Preserve your fresh produce — make these yummy refrigerator dilly beans (and a dozen other kinds of pickles). This is our go-to recipe for preserving green beans.
I love pickles. But I have trouble growing cucumbers here. I’ve had moderate luck growing green beans, and I’m confident that my harvests will improve as my soil improves. So I’ve decided that these refrigerator dilly beans are going to be my new go-to for pickling.
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You can use any variety of green bean for pickling. Whatever you’re growing for the dinner table will also work for making these refrigerator dilly beans. Just plant extra green beans!
Related: Canning Recipes to Preserve the Summertime Garden Abundance
Refrigerator dilly beans: Recipe for pickled goodness
This particular recipe makes a small batch of pickled green beans and doesn’t need to be processed. They’re refrigerator pickles. That means it’s an easy project for those of you who are new to the idea of preserving your garden harvest. These pickles will last for months in the fridge.
And this is an easy pickle recipe. It took me about half an hour to put up these dilly green beans — faster, even, than a trip to the grocery store!
You can make this recipe with fresh or dried dill, whichever you have available.
★ Did you make these refrigerator dilly beans? Don’t forget to give them a star rating below! ★
Refrigerator Dilly Bean Recipe
Preserve your fresh produce -- make these yummy refrigerator dilly beans. They're easy to make, maintain their crispness, and don't require a water bath process.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds green beans
- 2 T. dried dill weed (or 1 cup chopped fresh dill if you have it)
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- 4 tsp. granulated organic cane sugar
- 2 T. sea salt
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Instructions
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Wash and trim the ends from beans. Cook the beans in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, until crisp but tender. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process.
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Pack beans into glass jars, snug but not too snug (you'll fill 2-3 pint jars, depending on how tightly you pack the beans).
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Divide the dill and garlic between the jars. Bring the remaining ingredients to a boil. Pour liquid over the beans, using a butter knife to release any air bubbles. Make sure beans are completely submerged.
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Secure the lid; refrigerate for at least a week before serving.
Recipe Notes
My recipe is adapted from one found in this book.
Need another Pickle Recipe?
Pickling is one of the easiest ways to preserve some of your garden bounty, whether you’re processing your pickles to be shelf stable or just whipping up a batch of refrigerator pickles. And we’re not talking just cucumbers, here. If you’ve tried these dilly green beans and are ready to tackle a different kind of pickle, check out some of these recipes!
- Cucumber-Squash Dill Fermented Pickles from Attainable Sustainable
- Pickled Nasturtium Seeds aka Poor Man’s Capers from Attainable Sustainable
- Pickled Beets from Homegrown and Healthy
- Refrigerator Pickles from Five Little Homesteaders
- Pickled Purslane from Homespun Seasonal Living
- Easy Refrigerator Pickled Beets from Health Starts in the Kitchen
- Kosher Dills from Joybilee Farm
- Sweet Pickled Cucumber Slices from Reformation Acres
- Zesty Bread & Butter Pickles from Homemade Seasonal Living
- Watermelon Rind Pickles from Small Footprint Family
- Pickled Roasted Red Peppers from Health Starts in the Kitchen
- Green Tomato Pickles from Common Sense Home
- Pickled Red Onions from Health Starts in the Kitchen
Small Garden Ideas: Get the Most Bang for your Buck!
Reader Favorites from Attainable Sustainable
Roxanne @ Champion of My Heart
June 8, 2011 at 7:31 AMGreat pix. These sound really good. Alas, our beans are just now coming up. We won’t have any produce for quite some time.
Kris Bordessa
June 8, 2011 at 3:29 PMRoxanne, you know where to find the recipe when your beans are ready!
Mike
June 8, 2011 at 11:14 AMThese sound so good. I’ve never been a big fan of canning green beans and usually just blanch and freeze them, but this is going to get tested out in my kitchen this year.
Kris Bordessa
June 8, 2011 at 3:30 PMMike, I don’t can green beans, either, because of the low-acid factor. I really like this way of preserving them and have had better luck with these than regular pickles.
Jane Boursaw
June 8, 2011 at 8:51 PMOh those look gorgeous. And with the garlic and dill – yummy. I love green beans.
NoPotCooking
June 9, 2011 at 10:54 AMI’ve never had these – they sound really good. When we get an excess here in late summer I’ll try it.
Cindy C
June 10, 2011 at 4:17 PMI am making these now. I was wondering if you know how long they keep in the refrigerator? We are down to a household of 3 and I know I’ll love them, just not sure about the other 2.
Kris Bordessa
June 10, 2011 at 4:32 PMBecause of the vinegar content, they’ll keep pretty indefinitely. Kind of like dill pickles. (Let us know how they turn out!)
Julia in West Des Moines
June 10, 2011 at 5:34 PMI’ve done this using Sandor Katz’s recipe, which looks the same. they’re very good. got here from simple lives thursday.
Yolanda
June 15, 2011 at 1:43 PMWhat a nice recipe! How long will these stay good to eat?
Kris Bordessa
June 15, 2011 at 5:07 PMBecause of the vinegar content, they’ll keep pretty indefinitely. Kind of like dill pickles. (Let us know how they turn out!)
Lynn Ludeman
June 19, 2015 at 7:44 AMI am on the autoimmune protocol, specifically to try to re-set my insulin resistance problem. With that protocol, no sugar! Have any advice about using this recipe with an alternate sweetener, like stevia? Would that work?
Kris Bordessa
June 22, 2015 at 5:33 PMIf it were me, I’d try it without the sugar at all.
Mona
October 1, 2015 at 4:25 PMCan I raw pack the beans (without blanching) and pour the boiling brine over my beans in their jars? I have a batch made and all the tops sealed…I wanted them crunchier:)
Kris Bordessa
October 5, 2015 at 8:14 AMI’ve tried this, but they ended up really tough.
Michelle
March 24, 2018 at 7:02 PMSuper easy to make!
Michelle
March 24, 2018 at 9:43 PMYummy and easy to make.
Eric Hathaway
May 9, 2019 at 1:07 PMIt works fine without the sugar