Homemade Canned Dill Pickles

If you have a garden overflowing with cucumbers, this is the perfect way to preserve them for later. There’s something so satisfying about turning a big summer harvest into jars of homemade pickles that you can enjoy all year long.

These pickles are crisp, tangy, garlicky, and packed with classic dill-pickle flavour. They’re simple to customize too, whether you like them extra garlicky, loaded with dill, or with a little kick from some red pepper.

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Tools You’ll Need

You don’t need a ton of fancy equipment to make homemade pickles, but having the right tools makes the process much easier.

• Large pot for preparing the pickle brine

• Large bowl or container for soaking the cucumbers

• Water-bath canner with a rack

• Pint or quart canning jars

• Canning lids and screw bands

• Jar lifter

• Canning funnel

• Ladle for filling the jars

• Bubble remover or a clean plastic utensil for removing air bubbles

• Clean kitchen towels for wiping jar rims

• Measuring cups and spoons

• Large cutting board and knife for preparing the cucumbers and garlic

A large canning pot or water-bath canner is especially helpful when making a bigger batch, since you can process several jars at once.

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Homemade Canned Dill Pickles

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Pint jars: about 8–10 pints

• Quart jars: about 4–5 quarts

It can vary quite a bit depending on the size and shape of your cucumbers and how tightly you pack the jars.

For Every 5 lbs of Cucumbers

• 5 lbs fresh pickling cucumbers

• Water, for soaking

• Pickling salt, for the salt-water soak

  
  

Pickle Brine

• 3 ¾ cups 5% white vinegar

• 5 cups water

• 5 tablespoons pickling salt

• 3 tablespoons + ½ teaspoon granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon pickling spice

Seasonings for Each Pint Jar

• 1 teaspoon mustard seed

• ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

• 2 cloves garlic

• Fresh dill or dill heads

• Optional: red pepper flakes or a small hot pepper

• Optional: 1 bay leaf

  
  

Seasonings for Each Quart Jar

• 2 teaspoons mustard seed

• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

• 3 cloves garlic

• Fresh dill or dill heads

• 1 bay leaf

• Optional: red pepper flakes or a small hot pepper

How to Make Dill Pickles

1. Soak the cucumbers

Wash your cucumbers well and trim the blossom ends.

Place the cucumbers in a large container and cover with water. Add enough pickling salt to make a salt-water soak and let the cucumbers soak for 12 hours.

After soaking, drain and rinse the cucumbers well.

2. Prepare your jars

Wash your jars, lids and bands according to the manufacturer's directions and prepare them for canning.

Add your garlic, dill and other desired seasonings to each jar.

Pack the cucumbers into the jars, leaving the appropriate headspace recommended for your canning method.

3. Make the brine

Combine the vinegar, water, pickling salt, sugar and pickling spice in a large pot.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar have dissolved.

4. Fill the jars

Carefully ladle the hot brine over the cucumbers, making sure they are covered while maintaining a 1/2" headspace.

Wipe the rims of the jars clean, then apply the lids and screw bands.

5. Process the pickles

Place the jars into a boiling-water canner, making sure they are covered with at least 1–2 inches of water. Bring the water back to a full boil before starting your timer.

Processing Times

Process your pickles according to your elevation and jar size:

Jar Size	0–1,000 ft	1,001–6,000 ft	Above 6,000 ft
Pints	10 minutes	15 minutes	20 minutes
Quarts	15 minutes	20 minutes	25 minutes

A Few Tips for Crunchy Pickles

For the best texture, start with fresh, firm pickling cucumbers. Cucumbers that have been sitting around for several days can result in softer pickles.

I also recommend trimming a small amount from the blossom end of each cucumber, as enzymes in that end can contribute to softer pickles.

Scaling the Recipe

The beauty of this recipe is that everything is based on 5 lbs of cucumbers.

Making 10 lbs? Double everything.

Making 15 lbs? Triple everything.

Making 25 lbs? Multiply the recipe by five.

It's an easy way to make a small batch for your family or tackle a big garden harvest all at once.

What Kind of Dill Can I Use?

Fresh dill: Fresh dill is my favourite when I have it growing in the garden. You can use the leafy dill or the tender stems and add it directly to each jar.

Dill heads: Mature dill heads are especially nice for pickling because they have a stronger dill flavour and are easy to tuck into the jars.

Dried dill: If you don't have fresh dill available, dried dill can also be used. It won't have quite the same fresh flavour, but it still adds that classic dill-pickle taste.

Dill seed: Dill seed is another option and gives the pickles a more concentrated dill flavour.

Since this recipe already uses pickling spice, mustard seed and other seasonings, I personally prefer fresh dill or dill heads for a more traditional pickle flavour.

Use whichever type of dill you have available, you don't need a perfect amount for each jar. This is one part of the recipe you can adjust to your own taste.

The Recipe:

Did you try making these Homemade Canned Dill Pickles? We’d love to see your creations! Tag us on Instagram at Thesproutinghomestead or leave a comment below to let us know how they turned out. Happy snacking!