What Are Pickles, dill and How Can I Use Them?

If pickles, dill have turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use them with confidence and how to choose them, cook them, store them, what to substitute, and 119 recipes to try them in.

What is pickles, dill?

Dill pickles are cucumbers cured in a salty brine flavored with dill and garlic. The dill is what sets them apart from sweet or bread-and-butter pickles, giving that grassy, savory snap instead of sugar.

You will find them sliced on burgers, served whole next to a sandwich, or chopped into relish and tartar sauce.

There are two ways they get sour. Quick or "fresh-pack" pickles are soaked in hot vinegar brine, which makes them tangy fast. Genuine fermented dills sour slowly in a salt brine as natural bacteria do the work, which builds a deeper, funkier flavor.

How to Use Them

The everyday uses are the obvious ones: stacked on hamburgers, layered into a New York Goodwich, or sliced thin for a Fake Chick-Fil-A-Chicken Sandwich, where the pickle's acid is half the point.

Chopped fine, they become relish and the base of tartar sauce and potato salad. Bonnie's Potato Salad and Purple Potato Salad both fold in diced dill pickle for a tangy bite that cuts the mayo and starch.

They also star whole. German Beef Roulade wraps a pickle spear inside the beef so it perfumes the meat as it braises. Battered and fried, they turn into crisp fried pickles for dipping.

Cooking and Pairing

Dill pickles cut through rich, fatty, salty food, which is why they belong next to burgers, fried chicken, and a fat pastrami sandwich. The brine is useful too: a splash sharpens potato salad and coleslaw, and pickle juice makes a solid chicken brine.

The mistake to avoid is adding chopped pickles to a salad too far ahead. They keep weeping brine, so a potato salad can turn watery and over-sour if it sits overnight. Stir them in closer to serving, and drain them well first.

When frying, pat the spears or chips bone dry before they hit the batter. Surface brine makes the coating slide off and spit in the oil.

Substitutes

Cornichons or gherkins are the closest swap, just smaller and often a touch sweeter, so taste before you salt the dish. Use them one for one, chopped.

For relish, sweet pickle relish changes the character entirely, so reach for dill relish if you want to keep the savory edge. In a recipe that just needs sour crunch, a splash of the pickle brine plus a little fresh cucumber can stand in.

Capers work in a pinch where you want a small salty-sour pop, as in tartar sauce. They are sharper and more concentrated, so use about half as much.

Buying and Storage

The label matters. "Kosher dill" means heavily garlicked in the New York deli style, not a religious certification. Refrigerated pickles in the cold case are usually crunchier and less cooked-tasting than the shelf-stable jars, which are pasteurized for a longer life.

For crunch, choose firm spears or whole pickles over thin chips, and look for ones still bright green rather than olive-drab and soft.

An unopened jar keeps in the pantry past a year. Once opened, keep it refrigerated with the pickles submerged in their brine, where they hold their quality for one to two months. If the brine ever turns cloudy and slimy or the lid bulges, throw the jar out.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find pickles, dill: Pickles, dill is usually found in the condiments section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Pickles, dill is a member of the Vegetables and Vegetable Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

泡菜，莳萝

British (UK) term

Pickles, dill

en français

cornichons à l'aneth

en español

pepinillos

How much does pickles, dill weigh?

Related

Vegetables and Vegetable Products

Recipes using pickles, dill

There are 119 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Basic Hamburgers

Classic American hamburger patties seasoned with Worcestershire, onion and pepper, then broiled or grilled to your preferred doneness. Mix-in variations included.

Double Decker Hamburger

Big Mac copycat double decker hamburger with two thin smashed patties, special sauce, shredded lettuce, and American cheese. Includes the homemade hamburger sauce that nails the fast-food flavor at home.

Hot Dogs with Homemade Sauerkraut & Pickles

Classic hot dogs are served with homemade sauerkraut, pickles, yellow mustard and ketchup. An easy and delicious summer meal.

Quick Rémoulade (Creole Tartar Sauce)

This vibrant Creole-style rémoulade sauce, a zesty twist on tartar sauce, boasts bold flavors from whole-grain mustard, tangy pickles, and a kick of cayenne. Perfect for crab cakes, shrimp, or any fish dish, it’s a versatile condiment that elevates seafood with its creamy, spicy profile.

Chicken Burgers

Homemade chicken burgers ground from chicken breast and bound with soaked bread, egg, onion, garlic, marjoram and paprika. Pan-fried golden and served on buns with tartar sauce, lettuce, tomato and dill pickles.

Refreshing Asparagus & Mixed Baby Greens Salad

Pan-seared asparagus is tender yet still crisp, tossed with mixed baby greens, a tasty vinaigrette and hard-boiled eggs. A flavorful salad that's quick, easy to make.

