How We Canned 50 Pounds of Pickles in One Day

This summer, we decided to go big: 50 pounds of cucumbers, two styles of pickles, and one canning marathon that left us tired, happy, and stocked for the year.

We made both dill pickle spears and bread & butter pickle chips, including a twist—using monkfruit sweetener instead of refined sugar in our bread & butter batch. We chose monkfruit to keep the pickles sweet without using regular sugar. It’s a great option if you’re trying to cut back on sugar or follow a lower-carb or keto-friendly lifestyle, and it held up well during the canning process. Below is the full breakdown of how we did it, what we learned, and what we’ll do differently next time.

⚠️ If you’re new to canning, check out our Beginner’s Canning Guide before diving in. ⭐ Want to try a smaller test batch first? Start with our Small-Batch Refrigerator Pickles tutorial.

Ingredients

  • 50 lbs pickling cucumbers
  • 2 large bunches of fresh dill (purchased at the farmers market when we got the cucumbers)
  • Apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
  • White vinegar (5% acidity)
  • Pickling salt
  • Monkfruit sweetener (1:1 blend)
  • Spices: mustard seed, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon sticks, cloves (we simplified the spice blend partway through)
  • 2–3 yellow onions (used in bread & butter pickles)
  • Garlic cloves (used in dill pickles)

Gear

  • Several coolers (used to keep cucumbers chilled and fresh while prepping)
  • Quart-size mason jars
  • Pickle Crisp granules
  • Large stockpot and dedicated water bath canner (one for making brine, one for processing jars)
  • Propane burners (used outside to handle the large volume—indoors would work fine for smaller batches)
  • Jar lifter (the doohicky!) and tongs
  • Cutting boards, colanders, and sharp kitchen knives (regular kitchen gear we used throughout the prep)

Step 1: Prep the Cucumbers

We stored the cucumbers in a cooler with ice overnight. Before slicing, we gave them a fresh ice bath to help preserve their crunch. We trimmed off the blossom end of each cucumber to help prevent soft pickles.

For bread & butter pickles, we sliced them into thin chips just before packing the jars.

Step 2: Prepare the Brine

We used apple cider vinegar for the bread & butter pickles and white vinegar for the dill pickles—this is a common approach. Apple cider vinegar adds a slightly sweet, fruity note that pairs beautifully with bread & butter flavors, while white vinegar gives dill pickles a sharp, clean tang and keeps the brine clear.

We originally planned to use a shared base brine for both pickle types, but with such a large volume, we ended up needing to make multiple pots of brine anyway.

Basic Brine Formula:

  • 1 part vinegar
  • 1 part water
  • 1/4 cup pickling salt per 6 cups of liquid
  • along with whichever spices you want to add to the brine

For bread & butter pickles, we added about 7 cups of monkfruit sweetener to 24 cups of brine, plus warm spices like mustard seed, turmeric, coriander, and a few cinnamon sticks and cloves.

🔹 Simmering the brine with sliced onions gives a more traditional bread & butter flavor without being overly spiced.

Step 3: Pack the Jars

We had run our jars, lids, and rings through the dishwasher beforehand to sterilize them. We then kept the jars hot in the canner until we were ready to pack them. Keeping them warm before filling helps prevent thermal shock and reduces the risk of breakage.

We packed the jars snugly with sliced chips and spears. For dill jars, we added fresh garlic cloves and sprigs of dill. For bread & butter jars, we included softened onions that had simmered in the brine.

Step 4: Add the Brine

Once jars were packed with cucumbers and flavorings, we poured hot brine over them, leaving appropriate headspace.

Each jar also received a 1/4 tsp of Pickle Crisp granules before sealing. We wiped rims, added lids, and tightened rings “fingertip tight.”

Step 5: Water Bath Processing

We ran our jars, lids, and rings through the dishwasher beforehand to sterilize them. We then kept the jars hot in the canner until we were ready to pack them.

We used propane burners outside, which gave us more room and kept the heat out of the kitchen. If you’re doing a smaller batch (like pints), you could definitely do this indoors.

Once the jars were submerged, we waited for the water to reach a full boil before starting the timer.

🔥 Processing Time Guidelines:

  • Pint jars: process for 10 minutes at altitudes up to 1,000 ft
  • Quart jars: process for 15 minutes at altitudes up to 1,000 ft
  • We’re at ~1,000 ft elevation, so we processed quart jars for 20 minutes

📍If you’re above 1,000 ft elevation, increase processing time:

  • 1,001–3,000 ft: add 5 minutes
  • 3,001–6,000 ft: add 10 minutes
  • 6,001–8,000 ft: add 15 minutes

Let jars cool on towels for 12–24 hours. As they cool and seal, listen for a satisfying little ping—that sound means the vacuum seal has formed properly! We wiped and labeled the tops: “Dill 2025” or “Bread & Butter 2025.”

One jar broke during canning. We dumped the water and started fresh, and disposed of the brine down the drain (vinegar and salt aren’t compost-safe).

🚨 To avoid jar breakage, try to keep the temperature difference between the jars and the canning water as small as possible—use warm jars and place them into hot (but not boiling) water before bringing it all to a boil.

Final Thoughts & What We Learned

🕒 When are they ready to eat?
We recommend letting the jars sit for at least 2 weeks before opening, to let the flavors fully develop. If you can wait 3–4 weeks, even better—especially for dill pickles!

Additional learnings and suggestions:

  • Keep extra jars, lids, and brine ingredients on hand.
  • Ice baths and Pickle Crisp help retain crunch.
  • Labeling clearly makes future-you very happy.
  • Garlic and dill in the dill jars, and onions simmered in the bread & butter brine, made the flavors pop.
  • For large batches, you’ll need multiple batches of brine which allows you to change the recipe up if you want.

This project was a ton of work, but now we’re stocked with homemade pickles to share and enjoy all year long.

Want to dive deeper?

Similar Posts