These homemade refrigerator bread and butter pickles are sweet, zesty, and crunchy. A perfect condiment for a burger or sandwich, or enjoy them as a snack on their own. This recipe is so easy and doesn’t require any canning skills!
We are a pickle loving family over here. 1000% if that was a thing. My pantry is never ever without dill pickle potato chips and my refrigerator is always stocked with pickled beets and pickled eggs. Not to mention that I have countless varieties of vinegar in my cupboard. Pucker up!
While dill pickles are #1 for us, bread and butter pickles are right on their heals. We’ve been known to polish off an entire jar of these in an afternoon.
Why are they called bread and butter pickles?
Some say they gained popularity during the Great Depression. Since they were a cheap kitchen staple, people would use them on buttered sandwich bread for an easy, inexpensive lunch.
Another story is that Omar and Cora Fanning, who were Illinois cucumber farmers back in the 1920’s, pickled and sold their small cucumbers and would also trade the pickles with their local grocer for essentials, like bread and butter. They ended up filing for a “Fanning’s Bread and Butter Pickles” trademark.
Are Bread and Butter Pickles Sweet?
Unlike dill pickles, they’re definitely on the sweeter side, but they’re also tart, with a slight kick. They’re infused with a sugar-vinegar brine and other spices that make them pretty irresistible and perfect on sandwiches!
Making homemade bread and butter pickles is so easy! There are only a few simple steps, some resting time (for the pickles and hopefully for you, too! HA), and then chilling in the fridge overnight to get the truest flavor. If you’re really impatient, though, they taste great after only a few hours!
Bread and Butter Pickle Recipe Ingredients
- Pickling cucumbers – these pickles are made from a smaller cucumber than you use on a salad. They’re marketed as pickling cucumbers and can be found at most regular grocery stores. Use the freshest, unblemished ones you can find.
- Onion – sweet onions pair perfectly with the tangy brine.
- Vinegar – white vinegar and apple cider vinegar are both used.
- Sugar – a combination of granulated and brown sugar.
- Seasonings – mustard seeds, celery seeds, ground Turmeric, and Kosher salt
Recipe Tips
- The cucumber slices should be about 1/4-inch thick. You want some crunch! Too thin and they can disintegrate when soaked with the hot brine. Too thick and they won’t soak up the brine enough.
- I highly recommend using a mandolin, which ensures the slices are all the same size. It also makes the process so much easier and faster!
Take these to a summer barbecue and make all the friends!
Looking for more cucumber recipes? Try my Cucumber Tomato Salad, Creamy Cucumber Salad, Beet and Cucumber Salad.
Watch the video for this Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds pickling cucumbers , sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 5 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
- Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours.
- Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl and toss with the cucumbers.
- Combine the granulated sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Pour the hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
- Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. (If you’re really impatient, though, they taste great after only a few hours!)
- Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other Notes
I love this recipe as a base… I add red pepper flakes, ginger & garlic salt… mix up the vinegars by adding basalmic vinegar & red wine vinegar… minced onion, minced garlic, extra turmeric… pack the onions & cucumbers in Mason jars and pour liquid in while boiling… seal jars… no refrigeration needed.. works great.
I’ve made several batches of this pickle and it always turns out amazing. I brought a double batch to a party recently and everyone who tried them wanted the recipe.
I made this for the 1st time. Outstanding!! I added 2 habanero peppers cut in half to the brine while cooking. Oh yeah!!
Very good!!
These pickles are awesome!!!
This recipe looks great,but my question is, can these pickles be canned? Do I just increase the ingredients for a large batch?
I don’t recommend canning these. This recipe is for refrigerator pickles, which typically have a lower ratio of vinegar to water and are not shelf-stable.
Great recipe, and so easy
Flavor was so good and the perfect crunch. Would make this recipe again for sure.
Love this recipe! It reminds me of a bread and butter pickle recipe my grandmother made when I was growing up. We have a garden so I’ve picked 10 batches or more this summer. Thank you for sharing!
First time making pickles and they are so dang good! I added red chilli flakes and 1 jalapeño to it with some seeds as I wanted a sweet and spicy flavour.
Can you reduce the sodium and still have them taste good. For people on sodium restriction
Love these pickles! Easy too! Thank you!
Can Splenda be used instead of the white sugar?
Hi Dianne – this recipe hasn’t been tested with sugar substitutes so I can’t vouch for results, but you can try it.
First time making pickles and these were amazing! Everyone who had some loved them.
This recipe is fantastic. I made this recipe using sugar substitutes, splenda and splenda brown sugar, cup for cup. (using the exact same measurments) The pickles came out delicious and with the perfect amount of crunch! Thank you so much!
So So good. !!! Thank you so much
Easy, and are very delicious.
This is the easiest and very tasty sweet pickles. I just made a couple jars, and I am hooked. I will be making some more that’s for sure.
So happy to find this small batch recipe that doesn’t require me to pull out all the canning stuff. Looking forward to trying them for supper tonight….they smell SOOOOOO good and look perfect!
Hi Amy,can you use regular cucumber for this recipe?
Hi CJ. Technically, you can pickle any kind of cucumber, but because of the moisture content in common cucumbers and English cucumbers, they will be more mushy. If the texture isn’t an issue for you, they will still taste great. Not our preference, though.
Such a delicious recipe and so easy to make. Loved by everyone in my family
Fantastic! I added some red bell pepper strips for a little color.
I’ve made at least a gallon of these over the past few years.
