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.

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 more simpler than I would have imagined. These pickles are a 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.

Ingredients:

You can really 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
¼ cup cane sugar
2 tablespoons sea salt

still life image composed of wooden bowl of cucumbers, lilacs, vinegar, onions

Step by step 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.

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.