Name: Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers and Vinegar
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 36 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 medium or 5-6 small cucumbers (Kirby are great), about 2 cups.; 1 cup water; 1 cup white vinegar; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon kosher salt; 2 teaspoons black peppercorns; 2 teaspoons whole yellow mustard seed; 1-3 teaspoons red pepper flakes

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Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers and Vinegar make the most delicious refrigeration pickles that only take about 5 minutes to make. This homemade pickle recipe is a great snack that takes up almost no room in the fridge!

Homemade Refrigerated Pickle Recipe

Making your own pickles sounds like a whole lot of work and you might even be thinking of hot water baths, canning, and boiling rings. I'm here to tell you that you can make the most amazing homemade pickles by simply adding cucumbers and vinegar and a few other ingredients together and letting them sit in the fridge. If you've never eaten quick pickles or refrigerator pickles, then you are missing out. They have so much flavor and the best texture. The cucumbers stay nice and crisp because they don't go through much of a heating process. When you can pickles, you are boiling them in a hot water bath inside of the jars for a while, normally at least 10 minutes, which really changes the texture of the cucumber. When you make refrigerator pickles, the fresh cucumbers only get hot water poured over the top of them.

They have all the flavor and such a great texture with half the work! You do need to note that this is not a canning recipe. These pickles are meant to be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within a week. If you are looking for a shelf-stable pickle recipe, this isn't it. I love that I can make a batch of these sweet and spicy pickles in the morning and they are ready to eat by the afternoon. They are even better if you let them sit overnight.

You'll love how easy it is to make your own sweet and spicy cucumbers and vinegar!

Tips and Tricks for Making Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers and Vinegar

Sometimes when I make this in the summer and I have jalapeños in my garden along with the cucumbers, I'll sub in two diced jalapeños for the red pepper flakes. So delicious!
You can add a clove or two of fresh garlic (cut in half) to the brine if you like garlic pickles.
You can also add fresh or dried dill to taste.
You can substitute the peppercorns and whole mustard seed for pickling spice (here's my homemade pickling spice recipe) if you like. Use a generous tablespoon of pickling spice for this recipe.
Kirby cucumbers work best for this recipe though you can use just about any kind. The long English and just normal old grocery store cucumbers work fine, though the Kirbys tend to have the best texture for the longest amount of time.
These are awesome on pulled pork sandwiches, on a hummus and veggie sandwich, and on this turkey sandwich. And I love them with Sloppy Joe Baked Potatoes, too!

Bowl of sweet and spicy cucumbers and vinegar

More cucumber recipes:

If you’ve tried this spicy pickle recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories.