Pickles on a long tray with a piece of dill besides them

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Peter picked a peck of pickled pickles. I had to get that out. We refer to these as Mалосольные Oгурцы (Low Sodium Dill Pickles). This is a recipe for quick dill pickles. It’s ready after sitting overnight (unlike most recipes that take 6 or 7 days!).

The pickles marinate in the “brine” which is less salty and acidic than most pickling brines. The resulting cucumber is lower sodium and retains it’s crispness; leaving you with a much fresher tasting peck of pickles (couldn’t help myself).

It’s kind of like the kosher-style dill pickles you’d buy in the refrigerator section. When properly refrigerated, the pickles can last 1-2 weeks (maybe longer, but we’ve always eaten them before that).

Ingredients for Refrigerator Pickles:

3 liters or 3 quarts jar
3 lb of small-medium cucumbers
7 cloves of garlic
4 stems of dill
2 small roots of horseradish, optional
10-15 whole black peppers
3 Tbsp of table salt
Filtered cold water

Ingredients for homemade pickles on the table

How to Make Kosher-Style Dill Pickles:

1. Wash and cut off both ends of the cucumbers. Pack them into a jar with some room left at the top.

Whole cucumbers in a glass jar

2. Cut garlic cloves into 2-3 pieces, roughly cut up dill, slice up your horseradish root* and add everything in the jar, including black pepper. *Mom happens to have horseradish root growing in her yard. It grows back on it’s own every year. It is optional in this recipe but supposedly helps the pickles stay fresh longer.

Garlic cloves added into a glass jar with cucumbers

Dill added into jar with garlic and cucumbers

A glass jar of cucumbers being pickled

3. Dissolve 3 Tbsp of salt in 6 cups(1.5 quarts) of filtered water and fill the jar. Make sure that cucumbers are covered completely in water.

A close up of a glass jar with pickles

4. Let the jar sit at room temperature, covered loosely with a cheesecloth or lid for 24 hours (cucumbers should be fully submerged. If they are not, weight them down with something). Refrigerate pickles afterwards. They are best served cold. It will keep at least 1 week in the fridge.

A jar of pickles

A long plate with pickles, one is cut in half and others are whole with a piece of dill beside them

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

How to Pickle Pickles (Refrigerator Pickles that is)

5 from 9 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 day
Total Time: 1 day 20 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 8 -10
  • 3 liters or 3 quarts jar
  • 3 lb of small-medium cucumbers
  • 7 cloves of garlic
  • 4 stems of dill
  • 2 small roots of horseradish, optional
  • 10-15 whole black peppers
  • 3 tbsp of table salt
  • Filtered cold water

Instructions

  • Wash and cut off both ends of the cucumbers. Pack them into a jar with some room left at the top.
  • Cut garlic cloves into 2-3 pieces, roughly cut up dill, slice up your horseradish root and add everything in the jar, including black pepper.
  • Dissolve 3 tbsp of salt in 6 cups(1.5 quarts) of filtered water and fill the jar. Make sure that cucumbers are covered completely in water.
  • Let the jar sit at room temperature, covered loosely with a cheesecloth or lid for 24 hours (cucumbers should be fully submerged. Refrigerate pickles afterwards. They are best served cold.
Course: Condiments, Side Dish
Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian
Keyword: How to Pickle Pickles
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $

 

Note: Some varieties of homegrown cucumber can taste a little bitter. If cucumbers are bitter, cut off the ends and let them soak for 2 hours in water to get rid of bitterness.

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.

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Comments

  • marcie f winter
    July 22, 2023

    hi do you have a recipe for bread and butter pickles?
    thank you,
    marcie winter

    Reply

  • Peachee
    August 14, 2021

    Hello from BC, Canada! Love your blog and I have made and recommended many of your recipes. With the exception of the salted water, are the amounts per jar? Like 7 cloves, 4 sprigs dill, etc,?
    I can’t wait to make these as the ones we made with another recipe we’re just okay.

    Reply

  • Robert
    August 6, 2021

    Had mold in the jar within a week.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      August 7, 2021

      Hi Robert, that is very unsual. Make sure to thoroughly wash your jar and cucumbers and any other ingredients and definitely keep it refrigerated. If it is left at room temperature longer than indicated, that can occur.

      Reply

  • Sue
    July 23, 2021

    If I don’t have horseradish is it ok

    Reply

    • Natasha
      July 23, 2021

      Hi Sue, it adds flavor but will work without it. You can add a couple extra garlic cloves if you wish instead.

      Reply

  • Frances Levien
    July 19, 2021

    Do you use pickling cucumbers or just regular?

    Reply

  • Marie-Claude Gagnob
    July 19, 2021

    Hi Natasha!!
    Very curious .. I will certainly try this recipe.

    Question: I see that there is no vinegar in this recipe. I presume the horseradish in the brine develops and tangy taste?

    Is it a bit like pickles served with sandwiches in deli? Being from Montreal, pickles served in Deli with our famous Montreal Smoked Meat is a must.. but never got to find a recipe close to those pickles.

    Thanks for the information.

    Marie-Claude

    Reply

    • Natasha
      July 19, 2021

      Hi Marie, the brine as a whole infuses flavor into the pickles. I haven’t tried those but they sound great!

