Quick and Easy Dill Pickle Chips – a Small Batch Recipe

Here is a quick-win recipe for when you have a few fresh cucumbers and don’t want to put up a lifetime supply of pickles.  These Quick and Easy Dill Pickle Chips come together in a snap and add tons of homemade flavor to sandwiches, burgers and salads.  For a more detailed walk-through of the canning process, as well as links to other canning resources, see my post on Homemade Sweet Pickle Relish (also pictured above!).

Not ready to make Dill Pickle Chips today?  Pin this recipe for later!

Here’s What You Need to Make Dill Pickle Chips

• 2 sterilized pint canning jars with new lids
• 4 cups of sliced Persian or Pickling Cucumbers
• 1 tsp. dried dillweed, divided

For the Brine:

• 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. pickling salt
• 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp. dill seeds
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric, optional
• 1 bayleaf

Here’s What to Do:

Make the Brine

Add all the brine ingredients to a stainless steel or other non-reactive pan (i.e. not aluminum or cast iron) and bring to a boil.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow mixture to steep while you prep the cukes and fill the sterilized jars.

Ingredient Tips:

1. If your water is especially hard, it’s best to use filtered or bottled water to keep your brine clear.
2. No pickling salt?  You can substitute DOUBLE the amount of Kosher salt, as long as your kosher salt has absolutely no additives (check the label).
3. Pepper flakes add a very slight pop of heat – add more for noticable heat or leave them out.
4. Turmeric is a traditional pickle brine ingredient.  It adds a bit of flavor, but mostly it brings that familiar pickle color.  That’s why many store-bought pickles contain yellow food dye – yuck.  You can leave it out if you don’t have any.
5. Frankly, the only mission critical ingredients (for food safety reasons) in the brine are the water, vinegar, sugar and salt.  Flavor these dill pickle chips however you like!

Prep the cukes

Remove a small amount from both ends of each cucumber.  Using a sharp knife or a mandoline, slice the cukes into 1/4″ thick rounds.  You will need about a pound of Persian cukes for this recipe.  However, buy a few more – it’s always better to have more than you need than not enough!  #truestory

Fill the Jars

Arrange the cucumber slices neatly in the jars, packing tightly, but leaving a good amount of room for the brine.  Sprinkle a 1/2 tsp. of dill weed on top of each jar.

Process the Dill Pickle Chips

You can enjoy these pickles two ways:  as “fresh” pickles or traditional pickles.

For fresh pickles, strain the slightly cooled brine into a quart glass measuring cup.  Pour strained brine over sliced cukes in jars.  Place lids on jars and seal.  Pop your pickles in the fridge and consume them within a week or two.

For longer storage, reheat the brine to simmering-hot before straining, then strain into a quart glass measuring cup. Pour strained, hot brine in jars, leaving half an inch of space at the top.  Seal and process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 mins.  Turn off heat, but leave jars in water a few minutes to cool a bit.  Carefully remove jars and cool on a rack.  Make sure jars seal properly before storing.  If they don’t seal, you can still eat the pickles.  Just refrigerate them immediately and eat within a week or two.

Now that you’ve made some Dill Pickle Chips, check out the recipes below to make some Sweet Relish or two kinds of lower-sugar Berry Jam!

Enjoy!

Here are three other favorite recipes for putting up Summer’s bounty:

Print Pin

Quick and Easy Dill Pickle Chips

A quick and easy, small-batch recipe for dill pickle chips that can be enjoyed either as fresh, unprocessed pickles or processed for longer shelf life.

Course Preserves

Cuisine American

Keyword Pickles

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 2 pints

Author Elizabeth at thewildolive.org

Ingredients

• 2 sterilized pint canning jars with new lids
• 4 cups of sliced Persian or Pickling Cucumbers
• 1 tsp. dried dillweed - divided

For the Brine:

• 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. pickling salt
• 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic - lightly crushed
• 1 tsp. dill seeds
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes - optional
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric - optional
• 1 bayleaf

Instructions

Make the Brine

• Add all the brine ingredients to a stainless steel or other non-reactive pan (i.e. not aluminum or cast iroand bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow mixture to steep while you prep the cukes and fill the sterilized jars.

Prep the Cukes

• Remove a small amount from both ends of each cucumber. Using a sharp knife or a mandoline, slice the cukes into 1/4″ thick rounds. You will need about a pound of Persian cukes for this recipe. However, buy a few more – it’s always better to have more than you need than not enough!

Fill the Jars

• Arrange the cucumber slices neatly in the jars, packing tightly, but leaving a good amount of room for the brine. Sprinkle a 1/2 tsp. of dill weed on top of each jar.

Process the Pickles

• You can enjoy these pickles two ways: as “fresh” pickles or traditional pickles.

For fresh pickles

• Strain the slightly cooled brine into a quart glass measuring cup. Pour strained brine over sliced cukes in jars. Place lids on jars and seal. Pop your pickles in the fridge and consume them within a week or two.

For longer storage (traditional pickles)

• Reheat the brine to simmering-hot before straining, then strain into a quart glass measuring cup. Pour strained, hot brine in jars, leaving half an inch of space at the top. Seal and process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 mins. Turn off heat, but leave jars in water a few minutes to cool a bit. Carefully remove jars and cool on a rack. Make sure jars seal properly before storing. If they don’t seal, you can still eat the pickles. Just refrigerate them immediately and eat within a week or two.

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