Homemade pickles are so easy to make when you reuse pickle juice for this recipe. In 24 hours quick refrigerator pickles are crisp and ready. There really is no easier recipe or economical way to make no-cook refrigerator pickles from fresh cucumbers than this half-scratch recipe. You should never throw out pickle juice or brine and this is just one reason why.
I will keep this as simple as this recipe is. You only need two ingredients to make the best icebox pickles by reusing pickle juice. All you need are cucumbers and leftover store-bought pickle juice. Any brand works such as Vlasic of Claussen. You can also use any whether it is spicy, bread and butter, dill, or sweet. Whatever you like, save that pickle juice to reuse and make a small batch of quick refrigerator pickles. Dill is our personal favorite.
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2 ingredients!
Why This Recipe is Amazing!
I was inspired to make this recipe after collecting several jars of pickle juice in my refrigerator. I never throw it out. Leftover pickle juice is great for sipping, marinating chicken, adding to cocktails, and more. So I always save it.
One day the kids wanted pickles and they were convinced we had some. I mean we have all these jars, right? Not one had a single pickle in them. I was planning to go to Costco the next day so thought, I should add cucumbers to the list and see what happens. I am sure glad I tried this easy way to make pickles from pickle brine.
How to Reuse Pickle Juice
What to do to reuse pickle juice/pickle brine? There is so much to do with it, including the best way to reuse pickle juice is in this recipe to make more pickles. But there are other uses for pickle juice so make sure you save it. One of my favorite ways besides adding it to bloody marys or as my secret (not so secret) ingredient in my amazing PARTY PERFECT DEVILED EGGS.
Uses for Pickle Juice
You also need to save your pickle juice to use as a brine for chicken, use in marinades, for pickling hard-boiled eggs, or add to your favorite dressing for macaroni or potato salad. It is also great to freeze pickle juice for popsicles or use in a martini cocktail or shot recipe. Anytime you want a briny, salty, or fermented flavor, add pickle juice.
Small Cocktail Cucumbers work best
Ingredients for Refrigerator Pickles
There are only two things needed for this easy recipe. The hardest part about this recipe is making sure you use cucumbers that are fresh and crisp. Small cocktail-sized cucumbers are what I recommend for this process. They are the right size for the jar and once sliced down the middle, soak up that brine for a quick pickle.
Make sure you are using leftover pickle juice that is still fresh and clear. Do not use any that have been contaminated by other ingredients or juices. This works for either sweet, sour, dill, or bread & butter pickle brine.
- Cocktail Cucumbers
- Leftover Pickle Juice
When cucumbers are in season, we make a lot of these pickles. Whether we grow our own cucumbers or I order them in my bi-weekly Farm Fresh to You box, this homemade pickle recipe is a summer must.
How to Make Homemade Pickles
It is as simple as these 3 steps to make this fresh pickle recipe. This is a simple basic 24-hour pickle recipe, not exactly artisan or fancy but still really delicious. There is no easier way to make homemade pickles. When you reuse leftover pickle juice to make new pickles, this money-saving kitchen hack will make you smile.
- Wash and slice your cucumbers
- Put cucumbers in the leftover pickle juice (store-bought pickles) and close
- Refrigerate for 24-48 hours
Slice cucumbers length-wise
Place cucumbers in the jar of leftover pickle juice
How Long are Homemade Pickles Good For?
Once a jar of pickles is opened, you have to refrigerate them. They will last from 1 -2 years in the refrigerator after being opened. The shelf life for unopened pickles is the same. Either way, they will last up to 1-2 years even after the expiration date.
Does Pickle Juice Go Bad?
Same as with the jar of opened pickles, the juice as well will last from 1-2 years in the refrigerator. So you can keep pickle juice for a long time to reuse later to make homemade pickles.
How to Store Homemade Pickles
These pickles store very well in the refrigerator. Since they are refrigerator pickles made in an opened jar using leftover juice, they could not be easier to keep. Make sure the lid is screwed on tight. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month. They do not last as long as the first batch in a store-bought jar but they still have a good refrigerator life.
I do recommend eating these pickles within a week. The longer the cocktail cucumbers sit in the pickle brine, the softer they will get. They may be soggy or mushy after 2 weeks. So depending on if you like a crisp or soft pickled cucumber, you may want to enjoy these immediatley or let them set for a week or two.
What to Serve with Homemade Pickles?
There are many ways to enjoy this recipe. They are great as a snack or side dish with so many foods. Here are some ideas on what to eat with this quick pickle recipe. Enjoy your homemade pickles and pickled vegetables as a side dish with the following:
- Burgers or hot dogs
- On or alongside a sandwich
- Bread and fry as an appetizer
- Dice up and add to salads
- Ham rolls with pickles
Health Benefits of Pickles
As with other fermented foods, they offer health benefits. There are known gut health benefits from enjoying pickles. They help digestion thanks to good bacteria known as probiotics.
To learn more about the health benefits of pickles, you can also check out WHAT PICKLES CAN DO FOR YOUR HEALTH. Pickles are gluten-free and low carbs and are some of the main reasons why I love snacking on them. This pickle recipe is also great for anyone on a keto, low calorie, diabetic, Whole30, Paleo, vegetarian, vegan, or grain-free diet.
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Homemade Pickles with Leftover Pickle Juice
Ingredients
- 1 jar leftover pickle juice
- 8 cocktail cucumbers
Instructions
- Wash and slice your cucumbers to the desired shape or size. For this recipe, I cut them lengthwise to make pickle spears. You can also slice them or leave them whole.
