Pickled cucumbers are an essential component of Nordic cuisine. Scandinavians are experts at making the most of a short growing season and often pickle vegetables to extend their usefulness into the long, dark winter ahead.
But even if you aren't in to canning, you can make your own delicious Quick Swedish Pickled Cucumbers at home in a snap!
Extremely easy, these briny little bites add flavor and crunch wherever you choose to use them. For some of us, that might mean eating them straight out of the jar, which is okay too.
Why This Recipe Works
- These Quick Swedish Pickled Cucumbers come together quickly and easily. No messy canning process required!
- The recipe calls for just a handful of simple ingredients.
- These pickle slices bring briny Scandinavian flavor to just about anything you choose to pair them with.
The Ingredients
I prefer an English cucumber (sometimes called a seedless cucumber) for this recipe. It has fewer, less prominent seeds and a thinner peel than a regular cucumber. But feel free to use what you have available as both varieties will work just fine in this recipe.
How To Make This Recipe
These Quick Swedish Pickled Cucumbers really couldn't be much easier:
- Slice your cucumber nice and thin (⅛ of an inch thick or less). Chop the dill and add both to a quart-sized Mason jar.
- Heat the vinegar, water, salt, sugar and peppercorns in a saucepan until the mixture just begins to boil.
- Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar with the cucumbers and dill. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use them!
FAQs
Unlike pickles that have gone through a traditional canning process to become shelf stable prior to opening, quick pickles need to be stored in their brine, tightly sealed in the refrigerator.
These Quick Swedish Pickled Cucumbers are best enjoyed within the first 5-7 days. They will still have good flavor but will begin to lose their crunch over time.
Play around with the spices! Keeping the recipe in line with Scandinavian flavors, consider adding mustard seeds, allspice or juniper berries to the brine. In the winter you can always skip the dill altogether. My favorite winter variation of Quick Swedish Pickled Cucumbers is to omit the dill and the peppercorns and add about 10-12 whole allspice berries to the brine instead.
The most fun and delicious of all the questions! Keep reading below for my Scandinavian-inspired ideas for putting these sliced pickles to work in your kitchen.
How to Enjoy Swedish Pickled Cucumbers
- Use them to brighten up your Nordic open face sandwiches (smørrebrød or smörgås)! This can be as simple as a smear of paté, cream cheese or hummus on rye crispbread topped with a few crisp, delicious pickle slices. Get creative!
- Make a batch of Easy Danish Remoulade Sauce. This zesty, traditional condiment features a unique combination of chopped pickles, capers and curry powder. Once you give this delicious sauce a try, it's bound to become a new favorite. It's perfect with fries, and SO delicious on hot dogs with pickled herring and on open sandwiches (smørrebrød) of all kinds!
- Serve them alongside Swedish meatballs (either a classic recipe or this vegetarian version). Don't forget the lingonberries!
- Pile them high on Danish Hot Dogs, or any other brat, sausage or hamburger situation you've got going.
Including some easy Scandinavian condiment recipes (like these pickles) in your repertoire is an easy way to bring Nordic flair to your table all year long. Looking for more condiments or sauces to try? I've got several here on the blog:
Quick Swedish Pickled Cucumbers
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber preferably an English cucumber, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- Place sliced cucumbers and dill in a quart-size mason jar.
- Heat remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering.
- Pour vinegar mixture into the jar with the cucumbers and dill. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before using. If you are not eating them immediately, cover and refrigerate the cucumbers once the mixture has cooled to room temperature. The cucumbers are best fresh but will keep in the fridge for a week.
Notes
Nutrition
If you loved this recipe, give it a star review! Also, snap a picture of your Quick Swedish Pickled Cucumbers and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #truenorthkitchen and tagging me @true_north_kitchen. I can't wait to see how you put them to use in your own kitchen!
These were super easy and tasted just like the ones I've had in Sweden. Thank you!!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Kristi