      Reply

  • Vera
    July 18, 2019

    Hi Natasha. There seems to be a discrepancy in the amount of water used to dissolve the salt in the ingredients list and method. What is the correct proportion of salt to water? Thanks.
    Vera

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 18, 2019

      Hi Vera, this recipe calls for 3 tbsp of salt in 6 cups (1.5 quarts) of filtered water and fill the jar. Which discrepecy are you referring to? I’m more than happy to troubleshoot.

      Reply

    • Vera
      July 18, 2019

      Sorry my error. I thought it was 3 litres of water that you were referring to. I see now that you listed 3 1 litre or 1quart mason jars.

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        July 18, 2019

        I’m happy that helped!

        Reply

  • Alexandra
    December 17, 2018

    Hi Natasha,
    Is it ok to use a plastic jar? Thanks in advance!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      December 17, 2018

      Hi Alexandra, yes, my Mom makes them in a large plastic jar frequently 🙂

      Reply

  • terri
    January 6, 2017

    I love these pickles but had a quick question – what do you use as a substitute for dill stems when not in season?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 6, 2017

      Hi Terri, you could just use sprigs of dill sold in the supermarket. It really should be dill or the flavor and aroma wouldn’t be quite right.

      Reply

  • sharon
    May 16, 2015

    could you tell me how much sodium is in these pickles i am a heart and diabetes patient Thank you very much

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 17, 2015

      Hi Sharon. Thank you for writing in. That is a very good question and I understand where you’re coming from since I am a nurse and worked with patients with those same dietary concerns. However, I don’t think there’s anyway to really measure how much sodium is in these pickles because I don’t know how much of the sodium they absorbed from the brine. I wish I could be more helpful.

      Reply

      • Betty
        August 15, 2020

        Can you reduce the salt and still have a “safe” canning process for this pickle? I also have health issues where I need to limit my sodium intake.

        Reply

        • Natasha
          August 17, 2020

          Hi Betty, I wouldn’t be able to recommend anything based on current safety standards. If anyone else has any creative ideas, please let us know.

          Reply

  • azhar mahmood
    October 2, 2014

    privet Natasha

    thanks for ur lovely and informative blogs..i need to know that is it possible to add some other vegetables with the cucumbers..thanks once again ..Azar libya, benghazi

    Reply

  • Luba
    August 5, 2014

    Hi! Where did you get your jar from?? Was it from amazon?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 5, 2014

      I actually found it at TJ Max

      Reply

    • terri
      January 6, 2017

      The container store now carries a wide assortment of sizes of the Kilner brand.

      Reply

  • Yuliya
    June 28, 2014

    Natasha, I made these a couple times last year and absolutely loved them. But I am not sure why they are not turning out this year, I made it twice and they tasted like fresh even after a few days in the fridge. Would using sea salt make such a difference? Thank you

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      June 28, 2014

      Is that the only thing you’ve done differently? We don’t have cucumbers yet this year, but when I made them last year, I used Morton Iodized Salt. It might be the iodine? Although I’m not exactly sure how it affects things chemically. More likely, sea salt isn’t quite as strong as table salt (the crystals are a little larger and they don’t always equate to the same amount as table salt depending on how much you are using. Here’s a handy conversion table: http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-home/culinary-salts/salt-conversion-chart. You might just need a little more of the sea salt.

      Reply

  • natasha
    September 30, 2013

    Can i cut them up instead of whole? I got really long cucumbers growing in my garden, i wont be able to fit them in a jar whole, they would need to be cut up.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 30, 2013

      Hmmm it depends on the type of cucumber. Some long cucumbers aren’t good for canning because they just get soft. I think it’s best to use a whole cucumber, but if you have alot it’s worth a shot. I’m sure it would still taste great!

      Reply

  • Tanis
    August 27, 2013

    Hello Natasha,
    Just wondering…I have noticed that your canning is not done with boiling your fill jars in water (water bath) yet you are able to use your food for up to a year. I love the way you do this and am just today enjoying plum jam (thank you) but have had a few people question the safety of my jam because the fill jars were not submerged in water for a set amount of time (all the jars sealed and are beautiful…so excited). Your canning is much easier then the way i was taught and I look forward to using more of your recipes but am curious as to this method of canning and would like to answer peoples questions about the safety of my beautiful jars of jam. Or maybe I just cannot share with them…so sad for them. Thank you for your thoughts.
    Tanis

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 27, 2013

      My parents and all of my relatives for generations have always done it by steam sterilization and haven’t had any issues. If you are concerned, you can boil the cans and lids (it couldn’t hurt! ;)) These refrigerator pickles are perishable however and only stay good if refrigerated.

      Reply

      • Tanis
        August 28, 2013

        Yes i had noticed that the pickles are refrigerated sorry i have been reading many of your recipes and just happened to be on the pickles when i decided to finally write something. I was taught to sterilize the same way but once the jars are filled and lids on we were told to immerse (aka water bath)the full jar in boiling water for a specific amount of time. I have since had a moment to do a bit more research and found information on both processes. I am enjoying your site and thank you for the time you take to share…i never liked canning (eating was great…actually doing was not) until i found you and i just had to run out and find more peaches and jars as my daughter has decided she would like to try!

        Reply

        • Natasha
          natashaskitchen
          August 28, 2013

          Its definitely nice to have the canned stuff in winter when it’s just not very good fresh since it’s not in season. The work always pays off 🙂

          Reply

  • Lena
    August 23, 2013

    Thank you Natasha for this wonderful recipe. I have been looking for this recipe for over a year. Thank you so much! i love what you do for us ladies!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 24, 2013

      Awesome!! I’m happy to help 🙂

      Reply

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