Candied Dill Pickles

Candied dill pickles transformed from store-bought dills into sweet-tart spears with sugar, vinegar, bay, and cloves. The Southern grandma trick that turns ordinary pickles into addictive snacking.

Bonnie's Potato Salad

Use any your favorite salad dressing to make this potato salad. We love creamy dressing or sweet-sour dressing the best. You can enjoy this delicious salad right after it's made, or let chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight.

Delicious Tuna Melt Sandwiches with Swiss Cheese & Apple

Inspired by Cat Caro's recipe, we made a few changes in our version. These deliciously filling sandwiches are also loaded with good-for-you ingredients. Perfect for a quick-fix lunch or dinner.

Homemade Tarter Sauce

Homemade tartar sauce with sweet and dill pickles, green olives, scallions, and a kick of hot sauce. Chunkier and bolder than anything from a jar, ready in 5 minutes.

Purple Potato Salad

This purple potato salad is a great side dish. we boiled potatoes with garlic and vinegar, which made potatoes super tasty!

New York Goodwich

A delicious dish made with broccoli florets, yellow squash, red cabbage and alfalfa sprouts.

Luby's Spanish Slaw with Dressing

This slaw is a great side dish with burgers, pulled pork, BBQ, or any succulent meaty dishes. Loved the dilled pickles in the slaw and the pickled juice in the dressing, which really accomplish the flavor. It's refreshing, and also very low in calories and fat.

German Beef Roulade

Wow. Truly a recipe that keeps everyone raving about it for hours. A perfect combination and totally mouth-watering tender. I made it for my father when he was visiting and he left speechless.

Dunkley's Famous Macaroni Salad

This well endowed cheesy macaroni salad recipe is packed with flavor and sized to feed a crowd.

Ham Head

Ham Head is a fun Halloween food art project for kids. A round ham slice becomes a spooky face with hard-boiled egg eyes, olive pupils, pickle mouth with olive teeth, carrot ears, and string cheese hair.

Transylvanian Nosh

Open-faced appetizer bites with Hungarian salami, hard-boiled egg, feta, dill pickles, kalamata olives, and shredded Jarlsberg on buttered bread. A no-cook Eastern European party platter ready in 20 minutes.

Macaroni & Pea Salad

Cold macaroni and pea salad with sweet red peppers, dill pickles, and pimentos in a creamy mayo dressing. Classic potluck side dish that's better the next day.

Filibuster Sandwiches

Filibuster sandwiches stacked with salami, bologna, Swiss, coleslaw, pickles, and horseradish on onion rolls. A deli-style piled-high sandwich with zippy horseradish and crunchy slaw.

Smorrebrod (Denmark)

A traditional Danish Smørrebrød spread with smoked salmon, shrimp, roast beef, ham, blue cheese, eggs and fresh fruit on rye bread. A stunning no-cook platter that feeds 12.

Baked Broccoli

Try this new succulent dish that is served with bread and it's own sauce.

Jalapeno Tartar Sauce

Jalapeno tartar sauce made from scratch with homemade mayo from egg yolks, olive oil, Dijon mustard, dill pickle, and fresh jalapeno. A spicy upgrade for fish cakes and fried seafood.

Hardly's Charcoal Broiled Burgers

Charcoal grilled burgers with butter-sauteed onions and a warm ketchup-mustard sauce made right on the grill. Thin quarter-inch patties cooked over grey-hot coals for a crispy, smoky char.

Everything You Ever Wanted on a Bagel... But Were Afraid To

The everything bagel sandwich loaded with corned beef, liverwurst, Monterey Jack, and a tangy dill-pickle slaw. Open-faced deli-counter overload that tastes like a New York lunch.

Everything You Ever Wanted on a Bagel... But Were Afraid To

The everything bagel sandwich loaded with corned beef, liverwurst, Monterey Jack, and a tangy dill-pickle slaw. Open-faced deli-counter overload that tastes like a New York lunch.

Leona's Sweet Dill

Sweet dill pickles made by transforming store-bought dills with sugar, vinegar, garlic, onion, celery seed, and mustard seed. No canning needed, ready in 5 days.

Cheeseburger Loaf

Cheeseburger loaf is a retro meatloaf made with cream of cheddar soup, dill pickles, and onion, topped with warm cheddar sauce. All the flavors of a cheeseburger in meatloaf form.

Chicken Sandwich

Pressure-fried chicken sandwich with a crispy flour coating, dill pickles, and buttered buns. A fast-food copycat that cooks in just 3 and a half minutes.

Grilled Cheese Pita Pockets

Grilled cheese pita pocket stuffed with tomato, alfalfa sprouts, dill pickles, and pepper rings. A crispy, veggie-loaded twist on the classic grilled cheese using pita bread.

