Dill Pickle Relish Recipe: Simple and Classic
All those overwhelming cucumbers in your garden that were so fun at first? I know. I know. Let’s turn them (eight pounds of them!) into the best dill pickle relish you’ve ever had. And then we’ll can it so you can enjoy it all year long. Take that, evil cucumber empire.
Sometimes I like canning because it feels lovely and productive and I don’t want to waste produce. But this recipe is one I make every single year because I love the end result so well.
Dill Relish for Canning
Ingredients
- 8 pounds cucumbers about 16 medium cucuumbers
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 medium diced jalapeno
- ½ cup pickling salt
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon dill seed
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
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Instructions
- Prep the veggies. Peel the cucumbers (fully or halfway) and remove the seedy center. Roughly chop them into quarters or eighths. Place them in a food processor and pulse to chop. You want them chopped but not pureed. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may want to work in many batches. (You can also dice the onion and jalapeno now, then cover them separately and set them aside so you don't need to take o ut your cutting board later.)
- Soak cucumbers in salt and turmeric. Place the cucumbers in a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt and turmeric. Pour the water on top and stir. Allow the mixture to sit, covered, at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- Rinse and drain. Place chopped cucumbers in a cheesecloth lined bowl and rinse. Lift the cheesecloth and gently squeeze to drain. You can also leave this in the fridge overnight and continue in the morning.
- Add the remaining ingredients and cook. Place the cucumbers, diced jalapeño, diced onion, vinegar, sugar, dill weed, and dill seed in a saucepan and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the mixture has thickened slightly and has changed from green to yellow-green.
- Process in waterbath canner. Ladle hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Twist lids fingertip tight and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Cool until sealed and store in a dark place for up to 1 year.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
My grandmother was a big baker, quilter, canner, and all the rest. I did not appreciate it at the time because I thought I was going to be a lawyer. (I was, in fact, a secretary and then a housewife.) Anyway. Years after she died, I wished I had learned from her when I could. I do have one old gardening book of hers, out of which came a handwritten recipe for relish.
It read:
Sweet relish, 6 pints
Prepare cucumbers and onions and cover with vinegar. Add sugar to taste.
Pour into hot jars and cool.
So that “recipe” was a no-go.
I searched high and low for a recipe without weird ingredients and that wasn’t too sweet or too oniony. It could not be found, so I made some simple tweaks to the Ball Blue Book recipe to suit my tastes.
What You’ll Need for Homemade Relish
You’ll need the following for this simple canning recipe:
- cucumbers
- pickling salt
- turmeric
- water
- white vinegar
- yellow onion
- jalapeno
- sugar
- dill seed
- fresh dill
- large water bath canner
- pint or half-pint jars
- new lids
- canning funnel
- small saucepan
A Pretty Recipe for You
Click on the image below, and you can print this version to put in your canning binder.
🔍 FAQ
You can use pickling or regular cucumbers for this dill relish. Since you are chopping them up, the size doesn’t;t matter. One consideration is that you will need to remove any seeds. Smaller pickling cucumbers will have few, if any seeds, so they will make things easier. If you don’t have any, regular cucumbers will work fine–you’ll just have to de-seed them. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s unwaxed.
Pickling salt doesn’t have any anti-caking chemicals that can cause cloudiness. So it’s not essential, but it will give you a nicer-looking finished product.
The onions, jalapeño, and dill seed can be reduced if you do not like them.
No, the salt and vinegar cannot be altered as they are essential to preserving the relish.
How to Use Up Dill Relish
- Sandwich spread: Use dill relish as a spread on sandwiches or burgers.
- Hot dogs: Add it on top of hot dogs.
- Tuna salad: Mix it into tuna salad for extra flavor.
- Potato salad: Add it to potato salad to give it a tangy taste.
- Egg salad: Stir it into egg salad.
- Salad dressing: Mix it into a simple vinaigrette.
- Deviled eggs: Use it in the filling for deviled eggs.
- Meatloaf: Add it to meatloaf mixture for moisture and flavor.
- Baked fish: Spread some on top of fish before baking.
- Tartar sauce: Mix with mayonnaise to make tartar sauce for fish
- Pasta salad: Mix it into a cold pasta salad.
- Coleslaw: Blend it into coleslaw.
- Chicken salad: Add to chicken salad mix.
You can use sweet relish for any of these too!
More Recipes for Cucumber Season
When cucumbers are ready to be picked, they’re ready. Use them up!
- Small Batch Refrigerator Pickles are good for those first and last smaller harvests.
- A favorite summer lunch, Chicken Cucumber Salad uses just a few cukes.
