Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles

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.

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.

If you make this Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in the ratings. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!