This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Dill pickled green tomatoes are crisp, garlicky, and just tart enough to go with everything from sandwiches to snack boards. This old fashioned pickle is making a comeback, and it’s well deserved!
Table of Contents
- Ingredients for Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
- How to Make Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
- Canning Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
- Altitude Adjustments and Serving Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
- Creative Canning Variations
- Serving Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
- Green Tomato Canning Recipes
- Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes Recipe
Green tomatoes are one of those end-of-season gifts that can feel a bit overwhelming. They don’t ripen fast enough once the weather turns cold, and there are only so many batches of fried green tomatoes a family can eat.
Green tomato canning recipes come to the rescue! Pickling is my favorite way to turn all those firm, underripe fruits into something we’re excited to pull off the pantry shelf all winter long.
We make half a dozen different kinds of green tomato relish, including all those classic old fashioned green tomato chow chow and picalilli recipes. But sometimes, you just want a darn good pickle beside a sandwich.
If you look back at old cookbooks, you’ll actually find far more green tomato pickling recipes than you will for cucumber pickles. (Out of 120 pickle, relish and sauce recipes in the 1911 Canadian Farm Cookbook, a whopping 40 of them involve green tomatoes!) They stay crisper out of the canner, and they have a more interesting, complex flavor all of their own.
Long before what we think of as the classic dill pickled cucumber, there was the dilled green tomato pickle lining pantry shelves.
This dill pickled green tomato recipe is adapted from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, and you’ll also find the same formula in the more comprehensive Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
It’s a simple, tried-and-true brine that keeps the tomatoes crisp while packing in plenty of dill and garlic flavor. You can use small cherry-sized green tomatoes left whole, or larger full sized heirlooms cut into quarters. Either way, they hold their texture beautifully in the jar and make an easy side for hearty winter meals, charcuterie boards, or a quick tangy snack straight from the fridge.
Ingredients for Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
This recipe is sized to make about 6 pint jars, but the yield can vary considerably depending on the size of your tomatoes, how you cut them (or don’t) and how well you pack the jars. But in general, you need a bit less than a pound of green tomatoes to make a pint of pickled green tomatoes. Along side that, you’ll need about a cup of brine for each pint as well.
To make about 6 pint jars of dill pickled green tomatoes, you’ll need:
- 5 pounds green tomatoes, halved or quartered if large, or left whole if cherry sized
- ¼ cup pickling or canning salt
- 3 ½ cups vinegar (5% acidity)
- 3 ½ cups water
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 6 heads fresh dill (or 1 tablespoon dill seed per pint)
- 6 bay leaves
- Optional: ⅛ teaspoon calcium chloride (pickle crisp) per pint for extra crunch
Don’t increase the water in the brine, as it needs to be at least half vinegar (at 5% acidity) for safe preservation. You can use any type of vinegar, provided it’s at least 5% acidity. (You can check, it’s usually listed in the ingredients list). White vinegar gives a clean flavor, but it can be abrasive. Cider vinegar has a warm flavor, and is less harsh. Either is fine.
There is quite a bit of salt in this recipe, as dill pickles tend to be salty sour rather than sweet. If you’d like them less salty, that’s fine. The salt is in there for flavor, not preservation.
If you’d like to help balance the sour vinegar flavor, you can add a tablespoon or two of sugar. That’ll cut the sour a bit, without making it taste sweet. That said, dill pickles are often made sour on purpose, so that’s why it’s not in the recipe to start.
The seasonings in this recipe can be altered to suit your tastes. You can add a few more garlic cloves if you’d like them garlic-y, or a teaspoon of red pepper flakes if you’d like a bit of heat. But classic dills often just have garlic and dill, either as fresh dill fronds or dill seed.
Adding a teaspoon of black pepper, coriander or whole mustard seeds to each jar can be nice too, but it’s not included in the Ball recipe.
Calcium Chloride, known as Pickle Crisp from Ball or Xtra Crunch from Mrs. Wages, helps keep pickles firm in canning and I’d strongly recommend it for these pickles. It’s optional, of course, but it yields a much better texture. Back in the old days, they’d use pickling lime but that’s an involved process. Pickle crisp is much simpler.
How to Make Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
This recipe comes together quickly, so if you’re canning, prepare a waterbath canner and jars before you get chopping.
Start by preparing the tomatoes. Wash them under cold running water and drain well. Core the larger green tomatoes and cut them into halves or quarters so they pack neatly into jars. Small, cherry-sized green tomatoes can be left whole, but be sure to prick each one a few times with a fork or skewer so the brine can penetrate and they don’t split in the jars. Set the prepared tomatoes aside while you mix the brine.
In a large nonreactive pot, combine the pickling salt, vinegar, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer gently for about 5 minutes so that everything dissolves into the brine and it’s good and hot when you’re ready to fill your jars. Keep the brine at a low simmer while you pack the jars.
Pack the raw green tomatoes firmly into the hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace at the top. As you pack each jar, add 1 clove of garlic, 1 head of fresh dill (or 1 tablespoon dill seed), and 1 bay leaf. If you’re using calcium chloride for extra crispness, add ⅛ teaspoon to each pint jar at this point.
