Our go-to Canned Dill Pickle Recipe with tips for making CRUNCHY dill pickles. We included an easy step-by-step photo tutorial on how to can pickles.
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Canned Dill Pickle Recipe
This canned pickles recipe and method was shared by my Aunt Tanya. This dill pickle has the perfect balance of salty and tangy with a touch of sweetness. We are always improving our recipes and listening to reader feedback, so we re-tested and updated this recipe in Sept 2019 to give it a more traditional dill flavor.
What you will Need to Make Dill Pickles:
The ingredients here are simple and inexpensive, especially if you grow your own fresh cucumbers. My mom has horseradish growing in her yard, but if you aren’t able to source fresh horseradish, you can leave it out or substitute with another garlic clove in each jar.
Also, pickling salt works great for canning pickles because it is free of iodine and preservatives.
Tips for Crunchy Dill Pickles:
- The smaller and fresher the pickles are to begin with, the crunchier they will be. Larger cucumbers will soften more.
- Do not over process the pickles. If you keep them in the water bath too long, they will become soft. Remove them from the canner immediately after processing 15 minutes.
- Trim off the ends of the cucumbers with a knife. The ends carry an enzyme that promotes softening.
- Use small cucumbers and pack tightly. If your cucumbers are too large, you can’t fit as many in the jar and will need more brine.
Home Canning Tools:
With the right gear, canning is easier, safer and way less intimidating. Here is what you will need:
- 6 Quart Sized (wide-mouth) Mason jars with rings and new lids
- Large Stock Pot (20Qt+) with Rack (or purchase a canner)
- Jar lifter to safely transfer the jars
This Dill Pickle Recipe is EASY:
Here is the method for canning these sweet and salty pickles.
- Fill the jars with the herbs and flavoring and tightly pack with cucumbers
- Make the brine and fill jars to 1/2″ below the top.
- Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don’t over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
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Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of boiling water then boil and process 15 minutes. Remove from the pot and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid – it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate pickles and enjoy within 3 months.
How to Test if Canning Seal Has Formed?
- When you push in the center of the lid, it should not pop up and down.
- If you do hear a popping or clicking, the seal did not form and the jar must be refrigerated.
- Properly Sealed pickles can be stored at room temperature up to a year.
Current Canning Guidelines:
Recipe updated in 2019 to reflect current canning guidelines. Get up to date on the most recent canning guidelines here. It’s a great resource to answer frequently asked canning questions.
Signs of Spoiled Canned Food:
With any type of canning, we follow this advice: “When in doubt, throw it out”
Discard and do not eat or taste any canned food if you notice any of the following:
- the jar is leaking, bulging, or swollen
- the jar looks damaged, cracked, or abnormal
- the jar spurts foam or liquid upon opening
- the canned food is discolored, moldy, mushy, slimy, or smells bad
Canning Recipes to Explore:
- Peach Preserves – my Mother’s recipe for peach jam
- Marinated Bell Peppers – so amazing with mashed potatoes
- Refrigerator Pickles – we make these all summer long
Canned Dill Pickle Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for Canned Cucumbers:
- 6 bay leaves, (1 per jar)
- 1/2 Tbsp peppercorn, (5 per jar)
- 6 Dill Stems with Flowers, cut into 3" pieces (1 full stem per jar)
- 12 garlic cloves, halved (2 cloves per jar)
- 2 inch horseradish root, chopped and divided, optional but nice
- 6 lbs small cucumbers, well rinsed with ends trimmed
Ingredients for Pickling Brine:
- 8 cups water
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp pickling salt (or 1/3 cup)
- 6 cups distilled white Vinegar, (5% acidity)
Tools Needed for Canning:
- 6 Quart-sized wide-mouth mason jars with rings and new lids
- 1 large Stock Pot (20Qt+) with Rack (or a canner)
- 1 jar lifter to safely transfer the jars
Instructions
How to Sterilize Canning Jars and Lids:
- Wash jars and lids with soap and water.
- Place jars and lids in a pot of water, bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Drain the water carefully then your jars and lids are ready to use.
