Perfectly crisp and tangy, this not-too-sweet Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickle recipe comes together in less than 10 minutes. No hot water baths or fancy canning tools required! Keep them in the fridge and serve on burgers, deli sandwiches, charcuterie boards, and pulled pork or BBQ chicken sandwiches.
Speaking of BBQ Chicken, try my Instant Pot recipe for the BEST shredded BBQ Chicken… ready in 30 minutes! Or go low and slow with Root Beer Pulled Pork made in your slow cooker! When there’s a hungry crowd to feed, nothing is simpler than a meaty ‘dump and go’ slow cooker recipe.
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Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Okay guys, real talk. I know many people (me included) aren’t exactly fans of super sweet bread and butter pickles. However, believe me when I say THESE ARE NOT THOSE KINDA PICKLES!
In this recipe, the pucker power of white vinegar is tempered ever so slightly by the sugar while turmeric lends a bit of bitter earthiness.
As usual, I tested these pickles on picky friends and family. My taste testers all agree that these Bread and Butter pickles have the perfect balance between savoury and sweet.
Naturally, there is more sugar in this brine than in a dill pickle brine and the result will be sweeter pickles. However, they are nowhere near as sweet as my grandma’s original refrigerator pickle brine recipe. Her brine was basically a syrup and she would keep the pickles in an ice cream pail in the back of the fridge for months.
These pickles are a joy to eat on their own straight out of the jar but be warned. If you place the jar in the front of the refrigerator, you might want to snack on one every time you open the door. Note: Refrigerator pickles last longer if you fish them out with a fork instead of your fingers!
Alternatively, enjoy them with deviled eggs or pinto beans or on deli style sandwiches, hamburgers, and alongside smoked meat. They help to cut the richness of the meat and provide a nice ‘palate refresher’.
Lastly, there are sliced onions in this pickle recipe but feel free to leave them out if you don’t love onions. We tend to enjoy them the same way we eat the pickles, but they are also incredible on tacos.
What are Refrigerator Pickles?
Refrigerator pickles are a type of quick pickle that consist of a sturdy vegetable (usually sliced small pickling cucumbers and sometimes onions) marinated in a strong brine. They can be savoury like dills, or sweet like bread and butter pickles.
As the vegetables marinate in the brine, they soak up the vinegar and flavourings, creating a delicious and crispy pickled snack – no canning required!
Since these pickles are not fermented or heat-processed or heat-processed via a traditional canning method, they are not shelf stable and need to be kept cold (40°F – 5°C or colder).
BTW you might be wondering where the name ‘Bread and Butter’ pickles comes from. I always thought it was because they are great with bread and butter.
However, the real reason is the original recipe creators, Omar and Cora Fanning, often bartered jars of their sweet pickles for goods and services during tough times. The recipe (and name) caught on quickly and the rest is history.
Ingredients for Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
This is a great ‘quick pickle’ recipe to make during July and August when you might not have enough pickling cucumbers to make an entire batch of dill pickles. Use this easy brine recipe and if you want to add your own herbs and spices (instead of the ones I have suggested), add them in with the pickle slices.
I suggest making this recipe as written for your first time, then adjusting it with other ingredients according to your taste preferences.
- Cucumbers
- Onion
- Vinegar
- Salt
- Sugar
- Turmeric
- Pickling Spice
This is a traditional bread and butter pickles recipe that uses sliced cucumbers and onions. However, you can pickle all sorts of vegetables. Try carrot coins, snap peas, or even sliced jalapeños to make a quick jar of ‘cowboy candy’.
Note that each vegetable will require a different marinating period depending on how porous it is. They best way to tell if the pickles are done is to taste them.
Always use coarse or kosher salt in pickling recipes. Check the box label to be sure the salt does not contain anti-caking agents as they will make the brine cloudy.
Feel free to replace one cup of white vinegar with one cup apple cider vinegar. However, since apple cider vinegar is sweeter, you might need to adjust the amount of sugar. You can also replace some or all the granulated sugar with light brown sugar, if desired. Note that brown sugar may affect the colour of the pickles.
Turmeric has a strong colour and will turn the brine yellow. Feel free to omit the turmeric if you like. I suggest adding other seeds such as fennel, dill, or celery seed.
Pickling spice is a mixture of herbs and spices, usually a combination of black and red peppercorns, cinnamon, mace, allspice, bay leaves, coriander, mustard seed, and red pepper flakes. Feel free to add a whole chili pepper to make spicy refrigerator bread and butter pickles.
How to Make Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
To make the brine for refrigerator bread and butter pickles, place the white vinegar, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Allow brine to cool to room temperature.
Inspect and wash a wide mouth quart jar and glass or plastic lid with hot soapy water. Rinse well.
Next, wash the cucumbers and slice off the ends. Use a sharp knife to cut the cucumber into 1/4-inch slices. Alternatively, use a crinkle cutter to make wavy pickle slices. Peel and slice an onion in half. Slice the onion half into thin rounds.
Fill the jar by placing a few slices of onion into the bottom. Arrange a layer of sliced cucumbers over the onions and repeat until the jar is full. Add chili pepper if using.
Scatter mustard seeds or pickling spices over top of the sliced cucumbers. Add a pinch of turmeric and fill the jar with room temperature brine.
Screw on the lid and gently shake to distribute the mustard seeds/pickling spices. Refrigerate pickles for at least 5 days before eating.
How Long Will Refrigerator Pickles Last?