- Add the cucumbers to the leftover juice from store-bought pickles and close lid.
- Refrigerate at least 24 hours.
- Pickles can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 years. Enjoy the pickles and you can even make up to 4 batches of homemade pickles using the same jarred leftover pickle juice.
Alpa says
This is an amazing recipe, I never thought it would be so easy to reuse the pickle juice!
Angela says
It is a sort of easy magic that my kids could not believe was so easy. Now when we do not have homemade fresh pickles they are shocked - haha!
Dee | Grammy's Grid says
Interesting recipe! Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 17. Shared.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
What a great idea!! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party. Hope the rest of your week is great!
Mary Gresham says
Help! Can't find cocktail cucumbers - any substitutions?
Angela says
You can use any cucumbers and slice them to make sliced pickles. If you still want spears you can cut a large cucumber in half or a third so that it is shorter and fit into the jar. From that, you can then cut spears. I find that small size at Trader Joe's, Walmart, and Costco mostly so hopefully you can find them there in the future but cutting them different hopefully will help you today. Good luck and let me know how it turns out.
Nisha says
This is such a great idea to re-use the leftover pickle juice for making fresh pickles. Thanks for the wonderful share!
Angela says
You are welcome. This homemade pickle recipe is so easy and sure is a great idea!
Nart at Cooking with Nart says
This is such a great recipe. I've always thrown the pickle juice away. So many ways to reuse it!
Angela says
SAVE that pickle juice!
Relle says
Oh man my husband loves pickles. Thanks for sharing.
LaRena Fry says
What a wonderful idea. Everyone loves pickles. Yum!
Jacqueline Debono says
This homemade pickles recipe is such a brilliant idea. I've never thought to use the left over pickle juice for anything, let alone making my own pickled cucumbers and adding it to bloody Mary's!!
Angela says
SO many great ways to reuse that pickle juice and glad you found this recipe and other ideas. Leftover pickle juice in blood mary's are the best.
Ai says
I love pickles! I had no idea pickles can be kept for 1-2 years!
Angela says
Pickles sure do last a long time so keep that brine / pickling liquid for years and enjoy it many ways!
Angelina says
Even with the positive reviews, these are about as "Homemade" as Marinara Sauce from a jar. I suppose that pickles which you can buy in a jar (and re-use the brine) are ok, IF you never tasted "real" (processed) homemade pickles, or pickles made in a crock (not a crock pot). I'm sure I must have purchased just about every brand out there over time, and there's no comparison to REAL Homemade Pickles. For us, easy & quick VS seriously delicious is a no brainer.
Angela says
Thanks for your comment. With any recipe, people have different tastes and likes. For my family, we like a crisp pickle and find this is the method to get pickles just like we like them. We have had and made processed pickles in the past and for us, they are just too soft and maybe overprocessed but just aren't our personal preference. This recipe is what is seriously delicious for us and hopefully others that like a quick crisp pickle that is brined for a minimal amount of time.
Ryan says
Thanks for staying positive Angela.
Lathiya says
This is a great recipe to use up leftover pickle juice. Never thought of this before.
Karen Bridges says
can u use zucchini instead of cucumbers
Angela says
I have not tried that before but it could be the same concept and work. Let me know if you try it and if it works. Thanks - I do have another post for pickling vegetables that you may want to try for zucchini - it works with any vegetable. https://theshortordercook.com/how-to-make-quick-pickled-vegetables-kids-in-the-kitchen/#lt-recipe
James says
I had a near empty bulk jar of pickles, then was given several home grown cucumbers and sweet peppers. A thought came to mind I could clean them up and simply put in the leftover pickle juice. They've been in there a few days now, so I decided to see if this was viable strategy, and I came across this article. NICE!
Angela says
It is absolutely a viable and delicious strategy. Let me know how yours turn out. I highly recommend slicing them in some shape or form to expose the interior for the "pickling" in the leftover brine to really work. Enjoy.
Chuck Fluri says
I was trying to air dry some habanero peppers. It wasn't happening. I removed the stems, halfed them and dropped them into some pickle brine. I added some cucumber spears. Three days in the fridge and I had some fire hot pickle spears, excellent!
Angela says
Oh, that sounds fantastic. Thanks for sharing your pickling hack that I will need to try also.
Bill says
I was gifted some large cucumbers but got bored of Greek salad after a couple of days and came upon this recipe a week ago. I sliced them and filled the jar with them and now I have fresh pickles nearly the diameter of a hamburger!!! Thanks for sharing.
Also, anyone who doesn't think these are "real" pickles should know that these pickles don't simply sit in brine. The bacteria present on the skin of the cucumber actually cause fermentation to occur, so they're as "real" and pickled as anything else one can make or find.
If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go enjoy a pickle.
Angela says
Thank you for the comment & great information. I love that you have huge slices. I think I will try that next time as my kids love pickles on burgers and if I had ones that large, they would freak and be so excited.
Barbara Mordah says
When you start to " run low" on the pickle juice can u freshen up what's left with some vinegar and dill? Or what else would you need to add, or would it not work.?
Angela says
I have not tried it but you can add a bit of white wine or apple cider vinegar - or even a bit of lemon juice too. Fresh dill can be added but dried dill may be unpleasant and stick to the pickles.
carol macintosh says
THANKS FOR ALL THESE INTERESTING IDEAS, ITS QUITE FASCINATING. I WILL TRY THEM AS I LOVE PICKLES.