No cook refrigerator pickles or icebox pickles are sweet and tangy with a delightful celery accent. They're not like any pickle you have eaten. And no need to turn your kitchen into a sweat room. You can also pickle green beans and other vegetables using this recipe!
Easy No Cook Refrigerator Pickles AKA Ice Box Pickles
Making the icebox pickles is easy. The hard part is waiting a few days to eat them.
One day when I stopped by my neighbor's house, she was in the middle of making these pickles using a recipe she got from an older woman in her church. A few days later (after the pickles aged) I tried them. Wow! De-LISH-ous!
They are sweeter than a bread and butter pickle and tangier than sweet pickles, with a flavor all their own.
My neighbor gave me the recipe, and I went home and made some. I've been making them ever since. Homemade pickles are so much better than store bought pickles!
Icebox Pickles
Ingredients
- 8 cups medium-sliced cucumbers about 4 large
- 1 medium yellow onion (or use red onions for more color) sliced in half rings
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 4 cups sugar
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 tablespoons celery seed
Instructions
-
Combine the cucumber slices and the onion slices in a half-gallon jar or container with a leak-proof cover.
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In a bowl, mix the vinegar, salt, sugar and celery seed until the sugar dissolves.
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Let the vinegar mixture stand about a half hour.
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Pour this mixture over the pickles and onion slices.
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Tightly cover the jar or container and refrigerate. Turn the jar over periodically (once or twice a day) to mix the ingredients, and let age for 3 days or a week to enhance flavor.
Take a look at the no-cook refrigerator pickle recipe video
Watch the WHSV TV3 video of Lois telling Bob Corso on the 1-on-1 Program how to make these pickles.
Reuse & recycle the pickle juice.
When you finish all the pickles, you can use the juice again to make another batch!
Pickle other vegetables.
The last time I made the pickles, I made some with green beans, too. You make them the same, except you have to blanch the beans before you put them in the jar. Try it!
Other veggies you can pickle this way:
- carrots
- parsnips
- cauliflower
- peppers
- beets
- etc.
Ingredients for easy no-cook refrigerator pickles
This recipe only calls for six ingredients and can easily be multiplied if you have an abundance of cucumbers or your family just loves pickles with every meal.
- cucumbers
- onion (I used a yellow onion, but you can use red onion and even sweet onion: whatever you have on hand)
- white vinegar (apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar can work too, but I like the white vinegar)
- granulated sugar
- iodized salt
- celery seeds
This recipe is very basic, and it works well that way. But if you want to play with your spices, here are some ideas. And feel free to experiment with other spices and herbs you love (or grow in your garden).
- add a few pepper flakes or garlic cloves for spicier pickles
- mustard seeds
- bay leaves
- black peppercorns
- fresh dill sprigs (dry works too, but fresh looks much better in your jar)
Tools you need to make these fridge pickles
- a knife (or one of these mandoline slicers if you want your pickles sliced up faster and more uniformly)
- cutting board
- measuring cups and spoons
- a large jar to store your pickles
- a funnel would also be helpful.
- but what you want is a good dish to serve them. Am I right?
How to make icebox pickles
Simple, straightforward, simple. Just six ingredients.
- Slice the cucumbers and onions.
- Put them in a large glass container with a plastic lid (like these).
- Mix the vinegar dressing and pour it over the veggies.
- Refrigerate for three or more days, turning the jar over every once in a while.
What to serve these icebox pickles with?
Now that you made pickles, how can you use them? what other foods can you pair them with?
Well, U love them as a low-calorie snack, so maybe give that a try. But they also go well with:
- soups
- burgers
- potato salad
- wraps
- sandwiches
No Cook Refrigerator Pickle Recipe
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Author: Recipe Idea Shop
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 8 cups medium-sliced cucumbers about 4 large
- 1 medium yellow onion (or use red onions for more color) sliced in half rings
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 4 cups sugar
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 tablespoons celery seed
Instructions
- Combine the cucumber slices and the onion slices in a half-gallon jar or container with a leak-proof cover.
- In a bowl, mix the vinegar, salt, sugar and celery seed until the sugar dissolves.
- Let the vinegar mixture stand about a half hour.
- Pour this mixture over the pickles and onion slices.
- Tightly cover the jar or container and refrigerate. Turn the jar over periodically (once or twice a day) to mix the ingredients, and let age for 3 days or a week to enhance flavor.
Nutrition (may vary depending on ingredients and amounts used)
Notes
More cucumber recipes
- Refrigerator Dill Pickles (no cooking)
- Pickle Wraps
- Cucumber and Red Onion Salad
- Dill Cucumber Salad
- Cucumber Salsa
- Pea and Cucumber Salad
- Fennel Orange Cucumber Salad
Kathy acquired the blog, Recipe Idea Shop in 2024. She was raised on a farm in Arkansas where having a big garden and good food to eat was the norm. She shares recipes for homemade comfort food and new trending dishes.
Katherine
I'm seriously dieting and was wondering with I could substitute maybe Spelnda for the sugar?
thank you.
Kathy Owen
I can't really say but it's worth a try. Will probably work just as well!