Pot Roast with Dill Pickles

German-style pot roast braised with chopped dill pickles, dried mushrooms, and peppercorns, finished with sour cream for a tangy, rich gravy. A Central European twist on classic pot roast.

No-Bread Sandwiches

Breadless egg salad sandwiches using Monterey Jack cheese slices as the "bread." Low-carb, gluten-free, and stacked with tomato, lettuce, pickles, and olives.

Sky-High Rice Salad

Curried rice salad with corn, celery, olives, dill pickles, and a chutney French dressing. A retro cold salad mounded on greens and topped with sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Filet Stroganoff

Beef filet stroganoff with tenderloin cubes, mushrooms, dill pickle, paprika, and red wine in a sour cream sauce. The Russian-German classic served over spaetzle for a 30-minute weeknight meal.

Grilled Dill Steak

Grilled dill steak marinated overnight in dill pickle brine, sliced pickles, olive oil, and garlic. The tangy brine tenderizes thick-cut round steak and adds serious flavor.

Seasoned Tempeh in a Cold Vegetarian Gelatin.

Seasoned tempeh aspic: grated tempeh browned with tamari and paprika, set in an agar-based vegetarian aspic with dill pickle and bell peppers. A meat-free spin on old-world cold cuts, served with rye and mustard.

Noodle Salad with Cheese

Noodle salad with cheese: a hearty German-style pasta salad with spiral noodles, cubed Swiss cheese, ham, and dill pickles, all dressed with a tangy mayo-ketchup-cream sauce. A picnic and potluck classic.

Pickles

Sweet dill pickles made by transforming store-bought dills into garlicky sweet pickles with a vinegar-sugar brine. Southern bread-and-butter style shortcut.

Pickles

Sweet dill pickles made by transforming store-bought dills into garlicky sweet pickles with a vinegar-sugar brine. Southern bread-and-butter style shortcut.

Shrimp-Tomato Salad

Shrimp tomato salad stuffs creamy shrimp salad with celery, dill pickle, hard-boiled egg, and mayo into hollowed garden tomatoes opened up like a flower. A retro no-cook lunch ready in 20 minutes.

Chic-Fil-A Copy Cat Chicken Sandwiches

Chick-fil-A copycat chicken sandwiches start by marinating chicken in dill pickle juice, then dredging it in a sweet-and-savory seasoned flour and pan-frying it golden. Served on a toasted bun with pickles.

Steamed Pungent Cod with Cabbage

Cod fillet sliced and layered with napa cabbage, topped with ginger and sesame oil, steamed and served with a tangy sweet-and-sour dill pickle sauce. A unique Chinese-inspired fish dish with a surprising twist.

Curried Salmon with Poppadoms

Flaked salmon mixed with red curry paste, mayo, yogurt, avocado, apple, and lime juice, piled onto crispy fried poppadoms. A British-Indian starter that's cool, crunchy, and ready in 30 minutes.

Green Chili Pickle Relish

Green chili pickle relish blends smoky grilled poblanos with crunchy dill pickles, red onion, fresh lime, and cilantro. A no-cook condiment that wakes up burgers, hot dogs, fish tacos, and grilled chicken.

Shrimp with Peas & Carrots

A chilled shrimp and vermicelli salad loaded with peas, green onions, dill pickles, hard-boiled eggs, and bell pepper in a tangy sour cream and mustard dressing. A hearty make-ahead salad that feeds a crowd.

Sweet-And-Sour Baked Beans

Slow cooker baked beans from scratch with bacon, molasses, pineapple chunks, dill pickles, and green olives. A tangy, smoky, loaded side dish that simmers all day long.

Turkey Creole Dill Sandwich

Sliced roast turkey on crusty rolls spread with a Creole-spiced mayo of Dijon mustard, green onion, vinegar, and cayenne, topped with thinly sliced dill pickles. A 10-minute lunch sandwich with serious New Orleans attitude.

Crawfish & Egg Salad

Cajun crawfish egg salad with Durkee's sauce, Dijon mustard, and a kick of cayenne. A Louisiana twist on classic egg salad that's loaded with tender crawfish tails.

Rack of Lamb with Herb Sauce

Rack of lamb marinated 48 hours in fresh herbs, roasted to perfection, served with complex red wine demi-glace sauce studded with ham and pickles.

Mersey Point Marinated Herring Salad

Marinated herring salad with diced potatoes, beets, apples, and dill pickles dressed in a whipped cream dill dressing. A classic Maritime Canadian cold salad with Scandinavian roots.

Vitello Tonnato

Vitello tonnato: classic Piedmontese dish of cold poached veal under a cool tuna, caper, anchovy, and lemon sauce. An elegant Italian summer main or antipasto, served room temperature.

All 119 recipes