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
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.
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.