How to Make Homemade Pickles:
- Divide bay leaves, peppercorns, dill stems, garlic and horseradish (optional) into the bottoms of 6 Quart-sized jars. Pack cucumbers tightly into jars.
- In a medium pot, combine 8 cups water, 1/3 cup sugar, 6 Tbsp salt and 6 cups vinegar. Bring pickling juice to a boil then pour over cucumbers leaving 1/2” of space at the top. Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don't over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
- Place jars in a canner or large pot lined with a wire rack at the bottom. Once all of the jars are in the pot, add boiling hot water, to cover jars with 1-2 inches of water. Process/boil for 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove jars from the water using a jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid - it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate pickles and enjoy within 3 months.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Note: Recipe updated Sept 2019 to update the canning method, reflecting current canning guidelines. We are always working on improving our recipes and many of you said you prefer your dill pickles more tangy than sweet. After retesting, we increased the vinegar and reduced the total amount of water for a more traditional flavored dill pickle. Our salt to vinegar ratios were based on this recipe.
Q: Who else is obsessed with pickles? I am pretty serious about my pickles and this pickle recipe does not disappoint! Did you grow up eating pickles with everything?
I would like to know if Natasha actually reads the negative comments about her dills. All the replies are generic. It would be nice to get a personal response. I asked for advice on what to do about the pickles I made. No response. What I have done is as I open a jar I pour out half the brine and replace it with vinegar. It helps a bit. I use the pickles and sandwiches and they taste OK. Didn’t want to throw out 30 jars of pickles. Will not use this website again
Hi Joanne, Maybe you missed my reply to you a few comments down? I do read all of them and do my best to troubleshoot and offer advice when I can. Reader reviews and suggestions were the #1 reason we completely overhauled this recipe a few months back. We always appreciate the feedback (good and bad) because it helps us to improve. Thank you that you came back and shared details on what you did to help the old recipe – I think others will benefit from your tip. I’m truly sorry you had a bad experience. P.S. Please check your email 🙂
Love pickling, fermenting and preserving. Having read most of the comments so far, I have to say that there are lots of variations to making dill pickles to suit one’s taste. Being from the ‘old’ country we have been fermenting gherkins on a regular basis for years. They are pretty much ready as soon as the ‘bubbles’ stop, after 3-5 days depending on the temperature. We don’t use sugar or vinegar, just salt – with or without dill, garlic and spices (depending on one’s preferred taste). Result tasty and crunchy and not intended to be kept for long. For long-term preserving, we mostly used the vinegar and smaller amount of salt and then ‘cellared’ the jars for use at a later desired time. Cheers.
I’m really looking forward to trying the updated version. My husband would probably prefer the more dilly pickles too. Pickles and mashed potatoes – I’m already craving that!
Hi Dina, I hope you give the new dill pickles a try and that you both love them! Happy Thanksgiving!
I had the same experience with my dill pickles,no flavour. I relied on the reviews and wonder who thought these were good. I made this an event with my daughter and son-in-law as they were interested in learning how to preserve. They also were not impressed. Any suggestions on what to do with 30 jars of flavourless dill pickles?
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy them. I hope you give the new version a try.
Hi Joanne,
Don’t despair. When I found my pickles to be flavorless as well I opened a jar and added about 1/2 to 1 tsp salt and about a TBSP vinegar. I did not measure but when I added those extra ingredients it made these pickles “somewhat” edible. Please try this. It doesn’t take long for the the salt and vinegar to lodge into the pickles. All is not lost with this terrible original recipe.
I followed the original recipe that was posted…it has changed since. These are the “worst” pickles I’ve ever made…completely flavorless. I keep wondering why her site gets 5 stars reviews on everything. Friends and family maybe???? Don’t waste your time.
Hi, We did update the recipe a few months ago as noted in the post above. I’m sorry you didn’t get to try the new and improved version. After retesting several batches, we came up with these more traditionally dill pickles. Our readers generally love and trust our recipes because we do rigorous testing, but there is always room for improvement. I hope you give these another try.
