BeetEater.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I love pickles. But not just any pickles. Dills are the pickles for me. Dill pickles are a classic topper for any sandwich or veggie burger. They also go great with mock tuna or egg-less salad. Or dice them up and mix them with some oil-free vegan mayo for Tartar Sauce, BeetEater style!
No thanks. I’ll make my own.
Last week when shopping to make my Ultimate Veggie Burger recipe, I stopped by the pickle isle to peruse the selection. As I was checking the ingredients on the back of the Vlasic “Zesty” Pickles, a thought occurred to me: I have nearly all of these ingredients at home… and cucumbers are on sale!
So for a fraction of the price of a jar of pickles, I picked up a large bunch of fresh dill and a couple of english cucumbers. I kind of winged the recipe based on the Vlasic label combined with the typical procedure for making refrigerator pickles. I made a few tweaks to put my own spin on these pickles. My most notable tweak was omitting the mysterious ingredient “Yellow Number 5!” A very healthy move I think – who wants creepy numbered colors in their food?
Prep for this is so easy – I don’t think I even spent a whole 10 minutes prepping the ingredients. After marinating only 6 hours they already tasted amazing. After a full day they were out of this world. For best results, prep these on Wednesday for your Friday night Barbecue!
Vlasic Clone “Zesty” Dill Fridge Pickles
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp red chile flakes
- 4-6 garlic cloves
- 1 English cucumber sliced into rounds
- 5-6 sprigs of fresh dill
Instructions
- Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, salt, both vinegars, chile flakes, and garlic cloves in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool down a bit while you prep your cucumbers and dill.
- In a 1 quart mason jar, first add 5 or 6 stalks of fresh dill, and spoon in the garlic cloves from the boil. Then add the cucumbers and pour the brine from the saucepan over everything until the mason jar is completely full.
- Wipe the rim of the jar, and seal with a lid. Allow to cool completely before putting in the refrigerator.
- Marinate for a minimum of 6 hours before serving. For best results, allow to marinate for at least 3 days.
- Store in refrigerator up to 6 weeks.