In this post, I’m sharing a delicious recipe for making your pickle relish. With this recipe, you’ll be able to not only make a delicious dill pick relish for toppings, tuna fish, and tarter sauce, but you can also preserve it safely and enjoy having it in your pantry whenever you need it.

What are the best cucumbers to use for pickle relish?
Dill Pickle Relish is a condiment that is very commonly used here in the United States on foods such as hot dogs and bratwurst along with mustard or ketchup.
It can be used in a number of other ways as well which will be covered later in this blog post. Most people will have seen this relish in the grocery stores near the other pickles.
It isn’t an overly expensive condiment but if you use it as often as I do it is nice to be able to make your own at home and have a good supply in the pantry.
It is also a great way to use extra cucumbers if you grow a garden in the summer. As with most pickle recipes this recipe typically calls for a variety of cucumbers labeled as “pickling cucumbers”.
Pickling cucumbers will come in a variety of names so that is just a generic term for cucumbers that work well for the picking process.
So when choosing your pickling cucumbers the best to look for will be those with thinner skins, a crunchy texture, smaller, and fewer seeds in the middle.
Some nice Varieties I enjoy using are Bush, Boston Pickling, and Cornichon when I can find the seeds for them. These three varieties work well because they fit all the characteristics we mentioned above for good pickling cucumbers.
What if I don’t have “Pickling Cucumber”?
You may not grow a garden, or maybe you can’t find any cucumbers that say they are good for pickling. Well, never fear friends, the task of making your own pickle relish is still doable!
Thankfully, I can tell you that you can use whatever cucumbers you have on hand because I’ve also made this pickle relish with two other varieties: mini cucumbers from the grocery store and the longer darker green variety called English Cucumbers.
I will say I think the skins are just a tad bit thicker on these two varieties than on cucumbers grown specifically for making pickles, but the relish still turned out beautifully because both of these two varieties had very few seeds.
If you have other cucumbers where maybe the skins are thicker than you like or maybe you let your cucumbers get away from you and the seeds in the centers are larger and more abundant.
That is also something you can fix and still make your relish. You can just peel your skins off the cucumbers if you would like to cut your cucumbers in half and remove the larger seeds then just move forward with the recipe from there.
You’ll still have a delicious Dill Pickle Relish to use when you need one for your favorite hot dog topping or any other recipe that calls for it.
Can I modify this Dill Pickle Recipe before canning it?
When canning any food whether it be in the Water Bath Canner like this relish recipe or in the Pressure Canner, safety is key to ensure you do not make yourself or anyone you share the food with sick.
So when it comes to modifying a canning recipe there are very strict guidelines that you must follow and some things you can do perfectly safely and some you need to avoid.
When it comes to spices in recipes generally you can add or omit dry spices safely in any canning recipe without altering the balance of the recipe so it will remain safe to store and eat over time.
For example, in this Dill Pickle Relish, you could add something like garlic powder or even fresh garlic to add more flavor without harming the recipe.
You can also swap out the apple cider vinegar I use with white vinegar if that is what you have on hand or what you prefer in taste.
As long as your vinegar is at least 5% in acidity level you can use it safely in pickling this pickle relish.
I’ve even seen some recipes for a dill relish that calls for white wine vinegar. You can check that recipe out HERE on the National Center for Food Preservation website.
The recipe that I use is basically the approved canning recipe from the older versions of the Ball Blue Book of Canning, but I’ve modified the recipe with safe swaps to make it a recipe my family loves.
Best Ways To Use Homemade Dill Pickle Relish
Not only does this Homemade Dill Pickle Relish make a great hot dog or hamburger topping it also has many good uses. Here are a few ways that I love to use this yummy dill relish around my kitchen.
- My Dill Pickle Ranch Recipe is a household favorite and it has been a hit here on the blog since I shared it with you all. It is a delicious ranch base flavored with dill and of course pickles. The recipe calls for 3 ounces of dill pickles chopped and some pickle juice. If you want to substitute that with this relish you can start by adding in 1/4 cup of this relish and taste it. Adjust if needed. If you aren’t someone who wants chunks in your ranch, but just wants the pickle flavor you could blend the relish up fine and add it or just use some of the juice from the relish.
- Tarter Sauce is a great way to use your pickle relish. A simple recipe I use for our tarter sauce is 1 cup of real mayonnaise, 1/2 cup Homemade Dill Pickle Relish, 2 teaspoons of dill week, 2 tablespoons of chopped raw onions, 1 to 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, and salt to your tastes. Of course, you can use more or less of any of these ingredients in your tarter sauce but my family loves this one.
- Deviled Eggs are a staple in the South and my extended family loves it when they are on our cook-out spreads and even our holiday tables. To give a salty sour punch to your deviled eggs throw a couple of tablespoons of this Dill Relish in and enjoy!
- Tuna Salad is one of my family’s staples throughout the year. It is relatively cheap to make and great for those days when we are not eating red meat here and there. I have always chopped up dill pickles for our tuna, but this relish really makes it easy with no chopping the day I’m making the tuna salad. I will say, tuna salad is one of the main reasons I make my own pickle relish.
- Potato or Cauliflower Salad both taste delicious when you add in a few tablespoons of pickle relish. I have a delicious Cauliflower Salad recipe that you could add to and enjoy. And if you are a pickle person in your potato salad having his home-canned relish around is a great way to save a little time with that recipe as well.
I hope you have been inspired by this post to jump in your kitchen and try is easy Home Canned Dill Pickle Relish.
If it is a staple you currently buy at the grocery store or if you end up with a ton of cucumbers that you need to use up this recipe is one you can’t go wrong with. Try it and Enjoy!