I can’t tell you how angered I am when I open yet another jar of “inferior” pickles. What angers me the most is that your “inferior” recipe got 5 star ratings. How can you manipulate this and have people follow it and spend a substantial amount only to find out that this is, to say it lightly, sub-par? Are you okay with that??? I will do what I can to blacklist your sight. Sorry but I’m exasperated.
I am truly sorry you didn’t enjoy the pickles. I wish we could have updated the recipe sooner before you made your batch. We had people who really enjoyed the recipe and we also had people who did not because they expected a more traditionally dilly and more acidic pickle, so we re-tested the recipe and updated it to a more traditional dill-flavored pickle. We don’t manipulate anything on our site and we always appreciate honest reviews because it helps us improve. I appreciate your honest review on the old recipe and I hope we haven’t lost you as a reader. P.S. Please check your email 🙂
Natasha,you had a BEST assorty recipe. Where did it go?I just bought tomatoes and have to do it today.Help me please !!!!
Hi Natalia, do you recall more details about the recipe you are referring to?
You had before canning vegetable assortment recipe, but I can’t find it anymore.that was best marinade recipe, I did it every year. Can you post it again, please.
Hi Natalia, I will email it to you.
I made a assortment recipe too and just opened first jar and it tastes delicious! I came back to make a bookmark and now I can’t find it. I need that recipe please!!! I wrote down this pickles recipe but it looks not as I did with assortment, ans acidic balance was amazing! I was looking for this balance for years! Please please, can you send this e-mail to me? Thank you so much in advance!
Hi Nataliia, I just emailed it to you. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I didn’t get it, can you please check if the email was right? I got only automatic notifications about replies.
Thank you!
Hi Nataliia, I forwarded it again to the same email you provided when you filled out your comment. Hope you get it! If not, maybe check your spam filter? It would be coming from natasha@natashaskitchen . com.
I have a question that I cannot find a post on the internet which answers it for me. Perhaps you could write me an give me your answer.
Question. How long do you have to wait before you can open a jar of your dill pickles and they are ready to eat.
I have made up to 70 lbs of dill pickles per year and when I give them to family and friends I give them a 5 month window from the date I packed them. I know this is to long but with family it keeps them from coming back for more to quickly.
Hi Douglas, typically it does help to wait but we have enjoyed them as soon as one week later since we simply couldn’t wait.
I made these pickles about 4 weeks ago and opened a jar yesterday. I was disappointed with the lack of flavour so I went back to check the recipe. I realized you have updated the recipe for the brine. I used the recipe calling for 12 cups water, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup pickling salt and 2 1/4 cups vinegar. Your updated version is much different. My concern is with the reduced vinegar are these still properly preserved and safe to eat?
Hi Joanne, we did remake the pickles this month and updated the recipe to make them more traditionally dill flavored. I wish we could have changed it sooner in time for your canning. The old way is the way we had made them for years and we never ran into any issues enjoying them. They did have a sweeter flavor to them (the sugar also served to preserve in addition to the vinegar), but after several reader requests, we updated the recipe to give them more of a traditional dill flavor. I hope you give the new version a try. Regarding safety, as with any canning, a good rule of thumb is: When in doubt, throw it out:
I also added these notes to my post above, but definitely discard and do not taste canned goods if:
-the jar is leaking, bulging, or swollen;
-the jar looks damaged, cracked, or abnormal;
-the jar spurts foam or liquid upon opening
-the canned food is discolored, moldy, slimy, or smells bad.
Hi Natasha,
Could I get your old recipe? I liked it. I would like to use again for fridge picked.
Joe
Hi Joe, I think you might be referring to these refrigerator pickles. If you haven’t tried them, I would highly recommend them for refrigerated pickles. It is my Mother’s recipe and she makes them regularly when cucumbers are in season.
Thanks for your quick reply. I’m making them now. Why and when to turn upside down? It checks seals but how?
Hi Crystal, turning upside down is not necessary with this updated canning method. To check if the seal has formed, please see step 4: “Remove from the pot and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid – it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate pickles and enjoy within 3 months.”
