heat.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Slice or spear the cucumbers.
Fill each jar with 1 head of dill at the bottom.
Mince or chop the garlic, and add it to each jar along with the dill seed, mustard seed, and crushed red pepper.
Tightly Pack the jars with the cucumbers.
Fill the jars with the brine, add the remaining heads if dill to the top.
Tighten the lids and store in fridge for 2 weeks before consuming.
The longer you allow your cucumbers to pickle, the better they will taste.
How long do they last?
These pickles will last 3-4 months in the refrigerator before losing their crunch.
Additional Recipes for Cucumbers
- Cucumber Chicken Salad Cups
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Cucumber Fruit Water
- Cucumber Garnish on Turkey Burgers
- Watermelon Feta Salad with Cucumber
- Fruited Iced Tea
Homemade Cold-Packed Pickles Recipe
Ingredients
Cucumber Brine Ingredients
- 4 cups water brine liquid will be evenly split between two large jars
- 1½ cups white vinegar *must be 5%
- 1½ ounces pickling salt
- 6 cloves fresh garlic chopped, 3 cloves per jar
- 4 sprigs fresh dill 2 per jar
- ½ tsp. dill seed divided (¼ tsp. per jar)
- 2 tsps. mustard seed 1 tsp per jar
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper divided (¼ tsp. per jar)
Instructions
- Sanitize two large mason jars, dry and set aside.
- Ventilate the house before the next step because vinegar boiling stinks.
- In a medium stockpot, add water, vinegar, and salt.
- Bring mixture to a boil.
- Allow liquid to cool until room temperature.
- Wash, dry, and slice or coin 4 pickling cucumbers.
- Add cucumbers to the jars.
- Fill both jars with even amounts of garlic, dill, mustard seeds, pepper, and dill seed.
- Fill jars with cooled liquid, cap, and place in fridge for at least 1 week, but really, 2 weeks will provide the BEST results possible!
Hi Amy,
I see your recipe on cold packing pickles. Do you also have one for pickle relish?
Thank, Ruth
Hi Ruth, We don’t have a recipe for pickle relish (yet), but that sounds like something we should look into creating. Thanks!
How long do the pickles last in refrigerator
Hello, they are best within 3-4 months.
Once you can eat them, they disappear pretty quickly
do you have a recipe for cold pack canning on sweet peppers?
Hello, not yet! Coming soon!
seems everyone is canning right now (cucumbers are in abundance!). so fresh dill in the grocery is hard to find. how well would jarred/dried dill work in this recipe?
Hello, it would still work, but fresh is best.
These are fabulous! Everyone wants the recipe. I do add 2-3 bay leaves per jar to keep them extra crispy! ❤️
Thank you, so much for your kind words and idea!
Pickling spice has all these plus bay included.
I have made refridgerator dills for some time. How do I made them more crispy?
Hi Earl,
Once you make the pickling juice, make sure it is 100% cold before adding it to the pickle slices. If it is even warm it softens them terribly quick.
I used Pickle Crisp in ours. It works quite nicely.
So I put oak leaves on the sides of the jar to make mine crispy and crunchy
I have an old recipe for canning sweet crunchy pickles but for the life of me I can’t remember how I sealed them. They are not frig pickles. Nothing is ever heated! I know they were left out on the shelf with all my other canning.
So can I preserve them in a hot bath so I can store them in my cold cellar?.. how long will they stay crispy?
Hi, this is a cold-pack recipe which is not the same as a true canned one.
My store doesn’t have “pickling cucumbers” would it work okay if I used a regular cucumber and cut into slices on my mandoline? I have McCormick pickling spices because I don’t have access to fresh dill. (pickling spice ingredients: cinnamon, allspice, mustard seeds, , corriander, bay leaves, ginger, chilies, cloves, black pepper, cardamom mace and sulfuric agents.
I also have dill seeds, but no pickle salt can I just use kosher salt?
Hello,
It is important to use the pickling cucumbers because they are small and firm. You can use the seasoning, but pickling salt is important and will keep your cukes crisp.
My kiddo and I make homemade pickles every year. This year I decided to try your recipe. They turned out amazing! Thank you for the great recipe. This will be our new go-to!
Crispy and delicious! The perfect way to use up an abundance of cucumbers!
This is a great way to use up extra cucumbers!! Can’t wait to try this.
I never knew canning could be this easy! Can’t wait to give this recipe a try with our own cucumbers; looks to good to pass up, indeed!
This is the best way to make pickles! They make a perfect snack!
Hi there, how important is the dill seed? Cannot find it anywhere since I did not grow my own dill.
Hello, that is what gives the cucumbers their pickle flavor.