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.
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.
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
Tools:
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.
- Make the brine. I use a mix of water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt.
- Let them pickle in the fridge. These pickles need to sit in the brine for five days for best flavor.
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.
Apple Cider Vinegar Dill Pickles
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
Nutrition
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.