Kosher Pickles
These Kosher Pickles taste like the ones you can pick up at any Jewish Deli in New York. They are garlic dill pickles. Emphasis on garlic.
🍽️ Recipe Name: Kosher Pickles
⏰ Ready In: 40 minutes (plus chilling or canning time)
⏳ Prep Time: 25 minutes
🔥 Cook Time: 15 minutes
⏲️Processing Time: 15 minutes pints, 20 minutes quarts
👥 Serves: 2 quarts
🥕 Main Ingredients: Pickling cucumbers, white vinegar, kosher salt, sugar, pickling spices, dried chiles, garlic, dill.
🍳 Special Equipment: Quart canning jars, saucepan, water bath canner (optional), jar lifter, funnel.
⭐ Why You’ll Love It: Crisp, garlicky dill pickles with classic deli flavor. Easy to make in the refrigerator or preserve with water bath canning for longer storage.
👇 Full measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.
Are Kosher Pickles Actually Kosher?
According to Wikipedia, “A ‘kosher’ dill pickle is not necessarily kosher in the sense that it has been prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary law. Rather, it is a pickle made in the traditional manner of Jewish New York City pickle makers, with a generous addition of garlic and dill to a natural salt brine.”
So it is with these pickles; they are not kosher, per se, only made with lots of garlic and dill!
Kosher Pickles can be cold-packed or traditional water-bath canned. As with all cold-packed canned goods, these must be stored in the refrigerator and will have a shorter shelf life than their water bath canned counterparts.
If you are in a hurry, just cold pack them. Just know that you should use them up within 3 months or so.
What You Need
- Cucumbers – choose small pickling cucumbers
- Coarse kosher salt or sea salt
- Sugar
- Black peppercorns or coarse ground black pepper
- Coriander seed
- Dried chilis
- White vinegar
- Garlic – use fresh whole cloves of garlic
- Dill seed or a couple of fresh heads of dill
How to Make Kosher Pickles
Wash pickling cucumbers well.
Cut spears or slices, depending on what shape you prefer.
Peel garlic.
Measure vinegar. Heat to a boil.
Sterilize jars. See here for different sterilization methods.
Add cucumbers to jars.
For spears, lay jars on their sides to fill them, making it easier to stuff them into the jar.
Add spices.
Fill jars with hot liquid, leaving ½ inch of headspace, then add garlic and dill.
Wipe the edges of jars with a damp paper towel. Place hot lid on jar. Affix bands and fingertip-tighten. If water bath canning, place in the canning pot. Low boil for 15 minutes for pints. 20 minutes for quarts. If cold-packing, allow to cool to room temperature and refrigerate.
Use the chart below to adjust your kosher pickle processing time based on your jar size and altitude.
Tools That Make This Recipe Work
If you don’t already have these, this is where most people struggle.
- Canning Pot – Deep enough to safely process jars in a boiling water bath. Without one, your pickles may not seal properly, making them unsafe for long-term storage.
- Wide Mouth Quart Jars – Make packing whole cucumbers and brine much easier. Narrow jars are harder to fill and can make removing the pickles a hassle.
- Canning Lids – Create the airtight seal that keeps your pickles shelf-stable. Reusing old lids can lead to seal failures and spoiled jars.
- Vegetable Brush – Scrubs away dirt from fresh cucumbers without damaging the skin. Skipping this step can leave grit behind and affect the quality of your pickles.
- Garlic Peeler – Speeds up prep when you’re peeling multiple cloves. It saves time and keeps your hands from smelling like garlic all day.
These jars give you the right size for storing a batch of homemade pickles. The clear glass also makes it easy to see the pickles and brine.
Use this canner when processing homemade preserves in a water bath. The sturdy rack helps keep jars organized throughout the canning process.
Other Delicious Pickled Recipes
Want to learn to grow your own cucumbers for making pickles? See these articles. They are packed full of information about how to get that big harvest by the end of the season! Don’t miss How to Start a Garden Series! The first part is Planning Your Garden! Second is Preparing the Garden Site.
The third is Choosing Plants and Planting Your Garden. The fourth is Garden Maintenance, and the last is Harvesting a Garden and Preserving the Harvest, this post has over 100 FREE recipes for preserving your harvest!
Kosher Pickles
Ingredients
- 3-3½ pounds small to medium pickling cucumbers
- ¼ cup coarse kosher or pickling salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 Tablespoon peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon coriander seed
- 8 dried chiles like chile de arbol
- 4 cup white vinegar
- 20 garlic whole cloves, halved
- 4 teaspoon dill seed or fresh dill heads
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers into either spears or rounds. (see post for photos)
- Add half of the spices and sugar and salt to each jar.
- Pack jars with pickles. (Load spears with jars turned on to their sides.)
- Bring vinegar to boil in small pot.
- Pour hot vinegar into jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Wipe rims of jars with damp paper towel.
- Place lids on jars. Tighten bands, fingertip tight.
Cold Packed Kosher Pickles
- Allow jars to come to room temperature on counter.
- Store in refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Water Bath Canned Kosher Pickles
- Place jars into water bath canning pot. Low boil for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts. Adjust processing time for altitude. See table in notes and in the recipe post.
- Allow to cool on counter until room temperature.
- Check lids for seal. If lid flexes up and down, when pressed in center, jar is not properly sealed and must be stored in refrigerator.
- If jar is sealed, store in a cool, dark place for about one year.
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Notes
Nutrition
Originally published October 4, 2019. Updated with new content April 21, 2022.
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How much spice and sugar do you put in each jar
The recipe is for 2 jars, so add half of the spices and sugar to each jar. I have changed the instructions to make that more clear. Thanks for checking out the recipe Nancy!
Is that 1/4 cup of salt per jar?
No. I use a quarter of a cup for the whole recipe which is 2 quarts. Thanks for checking out the recipe~
How can 1/4C white vinegar be enough brine for 2 quarts? Am I missing something?
I so sorry Tom. That got through our proofreaders! It should be 4 cups of vinegar. Once the jars are packed, this should be sufficient to cover them. I’ve changed the recipe. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!
Can I sub dill weed for dill seed? I have no access to fresh dill, and I have no dill weed!
Dill seed is stronger than dill weed. Definitely add less. It may make a small difference, but they should still be good.