According to my grandma, these pickles will last for up to a year in the fridge. I don’t recommend keeping them that long. They will last up to three months. However, after about 4 weeks they will begin to decline in quality. Inevitably, they will lose texture and the brine becomes cloudy.
Since no one likes a limp pickle, I suggest the keeping refrigerator bread and butter pickles no longer than 4 weeks.
Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I’ve been the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen for the past eleven years. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.
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Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Perfectly crisp and tangy, these not-too-sweet Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles come together in less than 10 minutes. No hot water baths or fancy canning tools required! Keep them in the fridge and serve on burgers, deli sandwiches, charcuterie boards, and pulled pork or BBQ chicken sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 4 medium pickling Cucumbers
- 1/2 onion (optional)
- 2 cups white Vinegar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons coarse pickling or Kosher Salt
- 2/3 cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon mustard seeds/pickling spices
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Turmeric
- 1 green or red Chili Pepper* (spicy pickles option)
Instructions
- Place white vinegar, sugar, and salt in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Allow the brine to cool to room temperature.
- Inspect and wash a wide mouth quart jar and glass or plastic lid.
- Wash cucumbers and slice off the ends. Use a sharp knife or crinkle cutter to cut the cucumber into 1/4 inch slices.
- Peel and slice an onion in half. Slice the onion half into thin rounds.
- Place a few slices of onion into the bottom of the quart jar. Arrange a layer of sliced cucumbers over the onions and repeat until the jar is full. Add chili pepper if using.
- Scatter mustard seeds/pickling spices over top of the sliced cucumbers and add a 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric.
- Fill jar with brine. Top with a lid and gently shake to distribute the mustard seeds/pickling spices.
- Refrigerate for at least 5 days before eating. Pickles will last for up three months in the fridge but are best eaten within 4 weeks.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 60Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 28mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 0g
Nutritional calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator.
OMG my husband and I absolutely love these! I’d really love to can some so we have them all winter long, have you ever canned them? Did they turn out?
That’s so great to hear Sarah! I’m so glad these were a hit in your home. I do actually have another recipe for making shelf stable pickles. https://dishnthekitchen.com/homemade-garlic-dill-pickles/
Wonderful! All the surplus cucumbers from the garden can be used up to make this simple and easy pickles at home and enjoy them. Definitely going to try it out.
I know you will enjoy these pickles Fouzia, they’re delicious and so easy to make.
They turned out beautifully! I’ve never made my own pickles before but I’ll be doing it more going forward for sure!
I’m so glad you tried this recipe Mindy! Many people are intimidated by making pickles and I really wanted to show how easy it is!
We love our pickles and the refrigerator bread and butter pickle is our favorite kind. This is the best-ever recipe for all the excess cucumbers from the garden.
Fellow pickle lovers are my kind of people! Thanks for trying this refrigerator pickle recipe.
This bread and butter pickle turned out so amazing for us. Made 4 jars worth of, gifted 2 jars to my friends. Thanks for this recipe
You have very lucky friends! Thanks for sharing this recipe and the pickles.
I’m planning on making burgers this week and will definitely be using this pickle recipe to make the pickles for these burgers!
oh yes these are so good on burgers! and now you have me craving burgers lol
This is a great recipe to make to use up some extra garden cucumbers. Refrigerator pickles are great to make when you are short on time!
Exactly! It’s such a convenient and tasty recipe. Glad you enjoyed them Ann.
I love bread and butter pickles and your recipe was easy to make and the pickles were ah-mazing!
Not everyone has heard of them but I try to do my best sharing all the great food. Thank you for trying my recipe Dennis.
Both my fiance and my daughter love it when I make homemade bread & butter pickles each summer. 🙂 I will have to try this recipe the next time I need to make them.
They have great taste! I’m sure they will love this recipe too Carrie. Thanks for stopping by.
These went well on some burgers that we grilled. I omitted the tumeric as I didn’t have any on hand and added red chili flakes. Yum
Great addition! We like a little bit of heat in our pickles sometimes too.
Our fridge always has giant dill pickles in it at all times! My German husband couldn’t live without them! But they are so expensive and difficult to find, so this might be the solution to our ‘happy problem’! Now, I’m going on a mini cucumber hunt! Thanks for the recipe.
Hmmm, you’d better make a big jar because they disappear quickly!
Refrigerator pickles are the best. My mom did the traditional canning method. Too much work for me. This is how I do it too.
Yes, I just recently saw a recipe for the canned version. I didn’t even think to can them because this is how my family always made them. I would think they would get mushy if they are pre-sliced then processed in a hot water bath?!
I’m going to make these pickles this weekend and I can’t wait. I love bread and butter pickles and you make it look so easy!
Hahaha well you’ll have to wait…5 days! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I’m sure you’re going to love this easy pickle recipe once you get to try them!
I never heard of refrigerator pickles and this one sounds interesting and easy. Definitely my kind of recipe. Will give a try.
It’s kind of a regional thing. I grew up on the prairies and these pickles are very popular there.
Great recipe, the pickles turned out delicious!
Excellent! So glad you loved these bread and butter pickles. Thanks for trying my recipe.
I made these for my brother who is pickle fanatic and he loved them. Love all the helpful tips in the post!
Good to know Kim! I aim to make every recipe as easy to follow as possible. Thanks for letting me know.
I’m not usually a pickle fan but these were the perfect level of tang! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Excellent! I love converting people into pickle lovers! Thank you for trying this recipe. It’s a good one to test drive because it only makes one quart.
These turned out really wonderfully, perfect for pulled pork sandwiches!
Amazing! I can almost taste that combo right now. Thank you for trying this recipe Lindsay.