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Home » Recipes » Sauces, Dips + Condiments

How to Pickle Anything

Published: Oct 2, 2015 · Modified: Feb 15, 2021 by Coley · This post may contain affiliate links.

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This easy pickling tutorial teaches you how to make quick refrigerator pickles that can be applied to just about any vegetable! 

We're going back to school again! This time it's all about pickling 101. Pickled foods are the best kinds of foods, in my humble opinion. Crunchy, salty and tangy with very few calories, pickles are a great bang for the buck. They're great on their own, or used to cut through rich foods like cheeseburgers and fried chicken. Plus, the leftover pickle juice is perfect for whisking into a salad dressing, or better yet, chasing shots of whiskey, called a pickleback (seriously, give it a try!).

HOW TO PICKLE ANYTHING | This easy pickling tutorial teaches you how to make quick refrigerator pickles that can be applied to any vegetable! #easy #pickling #tutorial #recipe | ColeyCooks.com

Making your own pickles from scratch is seriously one of the easiest culinary techniques out there. I love pickling everything from cucumbers and carrots, to hard boiled eggs and shrimp. You really can pickle just about anything your little heart desires. This video shows my basic recipe for a classic dill pickle, but the simple ratio of sugar, vinegar, water and salt can be used to make an infinite number of puckery variations. Change up the spices and make it your own!

Print

Dill Pickles

Two half gallon mason jars of dill pickle slices on a wood table.
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

This easy pickling tutorial teaches you how to make quick refrigerator pickles that can be applied to just about any vegetable! 

  • Author: Nicole Gaffney (ColeyCooks.com)
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 quarts 1x
  • Category: appetizer
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: american

Ingredients

Scale

Basic Brine

  • 2 cups white distilled vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Dill Pickles

  • 6-8 small kirby cucumbers, sliced ½ inch thick
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • ¼ small onion (optional)
  • 6 sprigs fresh dill
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seed
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seed

Instructions

  1. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan and bring up to a boil. While that's cooking, layer the cucumbers, garlic, onion, dill and spices in two quart sized jars.
  2. When the liquid is boiling, remove it from the heat and pour over the cucumbers. Seal the jars and refrigerate. These pickles will keep for several months in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 410
  • Sugar: 58.1 g
  • Sodium: 3764.3 mg
  • Fat: 2.9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 76.8 g
  • Protein: 6.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Keywords: how to pickle, homemade pickles, pickling vegetables, dill pickles

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a review and star rating ⭐️ to help other cooks!

Side view of two half gallon mason jars of dill pickle rounds on a wood table.

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  1. Thalia @ butter and brioche

    October 06, 2015 at 3:39 am

    I've never tried making my own quick pickles before.. so thanks for the awesome idea!

    Reply
  2. Donovan

    August 02, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    lol 54 years old I have my first taste of pickled cucumbers and like very much non christian to make my own me your recipe

    Reply
  3. Diana Petriew

    August 12, 2019 at 8:58 pm

    What about carrots? can we pickle them with this recipe? would that be good?

    Reply
    • Coley

      August 12, 2019 at 11:49 pm

      absolutely! carrots are one of my absolute favorite veggies to pickle!

      Reply
  4. Kai

    March 09, 2021 at 7:31 pm

    Do you have to use glass jars? I'm just asking since I am not going to process them like you do when you're doing canning Can I use sturdy heavy duty plastic containers with screw on tops?

    Reply
    • Coley

      March 10, 2021 at 10:01 am

      No, definitely not! Any vessel that keeps the vegetables submerged in liquid will work.

      Reply
      • Dawn

        May 05, 2022 at 7:04 pm

        do we need to sterilized and make sure lid is tight like you do when you can tomatoes?

        Reply
        • Coley

          May 09, 2022 at 11:28 am

          If you plan on canning these to store at room temperature, yes. But if making refrigerated pickles it is not

          Reply
  5. Bob S

    July 31, 2022 at 7:29 pm

    I grew persian cukes for the first time this year and wanted to try pickling. This simple recipe worked like a charm on my first try.. The pieces of vidalia onion used for flavoring turned out to be as good as the cuke slices.
    Do you think it would work for Japanese eggplant?

    Thanks!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Coley

      August 11, 2022 at 10:31 am

      I've never pickled eggplant myself but I say give it a try! Im glad you enjoyed the recipe.

      Reply

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I'm Nicole Gaffney, but my friends all call me Coley. You should, too! I'm a chef and recipe developer specializing in coastal Italian cooking. Welcome to Coley Cooks! About Nicole Gaffney

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