These easy, sweet and tart pickles are preserved in your freezer. Enjoy garden fresh pickles without the canning or processing with this easy freezer pickles recipe!
Easy Freezer Pickles Recipe
‘Tis the season! Pickling cucumbers are ripening all over the United States. This easy freezer pickles recipe is a fantastic alternative to canning pickles. You can store these easy freezer pickles in your freezer for 6 months (up to a year). By adjusting the amount of sugar in the recipe, you can make your pickles sweeter or tarter. The less sugar you add, the more pucker-worthy your pickles. The more sugar, the more bread-and-butter type of pickle you will produce.
I want to caution you about making a brine in a metal bowl: do not do it. Use plastic (a food grade bucket works well), glass or ceramic container with a lid for best results.
You will read many, many, many freezer pickle recipes online. As long as they contain salt (kosher or sea salt, not regular iodized salt) and vinegar and allow for bringing time, you should get freezer pickles. Be cautious about how long the pickles will last once defrosted, however. Two – three weeks is the maximum you should keep defrosted freezer pickles. I suggest you freeze these freezer pickles for several days to a week before using.
Note:
This recipe yields about 4 quarts.
● To print the Easy Freezer Pickles recipe, click here.
Easy Freezer Pickles Ingredients:
● 16 (generous) cups Pickling Cucumbers, thinly sliced
● 2 medium White Onions, thinly sliced
● 8 TBSP Kosher Salt
● 5-8 cups White Sugar (depends on how sweet you would like these)
● 4 cups White, Distilled Vinegar
● 2 TBSP Celery Seed
● 2 TBSP Mustard Seed
● 2 TBSP Dry Dill
● Fresh Dill Sprigs (optional)
Easy Freezer Pickles Mise en Place:
● Mandolines (or knife and cutting board, but you want these uniform in thickness)
● Food Grade Bucket with lid (or container)
● Bowls
● Long Spoon
● Measuring Cup
● Measuring Spoons
● Freezer Safe Containers
Easy Freezer Pickles Directions:
● Thoroughly was your pickles. Scrub the ends to remove all dirt. Dry the pickles.
● Thinly slice your cucumbers and onions. A mandoline is great for this!
● Allow for a generous 16 cups of sliced pickles.
● Combine cucumbers, onions, salt, celery seed, mustard seed and dry dill in a food grade
container. Mix well.
● Add white sugar, mix well.
● Add vinegar, mix well.
● Cover and refrigerate overnight (24 hours).
● Remove food grade bucket from the refrigerator, and place brined pickles in freezer grade.
plastic containers, leaving 1/2″ of head room. Tongs work well to remove the pickles from the
bucket.
● Top with brine mixture.
● Clean off rims of containers.
● Cover, label and place in freezer. Freeze for at least 3 days before eating
● Thaw for 30 minutes before serving.
● These will last in your freezer for 6 months. Once thawed they will only last a few weeks in
your refrigerator, so consume quickly!
Easy Freezer Pickles Recipe
By Ann
These easy, sweet and tart pickles are preserved in your freezer. Enjoy garden fresh pickles without the canning or processing with this easy freezer pickles recipe!
Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Cook Time: 0 Minutes
Total Time: 24 Hours 45 Minutes (24 hours for brining)
Ingredients:
● 16 (generous) cups Pickling Cucumbers, thinly sliced
● 2 medium White Onions, thinly sliced
● 8 TBSP Kosher Salt
● 5-8 cups White Sugar (depends on how sweet you would like these)
● 4 cups White, Distilled Vinegar
● 2 TBSP Celery Seed
● 2 TBSP Mustard Seed
● 2 TBSP Dry Dill
● Fresh Dill Sprigs (optional)
Directions:
● Thoroughly was your pickles. Scrub the ends to remove all dirt. Dry the pickles.
● Thinly slice your cucumbers and onions. A mandoline is great for this!
● Allow for a generous 16 cups of sliced pickles.
● Combine cucumbers, onions, salt, celery seed, mustard seed and dry dill in a food grade
container. Mix well.
● Add white sugar, mix well.
● Add vinegar, mix well.
● Cover and refrigerate overnight (24 hours).
● Remove food grade bucket from the refrigerator, and place brined pickles in freezer grade
plastic containers, leaving 1/2″ of head room. Tongs work well to remove the pickles from the
bucket.
● Top with brine mixture.
● Clean off rims of containers.
● Cover, label and place in freezer. Freeze for at least 3 days before eating
● Thaw for 30 minutes before serving.
● These will last in your freezer for 6 months. Once thawed they will only last a few weeks in
your refrigerator, so consume quickly!
Makes 64 Servings Freezer Pickles
Want try try different cucumber recipes? You might enough these:
● Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe – Grandma’s old fashion Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe. Super easy to make, this is a delicious blend of cucumbers and onions in a sweet, creamy sauce is the perfect cucumber salad recipe!
● Cucumber Caprese Salad Recipe – A beautiful and delicious take on a traditional Caprese Salad, this Cucumber Caprese Salad Recipe is a perfect side dish with steak, burgers, turkey legs, barbecue chicken and more! Easy to make, this Cucumber Caprese Salad recipe is loaded with sweet, fresh vegetables. Try it today!
● Four Color Caprese Salad Recipe A lovely, crunchy, tasty take on a traditional Caprese Salad, this Four Color Caprese Salad Recipe is a wonderful side dish with seafood, chicken, pork and more!
