BEST Dill Pickle Relish
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An easy, wonderfully versatile and utterly deeeeelicious homemade dill pickle relish recipe! Canning instructions are included so you can enjoy this relish all year long!
It’s relish like this that makes eating a sandwich or hot dog just that much better. It also adds a wonderful dimension to your pasta and potato salads. Last Summer I posted my recipe for Sweet Pickle Relish and here is the more savory version with a more pronounced dill flavor. It’s so easy to make and comes with instructions for canning so you can enjoy it all the year long.
Pickle Relish Recipe
Let’s get started!
We’re going to use regular cucumbers. They’re much cheaper than English cucumbers (the ones that come shrink-wrapped) or pickling cucumbers and taste exactly the same. I prefer to peel them since the peel is fairly tough. We’re also going to remove the seeds.
So peel the cucumbers and thinly slice them lengthwise. Slice them into strips, discarding the inner strip of seeds. Then very finely dice the cucumbers.
Very finely dice the onions, garlic and red bell pepper. You can use a food processor, just don’t let the onions and bell pepper get mushy. I prefer to just do it by hand.
Note: There are no green bell peppers shown in the pictures and they weren’t added to this particular batch, but they belong in it. Okay, now that that’s clear, let’s move on.
Place the diced vegetables in a large bowl along with the salt. Cover with water and let it sit for at least 6 hours or overnight.
(Ignore the fact that some of the cucumber peels are on. The second batch I made I peeled the cucumbers and the result was better.)
Put the sugar, vinegar and spices in a large stock pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Drain the cucumber mixture in a colander, thoroughly rinse, and drain again.
Add the mixture to the stock pot. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.
Ladle the hot relish into the hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and seal tightly with the lids. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Ah, the masterpiece is done!
Best eaten at least a week later after the flavors have had time to meld and the vinegar mellows out a bit. In addition, the relish needs to sit to give it time to absorb some of the liquid and to thicken.
It’s so satisfying to see the end result of your labors – and you can enjoy this relish all the year long!
For more pickled vegetable recipes be sure to try my:
- Giardiniera
- Corn Relish
- Sweet Pickle Relish
- Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers
- Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish
- English Pickled Onions
- Pickled Banana Peppers
- Pickled Okra
- Pickled Green Beans
- Pickled Asparagus
- Pickled Turnips
- Pickled Peppers
- Pickled Beets
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BEST Dill Pickle Relish
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2½ lbs cucumbers (weighed prior to peeling and seeding),peeled, center row of seeds removed, and finely diced
- 1 large yellow onion ,finely diced
- 1 small red bell pepper ,finely diced
- 1 small green bell pepper ,finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic ,finely minced
- ¼ cup kosher or pickling salt (neither of these have additives which is important to avoid when canning)
- 3 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar (optional or use less according to taste)
- 2 teaspoons dill seeds
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons celery seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Place the diced cucumbers, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the salt and pour water over the mixture until covered. Let sit for at least 6 hours or overnight.Drain the cucumber mixture in a colander, rinse thoroughly with water, and drain again.
- In a large stock pot, add the sugar, vinegar, and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the drained cucumber mixture and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.
- Ladle the hot relish into hot sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and seal tightly with the lids.Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
- Sealed jars will store in a cool, dark place for a year. If the seal is broken, the relish will keep in the fridge for at least a month. Makes 4 pints (you can use pint-sized or half pint jars). Best eaten at least a week later after the flavors have had time to meld and the vinegar mellows out a bit. In addition, the relish needs to sit to give it time to absorb some of the liquid and to thicken.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet February 15, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I made this as directed. Twice. It’s great, not sweet but not too dill. Great on hot dogs, great in egg salad. Enough for the year, so the rest of the cucumbers that weren’t eaten fresh went to the chickens. Thanks for a great recipe.
Fantastic, Ginny, thank you so much!
I had 9 pounds of cucumber how would I do the rest of the ingredients amount
Hi Kimberly, do you refrigerate the cucumbers while they are soaking or can you leave on the counter?
Hi Simone, unless your kitchen is really hot, you can just leave them out on the counter.
do you put the spices in a spice ball or just let them float freely?
Hi Glenda, they just float freely. They will soften completely.
Should you refrigerate the cucumber mixture for the 6 hours?
Hi Diana, no you can just leave it out on the counter.
I hope to make this recipe tonight or tomorrow. Can you please help me with a question I have? I don’t want a sweet relish, if anything, a bit more on the tangy side. In your opinion would I use the amount of sugar as listed or decrease it? Perhaps you can even answer if tasting it prior to putting it in jars and processing it actually gives a fairly accurate idea of what it will taste like? Of course once it is processed and sits for a bit the flavors will meld but I wonder if the taste of sugar will change much? Thanks for sharing!
That’s super subjective but if you don’t want any sweetness and want it very tangy, you can omit all of the sugar. Or you can start by cutting the sugar in half or use even less. Yes, it will become more mellow as it sits in the jars, but tasting it prior to canning will at least give you somewhat of an idea and after the taste test you can always add a little more sugar if you wish.
I have fresh dill but not dill seed. How can I incorporate that into this recipe? My dill heads aren’t dry so I wondered if maybe just chopping up the weed itself?
Hi Deb, yes you can. You can chop up a dill head or two or the equivalent of weed or even tender stalks and add it right to the mix along with everything else. Happy canning!
Made this for the first time and it’s in the BWB right now. It made 4 pints and 1 spoon for tasting. It turned out delicious. I started with about 3.25 lbs of cucumbers before peeling and seeding. I’m going to add this to the yearly “to can” list. If I get any more missed cucumbers, I will make another batch. I used 3 small but colorful sweet peppers. Also, it was very easy to make. Thank you very much!
hi Kimberly !
i made this last year as I had a ton of cucumbers leftover after I finished my pickling so I thought I would try relish. we LOVE it. I did find ours came out a bit tangy, wondering if it should have or if I should perhaps add a bit more sugar ? :) I am pretty positive I used white vinegar but there is a slim chance I may have used the pickling vinegar (although doubtful).
Thank you, Kayla! Some readers complain that it’s too sweet/too much sugar! :) Yes, this can definitely be adjusted according to personal preferences: add more sugar if you prefer it sweeter, use less if you prefer it tangier.
My cucumbers are really seedy. Any idea the weight after peeling and deseeding?
Hi Mickele, the weight is before peeling/deseeding. If you cucumbers are exceptionally seedy, you can just add a little bit more cucumber to compensate.
This is a good recipe if you like a sweet relish. I reduced the sugar by half but it still tastes more like a sweet relish. Maybe increase the dill seed? It made exactly 4 pints.
I made this recipe but it did not make 4 quarts. It turned out WAY to runny. If you cut down how much liquid you put in each jar it will not make close to 4 quarts.
Hi Linda, did you allow the salted diced cucumbers to sit for at least 6 hours or overnight? That is critical for drawing out all the excess liquid. Also, note the instructions about allowing the relish to sit for at least a week before using. This is not only to allow the flavor to develop and to mellow out the vinegar, but as the relish sits it will also absorb some of the liquid and thicken.
I’ve made your recipe for years! love it! I messed up this batch and added all the spices, vinegar, and sugar to the cucumber mix before boiling. if I boil it all then let simmer do you think it will still be okay?
Hi Amanda, thank you and yes that’s fine! The flavors are going to continue to develop anyway as the jars sit.
Is ok to double the recipe?
Hi Marilyn, yes you sure can!