Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles are crisp, sweet and tangy. This is a great recipe to make if you’re new to making pickles because it’s not canned. Just pour the brine over the pickles and toss them in the fridge. Then take them to your family barbecue or get together.
I love making pickles with fresh cucumbers. Try my recipe for garlic dill pickles or my homemade spicy pickles.
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Why this Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe is a Keeper
This is the best way to make pickles because it’s quick and easy, and I can always have a stash of homemade bread and butter pickles. I love these pickles to snack on.
- Deliciously Sweet and Tangy: Bread and butter pickles offer a unique balance of sweetness and tang that is incredibly appealing and addictive.
- Easy to Make: Unlike traditional canning, refrigerator pickles are quick and simple, requiring no special equipment or heat processing.
- Fresh and Crisp: The short brining time in the refrigerator results in pickles that retain a lovely crispness.
- Versatile: They are fantastic as a snack, on sandwiches and burgers, as part of a relish tray, or even chopped into salads.
- Great Way to Use Surplus Cucumbers: If you have a garden overflowing with cucumbers, this is a perfect way to preserve some of the harvest.
- Customizable: The recipe is easily adaptable to your preferred level of sweetness, tanginess, and spice.
Do I Need to Peel the Cucumbers?
Unless you want to, there’s no need to peel the cucumbers before you make these pickles.
Pro Tip to Make Bread and Butter Pickles
Ensure Vegetables are Submerged: Make sure the brine completely covers the vegetables in the jars. If necessary, you can weigh them down with a small clean weight.
Ingredient Notes and Variation Suggestions for Refrigerator Pickles
To make this recipe, you will need just a few easy to find ingredients. This recipe is super customizable, so try using different ingredients or experimenting with flavors.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Cucumbers: I like to use English cucumbers or pickling cucumbers when using canning jars or for my best b&b pickles.
- Onion: Feel free to use either a yellow onion, white onion or even shallots.
- Vegetable Variations: You can pickle other vegetables along with the cucumbers and onions, such as bell peppers (red, yellow, or green), thinly sliced carrots, or even green tomatoes.
- Sweetness Level: Adjust the amount of granulated sugar to your preference. You can also experiment with light brown sugar to make these sweet pickles. For sweeter pickles, add a little more sugar in the recipe.
- Tanginess Level: Increase or decrease the amount of vinegar. You can also try using different types of vinegar, such as apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar, for a slightly different flavor profile.
- Spice Level: Add a thinly sliced jalapeño (remove seeds for less heat) or a dash of hot sauce to the brine for a spicy kick in these easy pickles.
- Herb Infusions: Add fresh dill sprigs for dill pickles, bay leaves, or a few sprigs of thyme to the jars for an herbaceous note.
- Celery Seed: Another classic bread and butter pickle spice is celery seeds and ground turmeric. This recipe is so easy to adjust.
How to Make Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Bread and butter pickles come together in 3 quick steps. This easy recipe for bread and butter pickles is so good, it quickly became one of my favorites.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Prepare the Cucumbers and Onion: Use a sharp knife to slice the onion into ¼” slices. Then, use a crinkle cutter to cut the cucumbers into ¼” pickle slices. Toss the onions and cucumbers with the salt and set aside.
- Make the Brine: Stir in the apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, coriander seeds, garlic, mustard seed and red pepper flakes to a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add to white vinegar when the brown sugar has dissolved.
- Chill the Pickles: Once the cucumbers and onions have set for 30 minutes, rinse and pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Prep Ahead Suggestions for Small Batch Pickles in the Fridge
Preparing ingredients ahead of time can help to save me time and kitchen space when it comes to making the recipe.
- Slice Vegetables: You can slice the cucumbers and onions (and any other vegetables you’re using) a day in advance. Store the sliced cucumbers and onions in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Measure Spices: Measure out all your spices ahead of time.