How long before you can eat them? I’ve heard they need to stay in the jars
Hi Crystal, typically it does help to wait but we have enjoyed them as soon as one week later since we simply couldn’t wait.
Can I use dried dill instead of fresh?
Hi Karen, I haven’t tried dried dill only in this recipe. The stock of the dill also plays a role in the recipe and I think you would miss it if you skipped fresh dill.
Hi Natasha I made the old recipe last year and loved them but I used pints and found they had lots of flavour. I guess that would be because half the amount of brine but same amount of spices. I used quarts this year and used the new recipe but I like a sweeter pickle. Could you please email me the old recipe?
Hi Kevin, are you possible referring to this “old recipe”? If you haven’t tried them, I would highly recommend them for refrigerated pickles. It is my Mother’s recipe and she makes them regularly when cucumbers are in season.
Hi Natasha at the bottom of this recipe there is a note that the canning method was updated and the water and vinegar ratios were changed because people preferred a more traditional flavoured pickle, so I assumed this was the updated recipe. I really liked the ones I made last year that is why I asked for the old recipe or the original non updated recipe. Maybe this is the recipe I used just wanted to make sure I had the right one so I could write it down.
Hi Kevin, you can search for sites like this: https://web.archive.org/ and plug in the URL to view the old version of the recipe.
I just made this recipe but I had a few concerns which have been addressed in the comments.
I think I screwed up on the canning though. I put the jars into the canner and boiled them for 15 minutes……after reading the comments I think I’m gonna get some mushy pickles….oh well live and learn and I am learning…I only recently started doing this canning thing.
I will let you know how they turn out. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Chris, I don’t think they will be mushy after 15 minutes. I Hope you love them!
Can you use this brine for string beans to make dilly beans?
Hi, I honestly have not tested that and if you experiment, please let me know!
Could you help me my pickles float in the jars after sealed. I have released the air lids loose . Is this something wrong
Hi Terry, I’m not sure what you mean by “released air lids loose” – make sure you don’t loosen the lids or disturb the seal once the seal has formed and the lids do not make a popping sound when you push them down in the center. If you have released the lids, you should refrigerate the jars that are no longer sealed. Sometimes smaller pickles might float even when the jars are sealed and canned correctly, and it might just cause a slight discoloration. It does help to pack them into the jars tightly to keep them from floating up.
What if you suddenly have 10” cucumbers? Do you cut them and remove seeds??
Hi Priscilla, I’m not sure it would work properly, or they may have to sit much longer to marinate. Removing the seeds will be best when that large.
This was my first attempt at canning. These pickles are not bad, however I would not label these as dill pickles. I made mine exactly by the recipe with the the exception of the horse radish root. These pickles taste more sweet than dill to me. The sugar in the recipe should have alerted me, but as I said I have never camned before, so I went along with it. As I said, not bad, but not for me.
Hi Greg, some recipes do make a sweeter pickle than Vlasic. I’ve noticed that trend with the ones I have purchased from the Russian store.
Hi is it okay if a didn’t cover my jars with water while in the canner?
Hi Bridget, the method I learned from my Mother, we didn’t cover them but current standards recommend covering the cans. Make sure the seal formed.
I was wondering if I could use an air fryer (maybe with a little bit of water in it) to seal them; since I don’t have a large pot? The largest pot I have is 3 qts
Hi Meagan, I haven’t tested that to advise, if you experiment please let me know how that works out.
Is it possible to reduce the amount of sugar?
Hi Kate, I honestly haven’t tried this pickle recipe without the sugar. It makes up a big portion for the brine so you would have to replace it with some salt. Without testing it out, it’s difficult to make that recommendation.
Made my first batch, totally different from when I canned with mom. Started canning young age. Wait and see
Thank you for sharing that with me
I have leftover brine from my last batch of pickles. Could I save it for my next batch and just reboil it?
Hi Sara, I would not recommend re-using it.
Hi! How long should we wait after canning to eat whole pickles?
Typically it does help to wait but we have enjoyed them as soon as one week later since we simply couldn’t wait.
Thank you! We made them last night and my little girl wants to open one now lol!
The hardest part is waiting! You’re welcome.