- But my favorite is Old Fashioned Cucumber Salad, a simple blend of vinegar, salt, and sugar.
Remember those overwhelming piles of cucumbers we started with? They are now vanquished, transformed into jars of bright, tangy relish for potato salad and hot dogs. I hope that next summer, you’ll be ready, and maybe even excited.
By Katie Shaw
Katie shares simple, reliable recipes from her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens.
Finally a relish with jalepenos! !! It is a yummy addition to our pantry of different and healthy options. Thank you and keep up the good cooking and sharing your results. Although Granny’s recipes are time tested and great, it’s time to upgrade.
hi debbi! so glad you liked the heat in the recipe! thanks for your nice comment 🙂
I messed up and left my seeds in gonna try it anyways! Also I wonder if it’d be ok to add a tablespoon or so of mustard? Or mustard seeds think that’s be awesome.
Approximately how many 1/2 pints does this yield? I’m really looking forward to making this; I’ve already been asked to swap jalapeños with habaneros!
About 8-10 half pint jars! 😊 Let me know how the habaneros switch goes.
This recipe is delicious! The only thing I added was a Tablespoon of minced garlic! I will use this recipe over and over!!!
thank you so much deborah! glad it was a success 💕💕
I just made this. There was no garlic listed in the ingredients but I noticed after I made the relish that there is a picture of garlic with the ingredients. Is it supposed to have garlic? I definitely would have put it in if I had seen the photo of ingredients before making it.
hey jeanette, no it doesn’t have garlic in the recipe but yes i see it in the picture. I’m really puzzled as to why I have it in the photo?!!! 🤣. But if you’d like to add it next time, you absolutely can with no concerns on safety, etc. 🙂
The perfect dill pickle relish recipe!Simple instructions. Thank you!
Julie Ann, Thank you! i’m so happy you liked the recipe 🙂
Delicious, I will make again!
About how many cups of cucumbers is the 8 lbs? I don’t have a scale! Thank you!
Made the relish yesterday, worked perfectly, looks beautiful! Can’t wait for burger night!
If using field cucumbers, is it 8lbs before removing the seeds or after?
Do you deseed the jalapeño?
Thanks! Looking forward to trying this!
8 lbs before removing seeds! I do de-seed the jalapeño 🙂
Super, thank-you!
I’m a bit confused… I made this and it just tastes like vinegar. I followed the step-by-step recipe, which says to soak the chopped cucumbers in salt, turmeric, and water. Then you rinse and drain that, but the recipe does not say to put any more water in the brine. I decided to watch the video, which says to soak the cucumbers in salt, turmeric, and the vinegar, which would mean there’s no vinegar in the brine. Then I looked at the picture instructions at the bottom, and that only says to put the salt and turmeric on the cucumbers with no liquid, which would leave the equal parts of water and vinegar for the brine. I’m kind of feeling like that would be the correct way…?
hi kaela, the written recipe is correct. i haven’t rewatched the video but there is no vinegar in the soaking part, that is added to the saucepan, simmered, and canned. you don’t add any additional water after draining, that is right. it will have a tangy taste, it’s a condiment but there should be additional flavor in there for sure from the veggies and seasoning. 🙂
What is the shelf life? I have more cucumbers than I know what to do with, can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for all the details.
Hi Sarah! It will keep At least a year in a cool, dark place.
I have always made sweet relish in past but my mom mentioned she prefers dill and since I had an abundance of fresh dil decided to try this. It was great. Making my second batch today
Awesome video. Pickling tomorrow going to try. Thanks
How long do you have to wait until the relish is ready to eat? I want to make sure that all the ingredients have time to come together before I open a jar. Can’t wait to try it!
hi Carolyn, just a day or two!
Made it! Easy to follow instructions, thank you. Still warm but seems to have a nice mix of spicy and dilly!
I will try this
Going to give this a try. Curious about the turmeric. Its added then rinsed off? Does it still add some flavor?
I have lots of recipes like the one you found! I need more information with my inexperienced self. So instead I Gave yours a try. Looking forward to tasting it. Thanks for the recipe.
such a great step by step guide! My kids would love this!
Hmmm…I never liked relish, because it was always sweet. I could see this being so handy though for tuna salad, potato salad etc. Thanks for the recipe!
Yes sweet relish is the worst!
This looks absolutely delicious! My husband and boys are big relish fans! I wish I had learned those things from my grandmother as well!
I know… it’s so sad that by the time we appreciate somethings, it’s too late
thank you!
my pleasure wendi! ????????
🙂