Do you enjoy eating homemade pickles? Don’t have the time or the equipment to jump into home canning? If so, you can easily make your own pickles at home and then freeze them for later use. Matter of fact, some pickle fans actually prefer freezer pickles over jarred ones!
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When I need to make just a small batch of pickles to use up some of our freshly-picked cucumbers…I’ll make freezer pickles instead of dragging out all of my home canning supplies. Once you’ve made them you’ll need to store them in freezer-safe plastic containers or glass mason jars. Personally, I prefer using glass mason jars as they store nicely in my freezer and/or refrigerator. I can’t tell you exactly how many jars that this recipe will make as it will depend on the size of the cucumbers that you use. I typically can get 3-4 pint-size jars.
If you do have the time and if you want to do home canning of your cucumber pickles you can find my Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe on the blog along with processing and home canning instructions.
Homemade Freezer Pickles Recipe
3-4 large fresh cucumbers
1 cup sweet onion, sliced or diced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
3 tbsp. pickling salt
4 cups granulated sugar
2 cups white vinegar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. ground mustard
4-6 plastic freezer containers or glass mason jars
Wash the cucumbers, onion and bell pepper; dry. Slice cucumbers into slices…we like our’s thin so I usually do 1/8″ to 3/16″ slices. Slice onion or chop it into small pieces (according to your preference and chop the green bell pepper.
In a large mixing bowl combine together the sliced cucumbers, onion, green bell pepper and pickling salt. Stir until everything is well combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes and re-covering the bowl.
In a large mixing bowl combine together the granulated sugar, white vinegar, celery seed, ground turmeric and ground mustard. Stir until well blended together. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes and re-covering the bowl.
Pour the cucumber mixture into a colander and run tap water over the mixture to rinse off the salt and to drain away all liquid. I like to let mine set in the colander for several minutes. Pour cucumbers back into their original bowl. Slowly pour the sugar and vinegar mixture into the cucumber & pepper mixture until well combined, stirring after each addition. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes.
Spoon pickle mixture into freezer-safe containers leaving a 1″ headspace in each container. Cover. Place them into the freezer.
How to Thaw and Use: When you’re ready to enjoy your pickles you’ll want to place one jar or container into your refrigerator overnight to thaw. Do not thaw them at room temperature! Once removed from the freezer you’ll have to store them in the refrigerator. They will keep for several days although our’s never last long before the family has devoured them.
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I never realized that I could make pickles this way. Thanks for the recipe.
I’d like to try these. My Grandma used to make these and she canned beans, etc. They were so good.
My daughter is going to give this a try. Thanks for the recipe!
What a great way to make small batches. I want to try this method. Thank you for sharing.