Ladle the hot brine over the tomatoes in each jar, maintaining ½ inch headspace. Use a bubble remover or a clean utensil to release any trapped air along the sides of the jar, adding more brine as needed to keep that ½ inch headspace. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp cloth to remove any brine or debris, then center the lids and screw on the bands until fingertip-tight.
Canning Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
Once the jars are filled and closed, carefully place them onto the rack in your prepared water bath canner. The jars should be covered by at least 1 to 2 inches of water. Bring the canner to a full rolling boil with the lid on.
Process pint jars for 15 minutes, starting your timer once the water returns to a vigorous boil. Maintain a steady boil for the entire processing time.
When the time is up, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Let the jars rest in the hot water for about 5 minutes to help prevent siphoning (brine loss) when they come out of the canner. Use a jar lifter to transfer the jars to a towel-lined counter or cooling rack, leaving space between them so they cool evenly.
Allow the jars to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. After they’re completely cool, check the seals. Any jars that haven’t sealed properly should be refrigerated and used first. Wipe down the jars, label them, and store them in a cool, dark place. For the best flavor, give the pickles at least 2 weeks to infuse before opening.
Altitude Adjustments and Serving Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
Water bath canning times need to be adjusted for altitude to ensure proper heat penetration and safe acidity levels. Use the following times for pint jars of dill pickled green tomatoes:
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 15 minutes
- 1,001 to 6,000 feet: 20 minutes
- Above 6,000 feet: 25 minutes
Always start your timer after the water returns to a full rolling boil.
Creative Canning Variations
Green tomato dill pickles are endlessly adaptable, as long as you keep the vinegar-to-water ratio the same. The safest way to play with this recipe is by changing the spices in each jar. Add extra garlic cloves for a garlic-lovers batch, or sprinkle in red pepper flakes for a spicy version. A few whole black peppercorns, mustard seeds, or coriander seeds in each jar add a nice depth of flavor without changing the acidity of the recipe.
You can also tweak the personality of the brine by changing the vinegar. Plain white vinegar gives a clean, sharp flavor, while cider vinegar is a bit softer and more complex. As long as it’s 5% acidity, you can mix and match to taste. For a “deli style” green tomato pickle, use mostly white vinegar with just a splash of cider vinegar and plenty of garlic and dill seed.
If you’re already chopping, you can make a mixed batch by adding a few slices of hot peppers or onions to some of the jars. Keep the total amount of vegetables in each jar about the same and think of the extras as seasoning rather than major ingredients. That way, you still stay within the safe parameters of the original Ball recipe, but end up with several different flavors on the shelf from a single canning session.
You can also try out my other pickled green tomato recipes, including sweet pickled green tomatoes and spicy pickled green tomatoes (coming soon).
Serving Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
Once the jars have had time to cure, the real fun begins. Dill pickled green tomatoes are incredibly versatile. Serve them on appetizer boards, tuck them into sandwiches, or slice them onto burgers in place of cucumber dill pickles. They’re wonderful chopped into potato salad, egg salad, or tuna salad for a little tangy crunch. I also like to dice them and add them to grain salads, top them on tacos or nachos, or serve them alongside roasted meats to cut through the richness.
Because green tomatoes stay firm, they hold up beautifully in the jar and on the plate, giving you a crisp, garlicky pickle that feels like an autumn harvest in every bite.
Green Tomato Canning Recipes
Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 pounds green tomatoes, halved or quartered if large, or left whole if cherry sized
- ¼ cup pickling or canning salt, see note
- 3 ½ cups vinegar, 5% acidity, white or cider
- 3 ½ cups water
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 6 heads fresh dill, or 1 tablespoon dill seed per pint
- 6 whole bay leaves, one per pint
- Optional: ⅛ teaspoon calcium chloride, pickle crisp per pint
Instructions
- Prepare a water bath canner, pint jars, and two-piece lids. Keep jars hot until ready to fill.
- Wash the green tomatoes under cold running water and drain. Core larger tomatoes and cut into halves or quarters. Leave cherry-sized tomatoes whole, but prick each one several times with a fork or skewer.
- In a large nonreactive pot, combine the pickling salt, vinegar, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Keep the brine hot.
- Pack the raw green tomatoes into hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. To each jar, add 1 clove garlic, 1 dill head (or 1 tablespoon dill seed), and 1 bay leaf. If using, add ⅛ teaspoon calcium chloride to each pint.
- Ladle the hot brine over the tomatoes in each jar, maintaining ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles by running a bubble remover or clean utensil around the inside of each jar, then adjust brine as needed.
- Wipe jar rims with a clean, damp cloth. Center lids on jars and screw on bands until fingertip-tight.
- Place the jars on the rack in the water bath canner, ensuring they’re covered by at least 1 to 2 inches of water. Bring to a full rolling boil, then process pint jars for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude (see notes).
- When the time is up, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Let jars rest in the hot water for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a towel-lined counter to cool for 12 to 24 hours.
- Check seals. Refrigerate any unsealed jars and use promptly. Label and store sealed jars in a cool, dark place. For best flavor, allow pickles to cure for at least 2 weeks before opening.
Notes
Altitude Adjustments
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 15 minutes
- 1,001 to 6,000 feet: 20 minutes
- Above 6,000 feet: 25 minutes
