If your garden is producing more cucumbers than you know what to do with, homemade dill pickle relish is an easy way to turn that bumper crop into something you'll actually use all year long. This water bath canning recipe has all the tangy, garlicky dill pickle flavor you love, chopped into the perfect relish for burgers, hot dogs, brats, sandwiches, and more.
Unlike traditional sweet pickle relish, this version leans into savory dill pickle flavor with dill, mustard seed, garlic, celery seed, and just enough sugar to balance the vinegar without making the finished relish overly sweet.
This recipe is based on established, tested cucumber relish preservation guidelines. When making variations, keep the amounts of cucumbers, peppers, onions, vinegar, water, sugar, jar size, headspace, and processing method unchanged. Flavor variations should be limited to dried herbs and spices that don't alter the acidity or density of the recipe.
Recipe Snapshot
Yield: About 12 half-pint jars
Main Ingredient: Pickling Cucumbers
Flavor: Tangy, savory, garlicky & dill-forward
Headspace: ½ inch
Best For: Burgers, hot dogs, brats, sandwiches, potato salad, egg salad & deviled eggs
Storage: Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place. Refrigerate after opening.
Why You'll Love This Homemade Dill Pickle Relish
If you're already growing pickling cucumbers for homemade pickles, relish is a great way to use the oddly shaped, oversized, or less-than-perfect cucumbers from the garden.
You'll also love that this recipe:
- Uses fresh garden cucumbers.
- Processed in a boiling water bath canner.
- Has a savory dill pickle flavor rather than an overly sweet relish.
- Makes several jars at once for long-term pantry storage.
- Uses simple pantry spices.
- Is delicious on much more than burgers and hot dogs.
A Note About Water Bath Canning
Cucumbers, peppers, and onions are low-acid vegetables, which means the vinegar in this recipe isn't simply there for flavor. It creates the acidic environment necessary for safely processing the relish in a boiling water bath canner.
I use 5% acidity vinegar and keep the vegetable-to-vinegar proportions consistent with established tested relish recipes. Don't reduce the vinegar, increase the amount of vegetables, change the jar size, or shorten the recommended processing time.
The dried herbs and spices are where we can have a little fun without substantially changing the recipe.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Pickling cucumbers: Fresh, firm cucumbers will give you the best texture. Remove the blossom ends before chopping.
- Red bell pepper: Adds color and mild sweetness without adding heat.
- Onion: Adds savory flavor throughout the relish.
- Pickling salt: Use canning or pickling salt without anti-caking ingredients.
- Apple cider vinegar: Use vinegar labeled 5% acidity for safe water bath canning.
- Sugar: Balances the acidity without making this a sweet relish.
- Dill seed: Provides that classic dill pickle flavor.
- Dried dill weed: Adds another layer of dill flavor.
- Mustard seed: A classic pickling spice with a mild savory bite.
- Celery seed: Gives the relish a traditional deli-style flavor.
- Garlic powder: Adds garlic flavor without adding additional fresh, low-acid ingredients.
- Onion powder: Boosts the savory onion flavor.
How to Make Dill Pickle Relish for Canning
- Start by washing the cucumbers thoroughly and trimming off the blossom ends.
- Finely chop the cucumbers, red bell pepper, and onion. You can do this by hand with a sharp knife or carefully pulse the vegetables in a food processor. You want small pieces, not vegetable puree.
- Combine the chopped vegetables with the pickling salt, crushed ice, and cold water. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
- Drain the vegetables in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to remove excess salt. Allow them to drain well.
- Meanwhile, prepare your boiling water canner and keep clean jars hot until ready to fill.
- Combine the 5% acidity vinegar, water, sugar, mustard seed, dill seed, dried dill, garlic powder, onion powder, and celery seed in a large nonreactive pot.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the drained vegetables and return the mixture to a gentle boil. Simmer according to the tested recipe directions.
- Ladle the hot relish into hot pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary. Wipe the jar rims, center the lids, and apply the bands fingertip tight.
- Process the jars in a boiling water bath canner using the processing time appropriate for your elevation.
- When processing is complete, turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and allow the jars to rest briefly before carefully transferring them to a towel-lined counter.
- Leave the jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
- Check the seals, remove the bands, label the jars, and store them in a cool, dark place.
Recipe Variations
One of the easiest ways to make a tested canning recipe your own is through the seasonings rather than changing the amounts of low-acid vegetables or vinegar.
Here are a few variations you can try while keeping the safety-critical portions of the recipe unchanged.
Spicy Dill Pickle Relish
Add dried crushed red pepper flakes to the seasoning mixture for a little heat.
Start with a small amount. The heat will become more noticeable as the relish sits in the jar.
Garlic Dill Relish
Increase the dried garlic powder for a stronger garlic flavor.
Don't simply add extra fresh garlic cloves. Fresh garlic is a low-acid ingredient and increasing it changes the tested vegetable proportions.
Mustard Dill Relish
Increase the whole mustard seed for a stronger deli-style mustard flavor.
Herby Dill Relish
Experiment with additional dried herbs such as dried parsley or a small amount of dried oregano.
