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.

Canned Dill Pickle Recipe in Jar with garlic

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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.

Crunch Dill Pickles Recipe

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.

Ingredients for Canned Dill Pickle Recipe

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.

How to make Crunch Dill Pickles

Home Canning Tools:

With the right gear, canning is easier, safer and way less intimidating. Here is what you will need:

This Dill Pickle Recipe is EASY:

Here is the method for canning these sweet and salty pickles.

  1. Fill the jars with the herbs and flavoring and tightly pack with cucumbers
  2. Make the brine and fill jars to 1/2″ below the top.
  3. 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.
  4. Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a 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.

Two photos of glass jars one with seasoning and one with Canned Dill pickles

How to can pickles

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.

How to Test if canning seal formed

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.

Crunch Dill Pickles in Jar

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:

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Canned Dill Pickle Recipe

4.85 from 113 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Learn how to make crunchy Canned Dill Pickles from fresh cucumbers. We included an easy step-by-step photo tutorial on how to can pickles.
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 30 people (makes 6 Qt sized jars)

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

42kcal Calories9g Carbs1402mg Sodium131mg Potassium7g Sugar80IU Vitamin A3.5mg Vitamin C21mg Calcium0.3mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Canned Dill Pickle Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
42
% Daily Value*
Sodium
 
1402
mg
61
%
Potassium
 
131
mg
4
%
Carbohydrates
 
9
g
3
%
Sugar
 
7
g
8
%
Vitamin A
 
80
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
 
3.5
mg
4
%
Calcium
 
21
mg
2
%
Iron
 
0.3
mg
2
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Side Dish, snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Pickle Recipe
Skill Level: Easy/Medium
Cost to Make: $
Calories: 42

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?

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. | natashaskitchen.com

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

Read more posts by Natasha

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Jason Kinnear
    January 22, 2024

    If I only had 2lbs of pickles, how would you adjust the water/salt/sugar/vinegar ratio? Would this work?
    2 2/3 cups water
    2 tablespoons granulated sugar
    2 tablespoons pickling salt
    2 2/3 cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      January 22, 2024

      Hi Jason! You can use the tool in the recipe card to change the serving size and it will convert the ingredients for you. Change it to 10 servings for 2 lbs of cucumbers.

      Reply

      • Jason Kinnear
        January 22, 2024

        Great. Didn’t catch that feature (obviously). Thanks for pointing it out.

        Reply

  • Ethel
    December 12, 2023

    I made the dill pickle recipe without the bay leaves, pepper corns just the water vinegar salt and sugar. Everyone raved about my pickles. Even those who were not big on pickles. This is my one and only recipe that I will use

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      December 12, 2023

      That’s great to hear, Ethel! Thank you for the feedback.

      Reply

  • Randy
    October 27, 2023

    I followed this recipe and canned about 6 500 ml jars about 2 months ago. Just opened one today. The pickles are absolutely delicious, but not crisp. I only cut off the flower end as that is what I’ve seen recommended in many other recipes. Perhaps that was part of the problem. Also, I think my cucumbers were a bit larger than what you recommend, so that could be a contributing factor. I will definitely try again next year to see if I can get crisper pickles. Meanwhile, there’s nothing wrong with how these taste! Yum!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 28, 2023

      Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Randy! It’s hard to say what caused them not to be cripsy without being there, but I’m so glad you loved the flavor!

      Reply

  • V
    August 29, 2023

    You may want to check your suggestion to boil canning lids to see if the manufacturer still suggests boiling them as many do not anymore.

    Reply

  • Marylou
    August 19, 2023

    Can you use red pepper flakes in place of the pepper corns? I prefer these in my refrigerator pickles.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 19, 2023

      Hi Marylou, I haven’t tried this with red pepper flakes, but that may work here if that’s your preference. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.

      Reply

  • Sandy
    August 12, 2023

    Your brine recipe is my favourite! It’s not too salty or sour. I have not tried the horse radish yet. Will try next time.

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      August 13, 2023

      Hi Sandy! That’s great to hear.

      Reply

  • Victoria
    August 11, 2023

    Hello Natasha, can you please send or post the original recipe of this please. These are very sour I loved your previous recipe. Thank you in advance.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 12, 2023

      Hi Victoria, you can search for sites like this: https://web.archive.org/ and plug in the URL to view the old version of the recipe.

      Reply

    • Alla
      August 12, 2023

      Natasha I am with Victoria, please can we have the old version, canned always using your recipe and we loved it, after revisions it’s just way to sour. I tried the url you suggested, can’t find it. Please, 🙈

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        August 14, 2023

        Hi Alla, you can search for sites like this: https://web.archive.org/ and plug in the URL to view the old version of the recipe.

        Reply

  • Nat
    August 10, 2023

    Can’t wait to try them. Easy to follow recipe, not confusing at all.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 10, 2023

      I hope you love them, Nat!

      Reply

  • Abby
    July 28, 2023

    Normally I love NK recipes, but these were awful. We opened the pickles 3 weeks after canning and the pickles were mushy and so so vinegary. Would not recommend.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      July 30, 2023

      HI Abby, I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work out – that is such a bummer. Sometimes over-processing can result in mushy pickles and some varieties tend to be more mushy naturally.

      Reply

      • Sarah
        September 9, 2023

        Hi,
        Do you salt the cucumbers to rid excess water before pickling?

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          September 9, 2023

          Hi Sarah, that is not a necessary step for this recipe. I hope you love it.

          Reply

  • lorenzo
    November 7, 2022

    Hi,
    It seems a really good recipe!!
    i cant wait
    How much time in the jars before eat?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      November 7, 2022

      Hi Lorenzo, The pickles will be ready to eat in about 5 days, much better if you wait a week, and even better if you can wait 2 weeks before sampling.

      Reply

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