Is your garden overflowing with cucumbers? If you have time to slice them up and add them to salt water, you have time for fresh homemade fermented pickles. This is seriously the simplest recipe ever!
Super Simple to Make
This easy pickle recipe honestly seems like a pretty sorry excuse for a blog post.
I mean really. How could anything with so few steps and ingredients ever be considered revolutionary enough to be worthy of your time, dear reader?
Well, if your garden overfloweth with cucumbers and/or you want to start incorporating more fermented vegetables into your diet, I think you will love this super simple recipe. Honestly, it has been a game changer for me with my last few cucumber harvests.
I remember last year, we ate more vinegar cucumbers, cucumber cream cheese sandwiches on sourdough, and plain old salted cucumbers than we could stand. Soon I started making cucumber mint infused water by the gallon. But after all that, what else was a girl to do?
I mean making pickles is hard, right? Surely no mom of four has time for that!
Now I’m thinking, why the heck didn’t I just make more pickles?!
Spoiler alert.
There are only three ingredients in this recipe: cucumbers, water and salt.
That’s it.
You may be thinking, “but fermenting vegetables is intimidating and scary, right?”
Isn’t there some recipe that doesn’t require fermenting?
There are. But, guess what? They are actually HARDER than this simple recipe, and no where near as beneficial for the gut!
Read more on the benefits of fermented vegetables HERE.
Homemade Pickles are Super Simple to Make
Before I started fermenting vegetables myself, I was overwhelmed by all the options that I saw all over Pinterest. “How to Ferment Vegetables with Whey”, “Best Starter for Homemade Fermented Vegetables”, “Why Lacto Fermentation is the Best”, “Best Air Locks for Home Fermeting”……Whaaaaaaa?
For a few years I decided, clearly fermenting vegetables is difficult. I’m going to go crawl in a hole now and avoid any article that resembles a fermenting tutorial.
Friends, I’ve been there. If you’re where I was, let me gently back you off that ledge and give a quick science lesson.
Salt is a special little mineral that prevents the growth of harmful bacteria. When ferments are submerged in a salty brine, the good bacteria present on the fresh vegetables, namely Lactobacillus, can proliferate and grow uninhibited by bad bacteria.
So, my point is…all you need for vegetable fermentation is salt, veggies and water. The process really couldn’t be any easier and less intimidating.
Read about how to make homemade sauerkraut here and homemade kimchi here.
Think of fermentation as growing your own probiotics.
Now, on to the simple homemade cucumber pickle recipe.
The Easiest Way to Make Homemade Pickles Video
Homemade Pickles Ingredients
4 Tablespoons Salt
1/2 Gallon Water
4 Medium Cucumbers
Homemade Pickles Instructions
Salt
First, add four tablespoons of salt to a half gallon size mason jar.
I like to use Pink Himalayan Salt. You could use sea salt or Celtic salt, but don’t use iodized table salt.
Water
Next, bring a couple cups of filtered water to a simmer. This is going to be used to dissolve the salt.
Cucumbers
Add sliced cucumbers to a half gallon mason jar.
I like to slice them in approximately half inch rounds. If they are too thin, they can get soggy, and who likes soggy pickles??
Optional Add-Ins
Now, this is the part where you could get creative and add parsley, dill, cloves of garlic or whole black peppercorns.
Emphasis on the COULD.
As in, you don’t have to.
I didn’t.
My kiddos love these pickles, and I just don’t want to mess a good thing up. I’m afraid they would turn their noses up at garlic parsley pickles with peppercorns, and we wouldn’t that.
I added some parsley for the photo, but like I said, I just pulled that little sprig right back out and got on with my plain Jane pickle makin’.
After the salt water has cooled, add it to the jar.
Fill it the rest of the way with filtered water.
Add a Weight
Add a weight to keep the sliced cucumbers under the brine.
I keep a couple good sized rocks on hand for my fermenting weights.
I just slip the rock in a ziplock bag, so it doesn’t make contact with my ferment.
Screw on the Lid
After the cucumbers are weighted down in the salty brine, put the jar lid on loosely. Fermenting does create some natural gases that need to be released, so don’t screw the lid on too tightly, but do keep it covered so flies and varmints don’t decide to feast on your pickles.
You can also use these Pickle It fermenting lids, but you definitely don’t have to. The purpose of the lids is to allow gases to escape, while letting nothing else in. I use them all the time, but they were already in use in other ferments when I was making this tutorial. You can pretty much accomplish the same thing with a loose lid.
After five (or so) days, they will taste perfectly pickle-ish.
PLEASE NOTE: It is normal for the brine to get cloudy. This is a natural byproduct of vegetable fermentation and does not mean mold. For more fermented vegetables troubleshooting questions, check out THIS article.
Take one out and try it. If it is sour enough for you, put the lid on tightly, and throw the jar in the fridge. If you would like them to get a little more sour, leave them out at room temperature to ferment a little longer.
I included this photo to show you the color difference after fermentation. The garden fresh cucumber is on the right and the pickle, after a five day fermentation, on the left.
We Love these Homemade Pickles!
We love these pickles, and you can bet I will be making many many more this summer, as we are up to our ears in garden cucumbers.
