This recipe for classic dill pickles is full of the flavors and crunchiness that you want from a dill pickle. This is a canning recipe, although you can make them and store them in the refrigerator instead of canning them.

This recipe comes together very quickly and can be used to put up a bunch of garden cucumbers very quickly.

We make several different pickles each year to be sure we have some of everyone’s favorites. Besides canned dill pickles, we make refrigerator dill pickles, fermented dill pickles, my Granny’s bread and butter pickles, and canned sweet and spicy pickles.

Any of these pickles are great on sandwiches, in tuna or chicken salad, part of a charcuterie board or deli platter. Once the pickles have been eaten, you can use the leftover brine to make salad dressing or marinade meat.

Ingredients for Home Canned Dill Pickles

Cucumbers – The type of cucumbers you use to make homemade dill pickles matters. The best cucumbers to use for pickles are pickling cucumbers Pickling cucumbers have thinner skin and are drier than slicing cucumbers. Some popular pickling cucumber varieties are National Pickling, Boston Bush and Kirby Cucumbers. 

English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers can also work for pickle making because they have thin skin. But don’t try to use regular cucumbers (slicing cucumbers) as they will make soggy pickles. Also, use small cucumbers to get the crunchiest pickles.

Because the cucumbers in this recipe are not salted and iced like they are for bread and butter pickles or sweet and spicy pickles, it’s super important that you use small cucumbers for crunchy dill pickles. If you use larger cucumbers, you run the risk of them getting mushy. It doesn’t matter if you’re making dill slices or whole pickles – you want to use small cucumbers when canning pickles.

Vinegar – I use white vinegar in this recipe. That being said, you can use any vinegar that has at least 5% acidity (it will be listed on the label). If you like a more mild vinegar flavor try just apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. Just be aware that if you use apple cider vinegar, the color will change. And if you use a milder vinegar, you won’t have that strong flavor that is iconic of dill pickles.

Salt – Canning salt is recommended for making pickles because it doesn’t have any anti-caking agents or minerals in it. If you don’t have canning salt, you can use any pure salt, including kosher salt or sea salt. If the only ingredient listed on the label is salt, you can use it. Just be aware that some salts have naturally occurring minerals and those minerals might make the pickles soft. Don’t use regular table salt (iodized salt) for making pickles.

Onions – We like to put fresh onions in our sweet and spicy pickle recipe. It’s completely optional so you don’t have to use them, but I highly recommend it because they’re so tasty. I usually use a sweet onion but, honestly, yellow, white onions, or red onions will work just fine.

Fresh Dill and Other Herbs – For dill pickles to be dill pickles, you need to use fresh or dried dill weed or dill seed. I use fresh dill weed if I have it in the garden and dried if I don’t. While I don’t use dill seed in my dill pickles, fresh dill heads are really pretty in jars of pickles.

I also use garlic cloves, yellow mustard seed, coriander seed, and whole black peppercorns. 

I prefer to just put the spices in the jars as I’m making the pickles, however, you can make a pickling spice blend ahead of time.

Many of these can be grown in the home garden. If you need to purchase any herbs don’t grab the little jars at the grocery store they’re very expensive that way. Instead, order in bulk from Starwest Botanicals, which is my favorite place to order herbs that I don’t grow.

Pickling lime, pickle crisp, or grape leaves (optional) – Dill pickles are supposed to be crisp pickles and it IS possible to have homemade crispy dill pickles. There’s an old-fashioned technique of using pickling lime on the cucumbers before canning to ensure the pickles stay crisp. It’s a little complicated, time consuming, and messy. So most modern canners don’t use it.

Instead, you can use pickle crisp, which is just calcium chloride, to each jar. It takes just 1/8 teaspoon per pint or ¼ tsp per quart. This is much easier, safer and less time consuming than using pickling lime.

If you have grape vines, you can grab a grape leaf for each jar. The tannins in the grape leaf will help keep the pickles crispy. 

How to Can Dill Pickles

Step 1: Prepare the canning supplies

Prepare the canning equipment by washing the water bath canner and filling it up about two-thirds of the way with water. Put the rack in the canner. Put the pot on the stove and heat over medium heat. You want the water hot but not boiling.

