Sweet Pickles {How to Make Homemade Pickles for Canning

Learn how to make crisp and delicious sweet pickles for canning all year with this sweet pickle recipe for water bath canning.

Sweet pickles are about as traditional in the South as sweet tea. Sweet pickles should always be homemade, and the cucumbers should come from your garden. There’s nothing like sweet pickles as a snack or chopped up in salads.

I am here to tell you store-bought sweet pickles don’t hold a candle to the ones my mama can make! I have always relied on her for sweet pickles. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have a garden anymore. Cucumbers are hard for her to come by unless a good neighbor has some to give her. To buy produce after you’ve had your garden is almost like sinning.

Looking back, Mama spent her summer canning and putting vegetables in the freezer. Besides harvest, summer was the busiest time of year growing up on the farm. My mama and daddy had a huge beautiful garden every summer. Whatever didn’t come out of the garden was grown in a field elsewhere. All those vegetables only meant one thing: a big stainless steel pressure canner was on the stove, and Lord have mercy, you better watch out!

My mama looked like a mad scientist in the kitchen with that thing on the stove. The house was hotter than 40 hells. Steam filled the kitchen with hot jars as that huge pressure canner valve sat on the stovetop, ticking, hissing, and spitting. Perhaps my memories of her canning in the kitchen frightened me. It seemed complicated and HOT! She told me more than once about what could happen if the pressure canner got too much pressure inside. It was pretty frightening, to say the least.

So consequently, not being able to get sweet pickles when I needed them sucked. This made me realize that I needed to put on my big girl pants and learn to make sweet pickles for myself, or I would have to do without them. There is no way I’m going the rest of my life without tuna fish salad, potato salad, or chicken salad.

Nope, no way!

Thankfully, water bath canning was nothing like that scary stainless steel pressure canner in my mama’s kitchen all those years ago. I bought all the items necessary for making sweet pickles, including a brand-spanking-new pickling crock. I dove into pickle-making headfirst; these pickles are the first thing I had ever canned in my life!!

Ya know what? 

I’m pretty proud of myself. I made some pretty darn good sweet pickles, which are ((ALMOST)) as good as my mama’s, AND I processed them to enjoy the whole year through with a new water bath canner.

I will share this sweet pickle recipe that will knock your socks off. It comes straight from a bag of Mrs. Wages pickling lime without any alterations.

Equipment Needed to Make Sweet Pickles

• Water Bath Canner & Rack
• Non-aluminum containers, such as a ceramic pickling crock
• 10-pint size jars with lids and rings
• Ball® Canning Utensil Set (includes jar lifter and lid lifter canning funnel and head-space tool)
• Ladle
• Kitchen towel

Ingredients Needed to Make This Sweet Pickle Recipe

Yield: 10 Pints

• 7 pounds medium-sized pickling cucumbers
• 1 cup pickling lime
• 2 gallons of water
• 8 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
• 8 cups granulated white sugar
• 1 tablespoon canning and pickling salt
• 1 tablespoon mixed pickling spice

How To Make Sweet Pickles

Soak the Cucumbers in Lime:

1. Wash & Slice: Wash the cucumbers. Slice off about ⅛-inch from the blossom end; slice all the cucumbers crosswise and place the slices into a large bowl.
2. Soak: In a non-aluminum container, such as a pickling crock. (lime solutions should not be used in aluminum and cause containers to pit), mix the pickling lime in water and add the cucumbers to the solution. Add water to the crock until the cucumbers are covered with water; soak the cucumbers overnight in the lime water, stirring occasionally.
3. Rince: The next day, rinse the cucumbers well in cool water. The best way to do this is to dump the cucumbers into the sink with the drain plugged, run cold water in the sink, and gently toss the cucumbers around in the cold water a few times. Drain using the spray nozzle to spray the cucumbers as the water drains. Do this at least three times.
4. Refrigerate: After rinsing the lime off the cucumbers, clean the crock or container well. Make sure the container is free of lime. Add the cucumbers back into the crock; cover and soak the cucumbers for three more hours in ice water inside the fridge.

Brine The Cucumbers:

1. Mix the Brine: In a bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, and salt with a whisk until dissolved.
2. Drain: Drain the cucumber slices from the ice water in the refrigerator.
3. Brine the Cucumbers: Add the slices back into the container and pour the pickling liquid over the cucumber slices. Let stand overnight in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally.

Prepare the Pickles for Canning:

The next day, prepare the seasoned pickling liquid.

1. Reserve the Brine: Drain the brine from the cucumber slices into a large nonreactive saucepan.
2. Season the Brine with Pickling Spices:
   • Make a bouquet garni by laying a 5 x 5-inch cheesecloth onto a clean work surface. (I also use clean nylon pantyhose I will never wear again!)
   • Spoon the pickling spice into the center.
   • Gather the edges of the cheesecloth together in the center, twisting tightly; tie firmly with kitchen string. Trim the ends with scissors, if necessary.
   • Place the bouquet into the pot with the pickling liquid; simmer for 35 minutes.

Pack, Fill, and Seal the Canning Jars:

Meanwhile, prepare a boiling water canner.

1. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. (Do not boil.)  Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.
2. Pack cucumber slices into hot, sterilized quart jars. Using a canning funnel, ladle the hot pickling liquid over slices to cover, leaving ½-inch head space.
3. Remove air bubbles and wipe the rim. Center the lid on the jar. Apply the band until the fit is fingertip tight.
4. Place the prepared jars into the canning rack and gently lower the rack of jars into the canner, ensuring that the lids are covered by at least 2 inches of water.

Process the Jars:

1. Process the pint jars for 10 minutes using the hot water bath method.
2. Turn off the heat and allow the jars to sit for about 5 minutes before removing the jars one at a time to cool on a towel.
3. Leave the jars undisturbed to cool at room temperature for at least 24 hours. After 24 hours, check lids for seal (Lid should not flex up and down when pressed in the center).
4. The pickles are ready to eat after 24 hours. Chill to enhance the flavor.

Note: Always prepare and process canning jars and lids according to the manufacturer’s instructions for sterilized jars. Keep the jars hot.

In conclusion, learning to can is a little addictive. Since making these sweet pickles, I have made canned jalapeno jelly. I think I will try my hand at dill pickles very soon.

If you try this sweet pickle recipe, let me know. Comment below!

This post was updated on 9/21/22 to include a video.