Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles are no-heat nor canning-required! Make in just 10 minutes with your garden bounty plus kitchen staples.
Did you know you can make pickles out of pretty much anything without having to can them? I’ll show you how, but 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, nor of boiling water. 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!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons kosher or pickling salt
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
- 6-8 cloves peeled garlic
- 4-6 spears fresh dill
- 1 large shallot, sliced
- 2 medium-sized zucchini, cut into 12 spears each or rounds
- 2 16 oz mason jars
Directions
- Divide the water, vinegar, salt, peppercorns, and garlic between 2 pint-sized (16oz) wide-mouth 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.
Notes
- Do not use iodized table salt for this recipe
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
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!
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.
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.
YUM! The perfect way to use up all that extra zucchini!
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!
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. ?
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!
Zucchini pickles!? Genius! Totally and completely in love with these. Definitely need to try!
Hope you love them, Karly!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!