● Disclosure the links in this post may be affiliate links.
● For more Recipes on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.
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Stephanie K says
These look really yummy and not too complicated. I hope I’m able to get enough cucumbers to give it a try in the next few weeks. Thank you!
Ann says
I hope you enjoy them, Stephanie. You can break down the recipe if you only have XX cucumbers. It should divide well by 2 and 4. I’m not sure it is worth doing less than 4 cups of sliced cucumbers.
Ann
Judy says
Is it okay to jar the pickles for refrigerator? Also, how about red onions?
Ann says
Judy, yes. However, this makes a lot more than could normally be consumed in a few weeks by a family, so there would be a LOT of excess pickles. You can’t really freeze those jars. Now if you were making these for a large picnic with 100 people and never planned on freezing any, sure that would work.
Note: these really are better if you freeze for at least a few days, but if you can’t, you can’t.
Ann
Merlinda Little (@pixiedusk) says
Looks yummy! Sadly I cant use the freezer for preserving them as I do batch cooking so I really do use my freezer space.
Jay @CraftySpices says
These sound great, not to mention seems they are very easy to make. I don’t think I could do as big as a batch for prererving but maybe I will cut the recipe.
Thanks!
XmasDolly says
I love me some pickles, cucumbers whatever, and the recipe sounds really good. I tried doing this once, but I tried jarring, and they blew up! LOL Now freezing that might be different and easier. Going to have to try this. Thanks for sharing. I have recipe Friday if you’re interested you can come share your recipes with my readers too! Hope to see you then. 😉
NYC Single Mom says
interesting never thought to freeze pickles. This looks pretty easy too
Erin S. says
THANK YOU!! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for; I’ve tried making pickles many times using a water bath and the heat makes them way too flimsy for my taste. I’ve wanted to try a cold method but the idea of fermenting them for months in a closet somewhere scares me. This is something I could actually do!!
Cathy says
I love pickles and these are great tips!! I would love for you to share this at my link party Making Memories Mondays going on now! There’s a great cash giveaway too!
Cathy
Christine @BecomingChristineSmith.com says
JUST what I needed, thanks tons!! Am saving this for when the cucumbers come into my garden
Tara @ Lehman lane says
Ann, I was just talking to some girlfriends last week about how homemade pickles are so much better than store bought and now I have a recipe:). Thanks so much for sharing your recipes at Dream. Create. Inspire. Link. I hope you will join us again this Tuesday night! Take care, Tara
Mimi says
Could I use Splenda in place of regular sugar?
Ann says
Mimi, I have not done so. Generally speaking, sugar is added for flavor. People add sugar or brown sugar to a brine, although you can brine without sugar. Supposedly sugar absorbs the moisture, but I am not a scientist and don’t really know how that works. Here is an excellent article on the function of sugar in foods: Sugar.org.
So, while I have never used Splenda and can’t make any promises, it is possible it might be used with success.
If you do try it, please come back and tell us how it worked!
Ann
Pam K says
Can you use whole cucumbers and/or spears for your freezer pickles?
Ann says
Hi Pam,
While I have not done it, you should be ok with the spears. I doubt whole pickles would work… no open surface area to brine.
Ann
cindy says
i must be blind, i can’t find the PRINT button.
Ann says
Cindy, you are not blind. There is one now. 🙂
• To print the Easy Freezer Pickles recipe, click here.
Ann
Jake J. says
Can you leave the sugar out and just make dill slices?????
Bob says
Has anyone tried to make a green tomato relish in this way? Seems to me it would work using green tomatoes, onion, mild pepper of some sort….then adjust with sugar.
Cheri says
Wouldn’t the pickles be mushy after freezing?
Ann says
They are not, Cheri.
Ann
Michelle Murph says
Can the pickles set in refrigerator in brine for 48 hours? I mean while they set in brine before placing in storage containers!
Ann says
Michelle, 48 hours in the brine will not hurt. Just remember to count that as a day toward the two weeks un-defrosted in your fridge for whatever you do not freeze and set aside to consume right away.
Ann
Michelle says
Is there a recipe for Mexican tomato pickled?
Ann says
I do not have one, Michelle.
Ann
Lynn says
Will this work doing them as spears instead?
jack says
Those large pithy cucumbers that are normally in grocery store produce depts are no good for anything. At Walmart and some other stores you can get mini cukes and English cucumbers, which are much better and usually available round. But fresh grown is better if available.
Linda pelham says
I have made these with adjusting ingredients by leaving out the herbs & they taste so fresh. My family evens enjoys the juice .I use mini cubes 3 to make a quart 6 dukes in the mini bags thx I am cutting out canning in my life 😎
Russ says
I’m out of sugar and wondered if I could use brown sugar.
Ann says
Russ, brown sugar has molasses in it, so it is going to taste a bit different. You may end up liking it! I have not used brown sugar in this recipe, so do not know how it will turn out.
Ann
Susan says
Why can a metal bowl not be used?
Sharon says
How do they taste after freezing? Do they become mushy when thawed?
Carolyn says
Hey there- I REALLY know ‘not much’… but I believe a metal bowl causes a chemical reaction that makes your ‘end product’ have a metal/tinny flavor. Use glass, ceramic or Tupperware & you’re safe.