Extra Peppery Relish
Add cracked or whole black peppercorns for a sharper savory flavor.
What Shouldn't I Change?
When you're working with a water bath canning recipe, there is a difference between changing the flavor and changing the preservation formula.
For this recipe, don't:
- Reduce the amount of 5% acidity vinegar.
- Use vinegar with an unknown acidity.
- Increase the total quantity of cucumbers, peppers, or onions.
- When in doubt, make the recipe as written and customize it after opening the jar.
Ways to Use Dill Pickle Relish
Obviously this relish belongs on a grilled burger or hot dog, but that's only the beginning.
Try it in:
- Chicken salad
- Tuna salad
- Egg salad
- Deviled eggs
- Potato salad
- Macaroni salad
- Homemade tartar sauce
- Thousand Island dressing
- Burger sauce
- Sandwich spreads
- Brats and sausages
Can I Use Regular Cucumbers?
Pickling cucumbers are my first choice because they tend to have firmer flesh, smaller seeds, and less water than large slicing cucumbers.
If using another cucumber variety, choose fresh, firm cucumbers without large mature seeds and follow the tested recipe's cucumber quantity exactly.
Why Do You Salt the Cucumbers First?
Salting pulls excess moisture from the chopped vegetables.
Because cucumbers naturally contain so much water, this step helps improve the finished texture and keeps the relish from becoming excessively watery.
Don't skip the rinsing step afterward. You want to remove the excess surface salt before adding the vegetables to the vinegar mixture.
Can I Reduce the Sugar?
For a tested canning recipe, I recommend keeping the recipe's specified proportions intact unless the source specifically states that the sugar may be adjusted.
If you'd like a less-sweet relish, choose a tested dill relish formulation designed with that flavor profile rather than simply reducing ingredients in a tested recipe.
How Long Does Homemade Canned Relish Last?
For best quality, use properly processed home-canned relish within about one year.
Always inspect a jar before opening it. If the seal has failed or you notice leaking, bulging, spurting liquid, mold, unusual odors, or other signs of spoilage, discard the contents without tasting.
Once opened, keep the relish refrigerated.
My Tips for the Best Dill Pickle Relish
Don't chop the vegetables too finely. You want recognizable little pieces of cucumber rather than a puree.
Drain the vegetables really well after rinsing. Excess water can dilute the flavor and make the finished relish watery.
And finally, give it time.
Like most homemade pickles, the flavor improves after sitting on the pantry shelf for a few weeks. The vinegar mellows and the dill, mustard, garlic, and celery seed have time to flavor the vegetables.
More Canning & Preserving Recipes
If your garden is producing faster than you can eat it, try some of my other preserving recipes:
- Spicy Pickled Green Beans (Dilly Beans)
- Water Bath Canned Tomatoes
- Mango Habanero Salsa
- Homemade Ketchup
- Huckleberry Lemonade Concentrate
Homemade Dill Pickle Relish (Water Bath Canning)
Equipment
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 12 cups finely chopped pickling cucumbers about 4½ pounds as purchased
- 3 cups finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
For The Salt Soak
- ¾ cup pickling or canning salt
- 4 cups crushed or cubed ice
- 8 cups cold water
For the Pickling Brine
- 5 cups apple cider vinegar 5% acidity
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons mustard seed
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers and bell peppers thoroughly. Trim and discard a thin slice from both ends of each cucumber. Remove the stems, seeds, and membranes from the bell peppers.
- Chop the cucumbers and bell peppers into roughly ¼-inch pieces. Peel and finely chop the onion. Measure the vegetables after chopping so you have exactly 12 cups cucumber, 3 cups bell pepper, and 1 cup onion.
- Place the measured vegetables in a large bowl with a lid. Add the pickling salt, ice, and 8 cups cold water. Stir well, cover, and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
- Pour the vegetables into a colander and drain. Rinse thoroughly with very cold water to remove excess salt. Drain again until very little water remains. For best results, allow the vegetables to drain for 15 to 20 minutes.
- While the vegetables drain, prepare your boiling water canner. Wash the jars and keep them hot until you're ready to fill them.
- Add the apple cider vinegar, sugar, 1 cup water, mustard seed, fresh dill, and garlic powder to a large stockpot. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Stir the drained vegetables into the hot pickling liquid. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Pack the hot relish into hot half-pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Make sure the vegetables are covered with pickling liquid.
- Remove air bubbles and recheck the headspace. Wipe the rims clean, center the lids, and tighten the bands fingertip tight.
- Place the filled jars in the boiling water canner and process pints or half-pint jars for 15 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet, 20 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet, and 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.
- After processing, remove the jars to a towel-lined counter.
- Leave the jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check the seals, remove the bands, label, and store sealed jars in a cool, dark place.
Notes
- Always use vinegar labeled 5% acidity.
- Remove the cucumber blossom ends because they contain enzymes that can contribute to softer pickles.
- Avoid over-processing the vegetables in a food processor. Aim for roughly ¼-inch pieces rather than a puree.
- Drain the vegetables thoroughly after rinsing for a better finished texture.
- Refrigerate after opening.
- For best quality, store properly sealed jars in a cool, dark location.
Leave a Reply