This was my first time making pickles- it was a complete success! This was so easy, I’m making my next batch today!
These bread and butters are perfect! I am making my second batch today. Thank you Amy for this recipe :)
This was easy and excellent! No more store bought pickles for us!
Great tasting and easy to make. Love this recipe
These were definitely better than anything you can get at the store. GREAT recipe!
Trying to duplicate delicious bread and butter pickles that are served in a local restaurant and this recipe are just about it. The restaurant’s version is pure white so my next batch I will eliminate the turmeric. The taste was almost the same and the crunch was perfect. This is my new go to recipe. Quick, easy and delicious! Thank you Amy for sharing.
Great recipe!
LOVED these! Great great recipe.
This is a simple and tasty recipe. Reminds me of the pickles my mom .made from the backyard garden 30 plus years ago, they bring back home. I am going to make more I have 3 kinds of cucumbers. Delishes
Great recipe. I made 6 pints so far and making more today. They are easy and by far the best recipe I’ve tried. Thanks so much for sharing!
These are the best refrigerator pickles I have ever made. Love them.
These are delicious! May I share your recipe with our CSA? Credit, of course! We always have more cukes than can possible be eaten, but not now. On my 3rd batch. Thank you!
We made the refrigerator version of the Bread and Butter pickles and loved them! Do you have a canning recipe so that they last longer, with the same delicious ingredients?
These are so delicious! Getting ready to make a second batch!!!
Can these be canned? Pressure cook or water bath? Same recipe?
I forgot to rinse them before I added the hot liquid! I didn’t realize it til 2 days later! Is that ok?
These bread and butter pickles are delicious.
These are the best! I hate bread and butter pickles but made them for my husband after I was given a huge amount of cucumbers. I tried one and then I was addicted! These are not your ordinary bread and butter pickles. They are crunchy, zesty and a great addition to all sandwiches. I have made here many times and don’t last the month at our house.
Great Recipe
Great pickles recipe. Can I can them for all year round?
OMG! Amazing! My family loved them and we are hooked. I am curious to know if I can use this same recipe for cauliflower. I think I would have to blanch it first but do you think it would be okay in he refrigerator for one month also?
I’m sure cauliflower would be amazing! But yes, I would recommend blanching first, since it’s so dense.
Great recipe! Really easy and we loved the flavor.
For those asking about sugar substitutes, Allulose is the only natural sugar sub that will not crystalize again when it cools down. I have heard, but never verified myself, that others like erythritol (Swerve) and Monk Fruit won’t IF you hold it above the boiling point for 15 minutes. I don’t know anything about the artificial, chemical-based sweeteners like Splenda, never touch the stuff. If you are low carb or keto, your best bet is Allulose, unless you want to try to prove the claim of the others not crystallizing upon cooling and sinking to the bottom of the jar. This recipe is fantastic! My whole family loved them!
The best! I hate bread and butter pickles but I made these for my husband. My friend kept bringing me cucumbers so I gave these a try. I have totally changed my mind about bread and butter pickles. They are crunchy, sweet, tangy, and delicious! The only thing I did different was added a titch of red pepper flakes. My husband was sad when I kept giving them away but they are so easy I made another batch right away. I won’t be buying pickles anymore. We love these!
This is awesome, Bonnie – so happy to hear it!
I combined this recipe with one to be canned and am now the proud owner of 4 jars of super crunchy bread and butter pickles! Excellent flavor!
This is a great, easy recipe ! I used TJ’s white Modena vinegar for the white vinegar. I think its important to use good quality ingredients!
Awesome pickles! I like dill pickles until I made these. Everyone loves them too.
Incredibly delicious!!! I grew a long variety of cucumbers this year and when I came back from a week vacation, we had tooo many. So even though I didn’t use small Kirby like cucumbers, the recipe is great and mine turned out perfect. Addicting and perfect !
Are the nutritional values per pickle?
No. Serving size is listed in the recipe card. 1/4 cup.
At my house, the serving size is one jar :)
I love this recipe and wondered if you had ever prepared it with a traditional canning method? If so, did you change the recipe?
Hi Maureen – I haven’t ever converted this to be shelf stable, so I can’t say.
Last a long time. I made this recipe a few times. My favorite!.I will say I put them in canning jars and kept them in the fridge, not canned though. Finished the last jar about 6 months after making them. No issues, still had great taste and texture!
I always wanted to try making this and did today. Omg it is soooooo good. It is so easy and I don’t cook. Thank you much
Just made my first batch. Family loved them! Will make more next week when I pick my next bunch of cucumbers. I substituted Truvia baking mix for the white sugar per the equivalent scale on the package. Worked great!
I love the jars you are using, where did you purchase them?
Hi Ronni! Those are Weck Tulip jars…aren’t they cute? I bought them on Amazon, here –> https://amzn.to/2VB4xga
Thank you so much! They are adorable and look perfect to use in small batch recipe!
Do you have to use mustard seeds . I’m asking for allergy purposes. Thanks
Hi Eileen! Sorry to hear that. You can omit them, but they definitely add flavor and zip to this recipe so the overall result without them won’t be optimal.
Can you use Swerve sugars?
Could you use a sugar substitute like monkfruit sweetener?
Hi can I use stevia in place of some of the sugar I do low carb
Can they be canned ?
No. This recipe is for refrigerator pickles, which typically have a lower ratio of vinegar to water and would not be shelf-stable if canned.
I’ll give this a try.
I don’t have apple cider vinegar can I use all white vinegar?