- Prepare Brine (Optional): You can make the brine (vinegar, sugar, salt, spices) a day ahead and store it in the refrigerator. This allows the flavors to meld, but it’s not strictly necessary as the pickling process happens in the fridge.
How to Store and Use Leftover Homemade Pickles
- Storing: Store bread and butter refrigerator pickles in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Pickles will last in the refrigerator for one month.
- Using Leftovers: Homemade refrigerator bread and butter pickles are great as Air Fryer Pickles.
Common Questions About This Pickle Recipe
This easy recipe for refrigerator bread and butter pickle slices will last in the fridge for about a month. A sealed canned jar of pickles stay for months in the refrigerator.
No need to use pickling salt for this sweet bread and butter pickles recipe
If it’s your first time making pickles and they got devoured quickly, feel free to reuse the brine for the next batch.
If you pickles and onions are softer than you like, next time try using pickling cucumbers or distilled water. These can both lead to crisper pickles.
Expert Tips to Love This Recipe
- Use Fresh, Firm Cucumbers: The quality of your cucumbers will greatly impact the final texture of your pickles. Choose small to medium-sized, firm cucumbers with no soft spots.
- Slice Evenly: Try to slice your vegetables evenly for consistent pickling. A mandolin can be helpful for this, but be careful!
- Pack Jars Snugly: Pack the sliced vegetables tightly into clean jars, but don’t overpack. Leave about 1/2 inch of headspace.
- Allow Time for Flavors to Meld: While you can technically eat them after a few hours, the flavor of refrigerator pickles really develops after 24-48 hours in the refrigerator.
- Don’t Boil the Brine Too Long: Heating the brine helps dissolve the sugar and salt, but boiling it for an extended period can alter the flavor. A gentle simmer until dissolved is usually sufficient.
- Store in the Refrigerator: Refrigerator pickles are not shelf-stable and must be stored in the refrigerator.
- Serve With: I love bread and butter pickles with Cast Iron Burgers or Sweet and Spicy Pickles.
More Recipes You Might Like
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Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Equipment
- 3 Bowls
- Cutting mat
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds Cucumbers
- 1 small Onion, sliced
- 3 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 1 cup White distilled vinegar
- ⅓ cup Apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup Brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Coriander seeds
- 6 cloves Garlic , peeled
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seed
- ¼ teaspoons Red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Use a crinkle cutter to cut cucumbers into ¼” slices.
- Using a sharp knife, slice onion into ¼” slices and place in the bowl with the cucumber slices.
- Toss the onions and cucumbers with the salt and set aside.
- Meanwhile, place the white vinegar in a bowl, set aside.
- Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Once the brown sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and pour into the white vinegar.
- Once the cucumbers and onions have set for 30 minutes, rinse and place in a bowl.
- Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers.
- Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Christina’s Notes
- Use Fresh, Firm Cucumbers: The quality of your cucumbers will greatly impact the final texture of your pickles. Choose small to medium-sized, firm cucumbers with no soft spots.
- Slice Evenly: Try to slice your vegetables evenly for consistent pickling. A mandolin can be helpful for this, but be careful!
- Pack Jars Snugly: Pack the sliced vegetables tightly into clean jars, but don’t overpack. Leave about 1/2 inch of headspace.
- Allow Time for Flavors to Meld: While you can technically eat them after a few hours, the flavor of refrigerator pickles really develops after 24-48 hours in the refrigerator.
- Don’t Boil the Brine Too Long: Heating the brine helps dissolve the sugar and salt, but boiling it for an extended period can alter the flavor. A gentle simmer until dissolved is usually sufficient.
- Store in the Refrigerator: Refrigerator pickles are not shelf-stable and must be stored in the refrigerator.
- Serve With: I love bread and butter pickles with Cast Iron Burgers or Sweet and Spicy Pickles.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
A great recipe to avoid greasy, heavy dishes. I’ll definitely try it and make it for my family.