Apple Cider Vinegar Dill Pickles

What's better than dill pickles? Easy homemade apple cider vinegar dill pickles! This healthy recipe yields herbaceous, garlicky, crisp, and tangy pickles - that will be sure to please your taste buds and help you use up that goodness in your garden.

apple cider vinegar pickles cover image, open bottle of pickles on left hand corner of image with dried edible flower petals, sliced cucumbers and salt. a closed jar of pickles labeled pickles with a pink jar lid cover, and a green vintange victorian style plate with sliced pickles, dill, and pink flowers, next to a pair of scissors and a knife on top of a pink cheesecloth

Why you'll love this recipe:

Over the holidays, my mother and law came for a visit and showed me how to make homemade dill pickles. It was the perfect way to use up those fresh garden herbs and so much simpler than I would have imagined. These pickles are marinated in a solution of apple cider vinegar, salt, spices, seeds, herbs, and sugar. No special equipment, no canning, and no special - out of the ordinary - ingredients were needed. If you love pickles, you will love making this version at home.

apple cider vinegar pickles still life cucumbers stacked on top of eachother dish of salt and vase of flowers in background 7
apple cider vinegar pickles ingredients cucumber slices dill garlic onions vinegar spices on a rustic table

Ingredients:

You can get creative here. Add additional herbs and spices for infused flavors and benefits. See notes below for variation recommendations!

  • 8 to 10 pickling cucumbers
  • 4 garlic cloves, halved
  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon fennel (optional)
  • Dill sprigs + additional fresh herbs if you have them
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar, I always use braggs. This should available at your local grocer.
  • ¼ cup cane sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt

close up overhead image of sliced pickles in jar with colorful herbs and spices
Note: I also used dried cornflowers, which are the colorful dried flower petal pieces you see, purely for aesthetic!

Tools:

I made a Shopabble list for you available on my Amazon storefront to make it super simple for you if you're starting from scratch.

3 1

Step by step on how to make them:

My method for how to make pickles couldn’t be simpler! Here I'll show you how to make pickles with images every step of the way. Here’s how it goes:

  • Prepare your cucumbers. There is no right or wrong here. Leave them whole if desired. Slice them lengthwise into quarters to make spears, like we did. Or thinly slice them horizontally to make dill pickle chips. Either way, they will be delicious.
  • Prepare the jars for pickling! Divide the cucumbers among 4 8-ounce or 2 16-ounce jars, and add fresh dill and other herbs, garlic cloves, mustard seeds, and peppercorns and optional fennel to each jar of pickles.
woman's hand dropping peppercorns into jars for pickles
  • Make the brine. I use a mix of water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt.
large saucepan with apple cider vinegar brine for apple cider vinegar pickles

  • Let them pickle in the fridge. These pickles need to sit in the brine for five days for best flavor.
pouring apple cider vinegar brine into homemade dill pickles

Frequently asked questions:

Why we use apple cider vinegar:

If you've read my blog before, it's no secret I love raw apple cider vinegar. Is there anything it can't do? I use it on my hair, infused with oils to help me clean, and drink it in my fire cider and magical morning drink. ACV is believed to have some incredible health benefits. And this fermented apple component of our drink contains amino acid, potassium, magnesium, calcium, beta carotene, acid, enzymes, and pectin. All of this gets absorbed into your pickles.

How long do refrigerator pickles last?

Refrigerator pickles stay fresh in the fridge for up to one month, and they get better as time goes on. To make sure they have good flavor, wait 5 to seven days to try.

apple cider vinegar pickles 1

Variation recommendation:

  • Add jalapeños or red chili flakes for an extra spicy pickle!
  • Use any other vegetable you'd like, like red onions, radish or cauliflower with this method.
  • Add any other herbs you have growing abundantly in your garden to the mix.

jar of homemade apple cider vinegar pickles - cucumbers with onions, garlic, seeds in a rustic table with apple cider vinegar in a decanter and lavender flowers in a basket in the background

apple cider vinegar pickles cover image, open bottle of pickles on left hand corner of image with dried edible flower petals, sliced cucumbers and salt. a closed jar of pickles labeled pickles with a pink jar lid cover, and a green vintange victorian style plate with sliced pickles, dill, and pink flowers, next to a pair of scissors and a knife on top of a pink cheesecloth

Apple Cider Vinegar Dill Pickles

4.62 from 13 votes
What's better than dill pickles? Easy homemade apple cider vinegar dill pickles! This healthy recipe yields herbaceous, garlicy, crisp and tangy pickles - that will be sure to please your taste buds, and help you use up that goodness in your garden.
Print Recipe
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:10 minutes
Total Time:20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 to 10 pickling cucumbers
  • 4 garlic cloves halved
  • 1 small onion quartered
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon fennel optional
  • Dill sprigs + additional fresh herbs if you have them
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup cane sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions

  • Keep your pickles whole, or make pickle spears, slice the cucumbers lengthwise into quarters. To make dill pickle chips, thinly slice them horizontally.
  • Divide the cucumbers among 2 16-ounce jars. Divide the onion, garlic, mustard seeds, fennel, peppercorns, dill sprigs and other herbs (if using) among each jar.
  • Heat the water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Let cool for several minutes, and then pour over the cucumbers in the jar. Set aside to cool to room temperature, then store the pickles in the fridge.

Notes

Pickle spears will start to pickle after two days. Let them sit for at least five for most flavor. Best flavor will begin to develop around day 5 or 6. Pickle chips will be lightly pickled in 1 day. Store in the fridge for several weeks. They get better as time passes. To ensure they have good flavor, wait 5 to seven days to try.

Nutrition

Calories: 10kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 236mg | Iron: 4mg
Course: Sides
Cuisine: American
Keyword: acv recipes, apple cider vinegar pickles, homemade pickles
Servings: 2 16 oz jars of pickles
Calories: 10kcal
Author: sarah

I hope this recipe works beautifully for you and is enjoyed for many years. Thank you so much for reading. Your visit to my site helped support a small mama run business today. If you enjoyed it, I would be so honored if you would share it with your loved ones.

Sending love, freshly baked cookies, and a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

Similar Posts

Leave a comment !

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




10 Comments

  1. I made this recipe today! 2 days until I try the pickles 🙂

    I didnt have mustard seeds or fennel but used dill & garlic. Really looking forward to seeing how it turns out

    1. No worries Ashley! They will still be delicious. Mustard seed and garlic do add a lot of that nostalgic pickle flavor we know and love, but I bet they are still excellent and bursting with dill flavor! I hope you will love them, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. xo with love, Sarah

  2. 5 stars
    I LOVE THIS RECIPE BECAUSE I WANTED TO DO MY PICKLES FOR THE FIRST TIME AND I HAD APPLE CIDER VINEGAR ! I GOT INSPIRED ? (I replaced mustard seeds with sesame seeds) ...5 days until I taste my pickles ?

    1. Thank you so much for your comment! The sesame seeds wont offer the spicey kick mustard seeds give, but as long as you've added herbs and other things I'm sure they will still be really yummy. Hope you love them!

    1. So sorry to hear that Laura! Thanks for your comment. I agree they are not as crunchy as store bough pickles. But haven't experienced full blown mushy. Hope they were tasty nonetheless. Have a wonderful week, xo Sarah