Can You Freeze Dill Pickles?

How to Freeze Dill Pickles

You can freeze dill pickles if you have pickled your own at home or if you have bought them from a shop or delicatessen. The hardest part will be finding jars that are suitable for putting in the freezer. So, make sure you have enough jars to fit all your dill pickles in that state they are freezer safe. They also need to come with a lid that seals tightly.

To freeze your dill pickles, follow this method:

1. Prepare Jars
   Grab your freezer-safe jars and your dill pickles. If you have made your own, you need to make sure the recipe is fully completed before doing this. You will need to freeze the dill pickles in brine, so don’t throw this away. You will need it.
2. Portion Out
   Pour your dill pickles into the jars with enough brine to cover them completely. You need to leave a gap of about a third of the jar at the top empty. This is because the liquid will expand as it freezes, and if there is not enough space left for it to expand into, it will burst from the jar and not only break it but make a mess in the freezer.
3. Seal
   Put the lids on the jars tightly. For extra safety, pop a freezer bag around each jar of dill pickles. This ensures the pickles and bits of the broken jar are contained if it does break while in the freezer.
4. Label
   Label the bag with the date and the name of the contents of the jars.
5. Freeze
   Put them into the freezer carefully and leave them to freeze.

3 Tips for Freezing Dill Pickles

Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing dill pickles to have the best results:

• Use Freezer-Safe Containers – Make sure you get jars that are safe to put in the freezer. You may find that some glass or plastic jars are not suitable for freezing and will shatter. If you are struggling, you could get some liquid safe freezer bags instead.
• Consider Portions – When freezing, make sure you work out your perfect portion size. Once thawed out, your dill pickles should keep for about two weeks in the fridge, which isn’t a super long time. So, if in doubt, freeze smaller portions rather than large portions. You can always defrost more, but you can’t do anything but throw your extra dill pickles away if you can’t eat them all in time!
• Leave Room for Expansion – Liquids expand when frozen. It’s important that you leave a little gap at the top of the jar of pickles to allow for this expansion, or you risk cracked glass jars. 

How Long Can You Freeze Dill Pickles?

If frozen correctly in brine, your dill pickles should keep at the optimum quality for up to six months. They should be safe to keep in the freezer for longer than this, and how long varies from recipe to recipe. To be safe, we wouldn’t recommend you keep them frozen for more than a year.

You Can Freeze Dill Pickles for up to 6 Months

How Do You Defrost Dill Pickles?

There is only one method to use when it comes to defrosting your jars of dill pickles. You need to grab a portion out of the freezer and pop it into the fridge. It will take up to a day to thaw out completely, so make sure you leave yourself plenty of time if you want them for a specific recipe or meal.

Unfortunately, there is no way of speeding up the process as any method of quick defrosting will also heat the pickles. You do just need to be patient. The more brine and the larger the portion of pickles, the longer it will take to thaw out.

Can You Refreeze Dill Pickles?

No, we would not recommend that you refreeze dill pickles that have been frozen. Whilst we think that freezing your dill pickles can make them taste even better, they may not survive the process more than once! Not to mention that each time you freeze and thaw, you are giving harmful bacteria the chance to grow in your food.

To be safe, use up your thawed out dill pickles within two weeks of defrosting them and always keep them in the fridge.

Do Dill Pickles Freeze Well?

Dill pickles do freeze well! They may even be a little nicer if you freeze homemade dill pickles. The pickling process can make the dill pickles a little mushy over time, but if you pop them in the freezer, they retain a lovely crispness that is perfect for most meals and recipes.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing dill pickles or pickles in general, then these may help:

Can You Freeze Pickles in Glass Jars?

Pickles can be frozen in glass jars, provided that you do two things. First, you need to ensure the glass jars you have are freezer-safe. Some are not suitable for low temperatures and can crack – imagine that mess that would make. 

Second, you need to ensure you leave room for expansion. Liquids expand as they freeze, so give the brining liquid room to grow a little. 

Can You Freeze Pickled Gherkins?

Any pickled vegetables can be frozen using the method on this page. You can freeze pickled aubergine, cucumbers, gherkins or onions.