Wash the canning jars, lids and bands in hot, soapy water. The jars need to stay hot, so put them in the canner. The lids and bands do not need to be hot. I suggest using pint jars for canning dill pickles. Quart jars require a 15 minute processing time and pint jars only require a 10 minute processing time. That extra 5 minutes could be the difference between crunchy pickles and mushy pickles.

FIY: I’m always asked about the lids in my photos. I use Harvest Guard reusable canning lids for food that I probably won’t be gifting. They work a little different than metal lids, so if you get them be sure to read the instructions that come with them.

Step 2: Prepare the vinegar brine

In a large pot, combine vinegar, water and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the salt dissolves completely. Bring to a full boil before adding to canning jars.

 Step 3: Prepare the fresh cucumbers and onions

Wash cucumbers and trim off the blossom end of each cucumber, that’s the end that is not attached to the vine. The blossom end has an enzyme in it that can make the pickles soft. Some people prefer to cut off both ends and that’s perfectly fine. 

Slice the cucumbers into rounds about 1/4-inch thick. Peel the onion and slice into 1/4-inch slices. 

Step 4: Fill the jars

Pack cucumbers into the hot jars and put an onion slice on top leaving a 1/2-inch headspace.

Add spices and pickle crisp (or grape leaves) to each jar. (It doesn’t matter if you put the cucumbers or spices in first. If you like the look of the spices on the bottom of the jar, you can put them in first. After they are processed, the spices will be mixed in regardless of whether they were put on the bottom of the jar or top of the jar.)

Ladle hot pickle brine into each jar, leaving a ½-inch headspace.

Using a bubble remover tool, remove the air bubbles from the jars. Recheck the headspace and add more pickling brine if needed to maintain the 1/2-inch headspace.

Wipe rims of jars with clean, damp cloth. Add the lids and bands.

Step 8: Process jars in hot water bath

Put the jars into the water bath canner. Make sure that the water covers the jars by at least 1-inch. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a rolling boil, start a timer and process for 10 minutes for pint jars and 15 minutes for quart jars. 

Be sure to adjust for altitude, if necessary. Use the chart below from the National Center for Home Food Preservation or for a more precise number add 1 minute per 1000 feet above sea level to the original processing time.

Step 9: Cooling and storing the pickles

Remove the jars from the canner using a jar lifter and put on a towel on the counter. Let them cool overnight at room temperature. 

In the morning, remove the bands and check the lids to be sure they all sealed. If any lid failed to seal, put the band back on and store it in the refrigerator. Wipe down and label each jar of pickles before storing in a cool, dark place.

Grab these free, printable canning labels to label your sweet and spicy pickles. Just fill out the form below.

Unlike refrigerator pickles, canned pickles can be eaten right away. Just know that the flavor will continue to develop over the next few weeks, which is why many people recommend that pickles be stored for a couple of weeks before eating. But we don’t have that much self-control.

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Low Temperature Processing for Pickles

I’ve always used the above canning process for pickles, however there is a lower temperature method for processing pickles. It’s a little finicky and takes a little longer, but the benefit of lower temperature processing is that it improves the firmness in homemade pickles. Here’s what the National Center for Home Food Preservation has to say about this method…

The following treatment results in a better product texture but must be carefully managed to avoid possible spoilage. Place jars in a canner filled half way with warm (120º to 140ºF) water. Then, add hot water to a level 1 inch above jars. Heat the water enough to maintain 180 to 185ºF water temperature for 30 minutes for pint or quart jars. Check with a candy or jelly thermometer to be certain that the water temperature is at least 180ºF during the entire 30 minutes. Temperatures higher than 185ºF may cause unnecessary softening of pickles.

This method is easier to do if you have an electric water bath canner because it will keep the water at a constant temperature for you.

Commonly Asked Questions

Does this pickle recipe have to be canned? 

No, but if you don’t can them, they won’t be shelf stable. Instead, they will be will need to be stored in the refrigerator. 

Can other vegetables be used besides cucumbers? 

Yes, zucchini, summer squash and green beans all work really well in this recipe.

Can I use other spices?

Yes, you can change up any of the dry spices. You can use spices such as bay leaf, dill seeds or red pepper flakes. 

More Pickle Recipes

Granny’s Bread and Butter Pickles
Sweet and Spicy Pickles
Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Fermented Dill Pickles

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