Dill Pickle Relish
This flavorful and zesty Dill Pickle Relish is an easy condiment to water bath and store on your pantry for many recipes throughout the year.
Ingredients
- 8 pounds of pickling cucumbers, chopped fine
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped fine
- 1 quart of apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup of kosher salt or canning salt*
- 1/3 cup of sugar
- 2 Tabelspoons of Dill Seeds
- 2 teaspoons of turmeric
- 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, optional
Tools Needed
- 7 pint jars, sterilized and hot
- Water Bath Canner
- Canning Lids and Rings
- Headspace Measuring Tool
- Vinegar for cleaning rims
- paper towels
- Food Chopper or Food Process
Instructions
- Weigh out the eight pounds of cucumbers and wash them throughly before chopping them up fine. I use this food chopper but you can use a food processor or even chop them tiny with a knife if you don't have machine.
- Add the chopped cucumbers to a very large bowl or pot and add in the salt and the turmeric. Massage the salt and turmeric into the cucumers and then cover the cucumers in cold water.
- Let the cucumbers set for two hours to soak in the salt water mixture.
- While the cucumbers are soaking you can chop your onions and prepare your jars and water bath canner.
- Once the cucumbes have sat for two hourse drain off the water and rinse the cucumbers throughly under cold water and let them drain.
- Add the cucumbers to a large stock pot and combine with the vinegar, sugar, spices, and onions.
- Let the mixture come to a boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- As the Dill Pickel Relish simmers make you are getting your hot pint size jars and the lids and ring ready to be filled. Your water bath canner should be hot and ready on the stove at this point. It will need to be boiling.
- After the ten minutes are completed simmering carefully ladle the hot pickle relish into your hot pint size canning jars. Be sure to leave a 1/2 inch head space at the top of your jars.
- Wipe each of the jar rims down with clean paper towel and the white vinegar before placing on the lid and the ring. Turn the ring only finger tip tinght. Not Super Tight!!
- Place your jars into the water bath canners and process the jars according to your altitude. Per the Center for Food Preservations here is a time reference: 0 to 1,000 feet will need to process fo 15 minutes, 1,001 - 6,000 ft process for 20 minutes and everyone above 6,000 ft needs to process your relish for 25 minutes..
- Once the pickle relish has processed for the proper time turn off the heat and let the jars remain in the canner for an additioan 5 minutes before removing them. Let the jars sit for 12 hours without disturbing them to make sure they seal.
- After the 12 hours check your seals and clean off your jars before removing the rings and storing in your pantry. I always lable mine with the recipe name and the date it was canned.
Notes
Please visit the Center for Food Perservation Website if you are new to canning or needing inforamtion about your altitude and safe canning practices as they are one of my go to sites for safe and accurate measure. The Ball site is also a great site to utilize.

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!
Where’s the dill??please or with a lil more sugar is this sweet pickle relish??
I corrected it, so sorry about that. The 2 Tablespoons are now in the recipe. This relish isn’t sweet at all, but if you want a sweet pickle relish ball has a recipe on their canning site you can use.