Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles are no-heat nor canning-required! Make in just 10 minutes with your garden bounty plus kitchen staples.
Hey you, how’s your week going so far?
We had a lovely weekend with a nice balance of work and play. I worked most of Sunday but spent Saturday morning at the fair with the boys. Oh yes, it’s Iowa State Fair time again! It feels like just a couple months ago I was there uber-pregnant with Cam, downing one shaken lemonade after another whilst gnawing on a pork chop and peeping the butter cow.
It’s an Iowa thing.
Anyway, it has indeed been an entire year, and it was so fun to be back. Lincoln was obsessed with the chicks in the baby animal building (ok me too!) while Cam LOVED the big pigs in the swine barn. What can I say, the heart wants what it wants, and my heart wants THESE – Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles. Yes! Did you know you can make pickles out of pretty much anything without having to can them? I’ll show you how.
First I need to bust out my Dad and his canning/country music obsession from the early 90s. For whatever reason I can so very clearly picture him in my mind standing over a giant vat of steaming water canning vegetable after vegetable – mostly cucumbers and beets – with Boot Scootin’ Boogy or Achy Breaky Heart blasting from the speakers, for hours on end, for an entire summer. It was a phase for the ages.
Well, no country music blasting from the speakers at my house – only Disney on repeat! – and no pot of boiling water neither. Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles are no-cook and take about 10 minutes from start to finish. You know what we call that? An UPGRADE. Sorry Dad!
Anyway, zucchini pickles you guys! These are a thing and you should totally make them. We’re at the peak of zucchini season right now so I thought this would a fun and refreshing snack recipe to have on hand. As I mentioned, the recipe is no heat required – just mix water, distilled vinegar, salt, peppercorns, and a ton of fresh dill and garlic in a couple mason jars then add fresh zucchini spears and stash in the fridge. That’s it!
A couple other things worth mentioning – there is NO sugar in this recipe. Call me crazy but sweet, bread and butter-type pickles have no business calling themselves pickles. I just can’t. That said, this recipe is wonderfully savory and briny, and the garlic and dill really shine. I’ve listed two amounts for both ingredients so be sure to go on the lighter side if you prefer a more subtle garlic and dill flavor. I also added sliced shallot to these pickles which add a spicy, crispy contrast to the zucchini spears. I highly recommend a small appetizer fork for help fishing them out (and a breath mint for afterwards!)
Mix everything together, give the jar a little shake, then stash in the fridge for 24 hours before digging in and taking a bite. It’ll be hard to wait, but it’ll definitely be worth it!
Start by adding to 2 pint-sized mason jars each: 3/4 cup water, 2 Tablespoons distilled vinegar, 3/4 Tablespoon kosher or pickling salt (iodized salt will make a cloudy brining liquid,) 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, and 3-4 garlic cloves (depending on how much you love garlic.) Screw on the lids then shake well to combine.
Next add 2-3 spears fresh baby dill (depending on how much you like dill) and 1/2 of a large sliced shallot.
Next slice up the zucchini – you’ll need 2 small/medium-sized zucchini that are roughly the same diameter from bottom to top, though it’s not a deal breaker if they’re not – just use what you’ve got! After trimming off the tops and bottoms, slice each zucchini in half width-wise, then slice each half in half lengthwise. Finally, slice each quarter into 3 spears then add to the jars and give them one last shake.
Last step is to stash the pickles in the fridge then try your best not to open them for at least 24 hours. Your patience will be handsomely rewarded with garlicky, dill-kissed, super crisp zucchini pickles if you do. Keep in the refrigerator for a week or two, and re-make often. I hope you love this easy, summery recipe – enjoy!
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Description
Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles are no-heat nor canning-required! Make in just 10 minutes with your garden bounty plus kitchen staples.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups water (3/4 cup per jar)
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar (2 Tablespoons per jar)
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons kosher or pickling salt (3/4 Tablespoons per jar)
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns (1 teaspoon per jar)
- 6-8 cloves peeled garlic (3-4 cloves per jar)
- 4-6 spears fresh baby fresh dill (2-3 spears per jar)
- 1 large shallot, sliced (1/2 shallot per jar)
- 2 medium-sized zucchini, cut into 12 spears each or rounds (1 zucchini per jar)
- 2 - 16oz mason jars
Directions
- Evenly divide the water, vinegar, salt, peppercorns, and garlic between 2 pint-sized (16oz) mason jars. Screw on the lid then shake to combine.
- Divide dill, shallots, and zucchini spears between the two jars then screw on the lid and gently shake. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before enjoying. Zucchini pickles will last 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
How easy!! Can’t wait to try this. Have you used this for cucumbers??
SO easy! I haven’t but I know it’d work just great!
I’m with you on the sweet sugary type – no thanks, even with cucumbers! This sounds like a great way to salvage some zukes!
For sure! There’s only so many ways I can sneak it into casseroles, make them into boats, or grate them into muffins!
Yummy! I just did this with okra last week as there is tons of it at my farmers’ market right now and I love pickled okra! Will have to try with zucchini!
Ohh my, I bet they are so delicious. I really want to try this method with green beans, too!
Sounds wonderful however, I live in FL and a single zucchini costs 80 cents each as well as a cucumber. Tomatoes are not cheap either. Oh well.
I’m in Chicago – the cucumbers are $1.79 each! It’s ridiculous!
I love this idea!! I was just considering making some for myself and wasn’t sure where to start. So glad I found this. I think these would be delicious with my Greek Turkey Burger. Yum!
http://www.thecomforttable.net/greek-turkey-burgers/
Sounds like an awesome combo!