For my next batch, I am going to just throw the freshly sliced cucumbers in the brine from a previous batch. Since it is already teeming with the beneficial bacteria, it will serve as a jump start for the process in the next batch.
Fermented vegetables can last six months or more in the refrigerator, that is IF you can go that long without eating them all up. 😉
Enjoy!
Print the Recipe
Is your garden overflowing with cucumbers? If you have time to slice them up and add them to salt water, you have time for fresh homemade fermented pickles. This is seriously the simplest recipe ever!
Homemade Fermented Pickles
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure HERE.
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Dallas
Thanks so much this was very helpful
Shauna
Made these this past week. My first attempt at making fermented foods. They turned out amazing. So easy to make thank you for sharing. I do have a question, is the water supposed to be cloudy when done?
Lisa
Yes! That does happen. I should mention that in the post. 🙂 . So glad they turned out for you!
Aliisa
I made these and the flavor is amazing but they arent crisp. I had hoped that the inside wouldnt get mushy. Are there any tips that I can try to keep my pickles crisp?
Aspen
I’ve read that grape or oak leaves help keep them crisp.
Sarah
Just made a batch of these and can’t wait to try them out! I was wondering, though: is there any difference when fermenting spears as opposed to round slices?
Kathy
Just silly questions, perhaps … could we use smaller grocery store cucumbers rather than home grown, since it’s too early here for garden produce yet? I’m concerned that the stores may source veggies that have been treated in any number of ways to cause disruption of the fermentation process? If so, will buying organic ensure that this won’t be a problem?
Thanks for this great recipe!
Lisa
Yes you definitely can! I have been doing that all winter. 🙂
Aspen
Would this work to make bread and butter pickles? I know most bread and butter recipes required sugar or honey so I’m curious if it would fermented properly still?
Marcie
Can the brining water be used again for 2nd batch? Or start fresh each time? I love how simple you make things!
Lisa
Yes it sure can! That would give the next batch a jump start in introducing probiotics. 🙂
Jen
How long do these last in the refrigerator before going bad?
April
My saurkraut turned out great but my pickles were beyond soggy! What did I do wrong? I chopped them fairly thick.
Ronit
My pickles come out really bed. Can it be because I used the long cucumber From the grocery store?
Lisa
Were they mushy? That sometimes happen if they are the big cucumbers.
Emily
I made your pickles and your sauerkraut and they are delicious! Could I use this basic pickling method for jalapeños? Have you done that? Wondering if they would stay crunchy. We eat a lot of jalapeños and I would love to ferment them if I can. Thanks!
Lisa
I haven’t done it with jalapenos, but this is the basic recipe to ferment any vegetables, so I’m sure it would work and be delicious.
Emily
Wonderful! Thank you so much!
Hannah
This comment is late after the post, hopefully I can still get an answer haha! 🙂 I have no experience in fermenting… so once the pickles are done after 5 days, do you take them out of the jar and store them in the fridge in a different container? Or just pop them in the fridge? You said you didn’t want to keep fermenting them so I just assume you have to remove them from the brine?…. or does refrigeration stop the fermentation process? I know… I’m clueless! Thank you 😀
Mishelle
I love this super rasy recipe! In czech republic we have simillar recipe for fermented pickles, but we are adding dill and horseradish for more spicy taste. it os so yummy and everybody on village are cooking them 🙂
Amanda
Does the weight need to be completely submerged? Or can the weight be half submerged? Every time I try this recipe, they mold! HELP! 🙂 I even use a silicone fermenting venting lid! I just want pickles and saurkraut!!!
~Amanda
Nicole
Hello! I am so excited to try this! I was wondering if one has to use filtered water. We live on a farm and have well water. It is tested and is safe. Can I just use our regular well water for this?
Lisa
Possibly so! I still use my Berkey water filter water for ferments now that we are on well water, but I would venture to guess it would be fine.
Vicki
I, too, want to know if you’ve tried sweet pickles. Or bread and butter.
Also, when you add fresh cucumbers to a brine you’ve already used, do you take it out of the fridge and leave on the counter for 5 days again?
Thank you for your recipes!
Jessi
Hello!
We’ve made a few batches so far, but I feel like we’re having contamination issues.. a film develops on the top of the water that makes me think that it’s mold. Is that normal? Does that sound like contamination of some sort? We had the same thing happen with a batch of sauerkraut. One jar was fine, the other one did not taste right
Adele
Hi!
Just wanted to clarify your instructions.
…Add four tablespoons of salt to a half gallon size mason jar.
Bring 2 cups of filtered water to a simmer.
Add sliced cucumbers to a half gallon mason jar.
After the salt water has cooled, add it to the jar.
Are we supposed to add the 4 tbsp of salt to the 2 cups that are simmering? And not in the mason jar?
Jan
In recipe, first step says to add salt to jar. Later step says to add salted water to jar. Was the salt to be added to the water instead before simmering?
Phoebe
My son and I made pickles today! He is two and enjoyed putting the pickles in the jar.
Sumitha
I loved your detailed note on fermenting vegetables. Reminded me of the pickled lime, pinaple and gooseberry in my home town.
This is a small video – https://www.facebook.com/1971470749753179/posts/2841810589385853/
Herbs and pepper can be modified based on your taste buds.