Grandma’s Quick Pickled Cucumbers – Refrigerator Pickles
on Jul 08, 2017, Updated Jul 19, 2024
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These Quick Pickled Cucumbers with green onion are made in the refrigerator for a simple summer snack!
My grandma was a wiz in the kitchen and always created the most incredible recipes for her family of 13 kids (11 of whom were boys!). I got this recipe for quick pickled cucumbers from her. She is an incredible woman, and thinking about her makes me happy. She’d create a simple brine and throw anything from the garden in—not just cucumbers, but onions, bell peppers, and whole cherry tomatoes.
It tastes like summer in a jar, and whether you’re an avid gardener or more of a grocery store frequenter, anyone can make these easy refrigerator pickles in no time.
Try these recipes if you’re looking for more pickling options: Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickled Banana Peppers, Quick Pickled Cucumbers and Onions, and Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers and Vinegar
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One of the best things about Refrigerator Pickles is that you can make them quickly and then let them sit in the fridge.
- Unlike traditional canning, this recipe doesn’t require any special equipment.
- If you have an abundance of fresh cucumbers, this recipe is a fantastic way to preserve them and enjoy them longer.
Recipe Ingredients
- Vinegar – apple cider, white, and rice wine are all good options
- Sugar – optional, but it takes a little of the “bite” out of the vinegar
- Garden Cucumbers
- Onion or Green Onion
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Quick Pickled Cucumbers
- Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt.
- Add the cucumber and onion.
- Cover all the cucumbers with the brine.
- Place in the refrigerator until ready to eat!
Recipe FAQs
Most recipes call for distilled white vinegar—it’s clear, colorless, and has a mellow aroma and tart acidic flavor. But you can really use whatever vinegar you like and have on hand, like apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar. This recipe is flexible!
If you ask my grandma, you can pickle any vegetables you like! A few common ones to pickle are cucumbers (of course!), radishes, carrots, red onions, asparagus, jalapenos, cauliflower, and green beans.
To pickle something, you must soak the vegetables in a vinegar brine. My brine calls for water, vinegar, sugar (optional), and salt. You let the cucumbers rest in the brine in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them. Letting them sit longer helps the flavors develop more, so an overnight soak is ideal, but they’re also okay to eat right away!
You want to choose a cucumber with thicker skin, as the thick skin helps the cucumber stay crunchy. Stay away from the English cucumber, as its skin is too thin.
Expert Tips
- White vinegar is the traditional vinegar for this recipe and a great place to start. Apple cider or rice wine vinegar are also good.
- These are delicious on our favorite pulled pork sandwiches (made easy in the slow cooker!), as a side for everything summer, and to eat for a snack. You can’t go wrong with this simple dish all summer long.
- Want to add a little spice? Toss in a jalapeno cut in half (delicious!).
- I love these glass containers with lids to have things like this in my fridge. I also use a mason jar and one of these reusable lids really often.
More Preserving Recipes to Consider
Canning Recipes
How to Can Food: Learn the Basics
Freezing Foods
How to Blanch Green Beans
Freezing Foods
How to Freeze Fruit and Vegetables
Soups, Stews & Chowders
How to Make Chicken or Turkey Broth
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Quick Pickled Cucumbers – Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup vinegar, (apple cider, white, and rice wine are all good)
- 2 tablespoons sugar, optional
- 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
- sliced garden cucumbers, (about 2 cups)
- sliced onion or green onion, (about 1/2 cup)
- additional vegetables as you like, (bell pepper, whole cherry tomatoes, etc.)
Instructions
- In a small bowl add the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir to combine and until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add the cucumber and onion. Taste and adjust the ingredients to your liking.
- All the cucumbers should be covered in the brine, if you have lots of cucumber or are making a big batch, make more brine.
- Let the mixture rest in the fridge until you are ready to eat. The flavors develop over time, so an overnight soak is great but mine are normally gone by dinner.
Video
Notes
- I love adding the sugar and my mom does too, but my grandma doesn’t add that much (she only adds a few teaspoons). I say try it and see what you like.
- White vinegar is a great place to start but if you like apple cider or rice wine vinegar, they are also good. You really can’t mess this up. Just adjust to the taste and enjoy!
- The pickles will last at least a week in the fridge but get less crisp with time.
- You can reuse your brine for a time or two; add more cucumbers!
I made this as my first pickle recipe ever. I used apple cider vinear. It was too strong for me, but my daughter loved them. Is there any way I can make these so they can be canned in a water bath, or would I need to change ratio of water to vinegar? I’ll be making more for my daughter, either way. I’d like to try with white vinegar to see how different it will taste. It was super easy and I did write the recipe down as a keeper. 🙂
Has anyone tried canning these? I would like to can some for the winter.
This is my new addiction! Great recipe.
I made these 40 years ago. I also made yellow squash the same way, so so good. My husband would hide his jars.
That’s so fun, I’m going to try yellow squash next, thank you!
Has anyone tried sweeteners like stevia or something like that to replace sugar?
I have read many a recipe like yours; each varied in amounts of sugar/water/vinegar. I did find one that boiled the brine first. Any thoughts as to why?
Some people boil the bring to help dissolve all the sugar/salt and to help bring out some of the flavor in the spices!
If I put them in the jar, how long will they last in the fridge? Thank you.
They’ll last a week or two, they just start to get soft. If you like them really crisp eat withing the first day or two.
Thank you for this recipe! i love putting sugar in it too <3 we'll be putting them in our father's day burgers
I made this last night and hubby and I loved it! I used your basic recipe with sugar, distilled white vinegar and some white wine vinegar, just made more than one batch. I put in a sliced unpeeled english cucumber, sliced onion, carrot matchsticks and quartered a fresh jalapeno. We ate the whole thing. I’m redoing the veggies today and re-using the brine.
This was very helpful for the type of viniger to use.
These are so fresh and delicious! I add a tsp of dill and they are to die for! Perfect for snacking, on sandwiches and salads!
Yes! I like a few red pepper flakes too for a little heat! So much flexibility!