Zucchini pickles!? Genius! Totally and completely in love with these. Definitely need to try!
Hope you love them, Karly!
Hi Kristin! Been following your blog for a while now, first time commenting :)
I am really looking forward to making this with peppers (I love pickled chilies and peppers, LOL), but where I live, we don’t get dill. I know, shame, right – guess who never gets to make tzatziki sauce.
Anyway, is there anything I can swap for the dill?
Thanks! xxx
Hi Zee! Is dried dill available? I’d start with a scant 1/2 teaspoon per jar!
My Grandpa would squeeze vats of fresh orange juice while blaring Blue Grass music back in the day. Great memories!
Ahh, I love it! This sounds like a much more tolerable combo than beets and Billy Ray Cyrus. 😂
Have you tried slicing the pickles? My zucchini are so irregularly shaped and I wondered if I could do this but slice them in about 1/4 inch slices.
Yep, that’s totally fine to slice them into rings vs spears!
YUM! The perfect way to use up all that extra zucchini!
Bread and butter pickles are the WORST. I didn’t have much luck with my zucchini this year (this drought is killing me) but my cucumbers were in overdrive for most of June and July. I made 12 jars of pickles using a very similar brine & the cold technique. They stay nice and crispy this way.
I had never heard of zucchini pickles til last week! I make a lot of cucumber pickles each summer but now I’m going to have to add these to my list this week.
Great idea for too much zucchini! I do lots of canning so I thought I would make sure all your subscriber and guests know you don’t have to use standard canning jars for this recipe since it doesn’t use heat. Glass mayonnaise or peanut butter jars will work just fine!
These were Delicious! I am making them again! Thanks for recipe
I tried these, it was easy and they were delicious! A great way to use zucchini!
Would it be ok to actually process the jars for canning? I just have SO much zucchini from my garden and am trying to make use of as much as possible.
This was going to be my year. The year I finally saved a bunch of zucchini recipes that weren’t chocolate cake. And the year I finally made refrigerator pickles with my cukes. Turns out it’s also the year that a rabbit half dug up my zucchini plant, and the year that fresh dill would be impossible for me to find when I finally got around to that pickling. Grr, grr, GRRRR! (Ala Daniel Tiger, of course)
But you are absolutely right, sugar has NO business in pickles.
Do these zucchini pickles end up as crunchy / crisp as normal cucumber pickles? Zucchini usually has a different texture (more mushy, from experience) when cooked, so I was curious how these end up turning out! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Billy! The zucchini aren’t cooked so they stay about the same texture as when they’re freshly sliced. Not as crisp as a cucumber pickle, but still has that dense crunch. I hope that helps!
The liquid portion of this receipe was off I think. I didn’t fill up the jar.
This turned out great!! I cut mine into semicircles using a crinkle cutter. The pickles stayed crunchy! Next time I plan on adding a chili pepper to add some spice to it. Very good and LOVE that it calls for no sugar!
Hold up – what is “peeping the butter cow” I googled it and it only led me back to here. I must know!!
Hehehe, here you go! https://www.iowastatefair.org/about/butter-cow/
Can you make This recipe for refrigerated pickled zucchini with no salt
Can this recipe be canned for shelf storage? I am eager to try this recipe.
Hi Julie! Unfortunately I don’t know enough about canning to say for sure either way.
Hi I’m about to try making your recipe using vegetable marrows (that’s courgettes which I failed to spot on my allotment and which now weigh around 1/2 kilo each. I COMPLETELY agree with you about adding sugar to pickles (or anything else): it’s as though people are afraid that unless they add sugar, something won’t taste palatable, and I feel sorry for them. Your recipe sounds lovely, and I found it by explicitly searching for sugar-free marrow pickles.
These did take just a few minutes to make. I made them with marrows, which I’ve never had much use for; I cut away most of the seeds, added some slices of red chili pepper and tasted them the next morning, and THEY ARE JUST ABOUT THE BEST PICKLES I’VE EVER EATEN!!! Thank you for the recipe. Is there any way they can be canned and stored rather than having a short life in the fridge?
So glad to hear it Susan!! Unfortunately I don’t know anything about canning so I can’t say for sure!
should the jars be filled to the top with liquid?
These are way too salty. I made 5 jars which I will be throwing out as they are inedible.
Is it possible you mis-measured the salt since you doubled or maybe even tripled the recipe? I haven’t received any other feedback that the pickles are too salty.
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[…] Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles from Iowa Girl Eats // Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles are no-heat nor canning-required! Make in just 10 minutes with your garden bounty plus kitchen staples. […]
Fabulous. Snuck into a jar less than 24 hours and WOW!!! Crisp, well seasoned, and tasty. Wonderful recipe, thank you.
Can I use sea salt (non iodized) instead of pickling or canning salt (of which I have neither). I have a lot of garden zucchini to use. I already made zucchini bread, zucchini fritters, and sauteed zucchini. It’s pickle time.
PS… can I use regular onion for these? I don’t have shallots and am not planning a trip to the grocery store until the weekend.
Hi Eva! You can use sea salt and a regular onion, that’s fine! :)
[…] myself and I! Zestful yumminess describes these little gems! Recipe curiosity of Iowa girl eats @ https://iowagirleats.com/2017/08/15/refrigerator-zucchini-pickles/. This is a delicious, good for you snack. BONUS it is simple to make! One medium zucchini has only […]