Emulsifier Free Whole30 Dill Pickles
Crunchy, garlicky, and loaded with fresh dill, these refrigerator pickles are the kind of snack you'll find yourself reaching for straight out of the jar. Most store-bought pickles are packed with polysorbate 80, calcium disodium EDTA, or other additives that can be hard to track down on a label — making homemade the obvious move if you're keeping things clean. The brine here is beautifully simple: apple cider vinegar, water, and sea salt, with whole spices and fresh aromatics doing all the heavy lifting. Trimming the blossom end of each cucumber is a small but smart step that keeps the texture snappy rather than soft, and packing the spears tightly into the jar helps them stay that way. Optional grape leaves bring a natural tannin boost for extra crunch without any additives. After just 48 hours in the fridge, you've got bold, tangy pickles that are genuinely better than anything off the shelf — and you know exactly what went into them.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 2 lbs pickling cucumbers (about 8 small)
- 1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 8 sprigs fresh dill
- 4 large grape leaves or ½ tsp food-grade tannin powder (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Trim 1/8 inch off the blossom end (the end opposite the stem) of each cucumber — this removes enzymes that can soften the pickles. Cut the cucumbers into spears by halving lengthwise, then halving again, or slice into 1/4-inch rounds if you prefer chips.
- 2
Combine the apple cider vinegar, water, and sea salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the salt is fully dissolved, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat and let the brine cool for 5 minutes.
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