This easy recipe for Amish Refrigerator Pickles uses just a handful of ingredients, and is adapted from an old-fashioned Amish recipe. Sweet, sour, and perfectly crisp, they are the ideal way to preserve a small batch of cucumbers.

The original refrigerator pickles weren't refrigerator pickles at all, were they? Chances are, your great-grandmother (or great-great-grandmother) used an ice box to store her foods that we would commonly keep in the refrigerator today.
Refrigerator pickles go back for generations, first being called "Ice box pickles", but since most folks don't understand what an ice box is, many of these old fashioned recipes have been updated for modern times.
Such is the case with these Amish Refrigerator Pickles. This is an adaptation of a recipe that is commonly made among Amish (and Mennonite) groups even today. It's sweet, sour, and requires just a handful of ingredients.
My version swaps out green pepper for red pepper (who doesn't love that pop of color!?), but you can definitely stick to the original if you prefer. It's a simple recipe with big flavor, perfectly preserving the tail end of garden cucumbers or a Farmer's Market find.
Why Make Refrigerator Pickles?
- Making these Amish style refrigerator pickles is WAY easier than canning, requiring no special equipment or ingredients.
- A great way to use up extra vegetables - Finding a use for just a few pounds of cucumbers can be hard, but making refrigerator pickles is the perfect way to preserve them for short term storage.
- Minimal prep - Compared to traditional canning recipes, there is very little prep work required. Just chop your veggies, prep your brine, and store in the fridge. So easy!
- These sweet and sour pickles are the perfect addition to your favorite meals. I recommend serving them along with some refrigerator pickled beets too!
Ingredients
- Cucumbers: For the best results, select pickling (or Kirby) cucumbers. These have a low moisture content and will stay crisp for longer. If needed, you can use English cucumbers or field cucumbers (remove the peel). If using larger cucumbers, split them in half and scoop out the seeds from the middle. This will reduce the moisture and seeds and give you a crisp texture.
- Bell pepper: The original Amish style recipes call for green peppers, but I prefer the taste of ripe bell peppers. I chose red because I thought it was a beautiful contrast against the green cucumber slices.
- Onion: You'll need a single small onion, finely sliced. I like to get the pieces as thin as possible, which is about โ - ยผ" thick.
- Cider vinegar: Cider vinegar is different than raw apple cider vinegar with the mother. Raw ACV might be a bit too strong for this easy refrigerator pickle recipe, but you could always try it out! Cider vinegar can be found next to the vinegar at the grocery store or in the canning section of a hardware store.
- Sugar: This is a sweet pickle, so the brine is relatively sweet (not overly so). If you want, you can reduce the sugar or substitute it for a sweetener of your choice.
- Salt: If you have canning salt on hand, I'd recommend using that. It prevents a cloudy brine, but you can use a fine salt in its place.
- Pickling spices: In most cases a blend of spices is used, but for this easy recipe we use a little celery seed and a little mustard seed for flavor.
How to Make Amish Refrigerator Pickles
These easy refrigerator pickles are SO simple to make. Compared to canning or fermenting pickles, this is just about as easy as it gets. All you have to do is prepare the brine, chop the veggies, and store in the fridge until chilled. Then they are ready to eat and enjoy!
Chopping and Preparing the Veggies
To get started, you're going to want to chop and prepare your vegetables:
- Finely slice your bell pepper, ensuring that all seeds and pith are removed from the pepper.
- Finely slice your onion into โ - ยผ" slices. If you're not a big fan of onions feel free to leave them out or cut the amount to half.
- Wash and slice your cucumbers into ยผ" slices, discarding the ends.
- If you are using English or field cucumbers instead, make sure to cut the cucumber in half and scoop out the seeds before chopping. Field cucumbers need to be peeled, but you can leave the peels on your English cucumbers.
- Pack the vegetables into a quart jar (or two pint jars), layering each variety so they are evenly distributed through the jar of refrigerator pickles.
Preparing the Brine
Once your veggies have been prepped and packed into a jar, you're ready to make the brine!
Add the cider vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seed, and mustard seeds. Give it a whisk to combine.
Heat the brine over medium heat until a low simmer is reached, whisking often. Once a low simmer has been reached and the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
After the brine has cooled and is now "warm" rather than "hot", pour it over the prepared cucumbers.
Submerging the Pickles
If there is not enough liquid brine to cover the veggies, add a little bit of water to cover.
I like to use a fermentation weight to hold the pickles down into the brine, and this often helps me avoid watering down the pickles too much. If you don't have a fermentation weight you can do without OR you can use a small 4oz canning jar filled with water.
Cover your jar with an airtight lid and place it in the refrigerator to chill.
Pickling Time
These Amish Refrigerator Pickles are an easy pickle recipe that requires no canning, processing, boiling, etc. All in all they are SUCH a simple way to enjoy sweet and sour pickles.
In order to allow for the flavors to permeate, you'll have to leave them to "pickle" in the fridge for at least 24 hours, although 3 days is best. This will allow enough time for the cucumbers, peppers, and onions to absorb the pickling liquid.
Once the 24 hours is up, you can enjoy to your hearts content! Just cover any leftover pickles and place back in the fridge. They will last for 2-4 weeks if stored correctly.
For the absolute best results, make sure to always use clean utensils to retrieve the pickles and place them back into the fridge right after you're done serving them.
Expert Tips
- It's important to use clean equipment when making your refrigerator pickles. Your jar doesn't have to be sterile, but it should be recently cleaned and free from residue.
- Your Amish refrigerator pickles will taste best when given the chance to rest for 24-72 hours.
- Slice your peppers and onions as thinly as you can. Using a mandoline slicer is an easy way to achieve thin slices.
Variations and Substitutions:
With white vinegar: Cider vinegar has a more complex flavor that white vinegar, but you can absolutely use white vinegar if that's what you have on hand! Just swap the cider vinegar for an equal amount of white vinegar.
Without sugar: The sugar balances the acid in this recipe, making for a perfectly balanced pickle. Leaving out the sugar completely would make for a very strong taste, although you can reduce it by half OR use an alternative sweetener that measures cup for cup with sugar.
Using cucumber spears: If you don't want to use sliced cucumbers, you can cut them into spears instead! This still allows the brine to soak through in just a few short days, but offers an alternative shape.
Using dill: Add a few sprigs of dill weed and a dill frond (seed head) to the jar. Add 1-2 cloves of peeled garlic if desired.
๐ Recipe
Amish Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
- 3 cups sliced cucumbers kirby or pickling cucumbers are best, but you can use english cucumbers
- 1 medium bell pepper finely sliced (about ยพ cup)
- 1 small onion finely sliced (about ยฝ cup)
- ยฝ cup cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 cup white sugar
- ยฝ teaspoon celery seed
- ยฝ teaspoon whole mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon salt canning salt preferred
Instructions
- Combine the cucumber, green pepper, and onion in a large bowl. Pack them into a quart jar or two pint jars.
- Add the cider vinegar, white sugar, celery seed, mustard seeds, and salt into a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- Remove the brine from the heat and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Pour the brine evenly over the vegetables (distributing between 2 jars if used). This will fill about ½ to ¾ of the jars.
- Pour in cool filtered water to cover the cucumbers completely, leaving about 1 inch of headspace in the jar, OR use a fermentation weight to submerge the vegetables under the brine.
- Top the jars with a lid and shake them gently or turn them upside down to distribute the brine.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1-3 days before serving. If possible, shake the jars gently a few times during the first 24 hours.
- Your finished refrigerator pickles should last 2-4 weeks when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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