Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Delightfully crisp, sweet, and tangy, these refrigerator bread and butter pickles come together quickly and easily. No canning pots, hot water baths, or fancy tools are required for this recipe!
Foolproof Pickle Recipe
Years ago, I vowed to spend the summer learning to can fresh fruits and vegetables, pickles included. Summer was over in a blink, and my cans were still empty. I couldn't let the summer go by without an attempt to preserve anything, so I gave refrigerator pickles a try. I never looked back!
I never knew how easy making pickles at home could be. These bread and butter pickles are:
- Simple and quick
- Totally foolproof – no canning or fancy equipment is needed
- A little sweet and a little zesty
- Totally addictive
- A year-round staple in my fridge
Ingredients for Bread and Butter Pickles
There are two main components to these refrigerator pickles:
- Cucumbers: I recommend pickling cucumbers for this recipe, but small regular cucumbers work in a pinch.
- The Brine: This is where the classic sweet and tangy flavor comes from! Use a combination of vinegars (white vinegar and apple cider vinegar), sugars (granulated sugar and brown sugar), and spices like mustard seed, celery seed, and ground turmeric. For an extra kick, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
These bread and butter pickles couldn't be easier to make! Here's a quick overview of the process:
- Prepare the Cucumbers: Cut the cucumbers into ¼-inch thick slices – I like using a crinkle cutter for classic bread and butter pickles. Sprinkle them with salt, toss to combine, cover the bowl, and refrigerate for about 90 minutes.
- Rinse: After the cucumbers marinate with salt, rinse them with cold water, drain, and mix in the thinly sliced onion.
- Make the Brine: Combine the remaining ingredients together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Pour: Pour the brine over the cucumbers and onions. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for about an hour.
- Transfer & Refrigerate: Transfer the pickle and onion mixture (including the liquid) into airtight containers. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Tools for Homemade Pickles
While refrigerator pickles don't require any specialty canning tools, I love using these two items for authentic bread and butter pickles:
- To Slice: This crinkle cutter is my favorite! But you can also use a knife or mandoline.
- To Store: – I adore this large 67.5-ounce jar, but you can also divide the pickles between traditional pint jars or use any airtight container you have at home.
What to Serve with Bread and Butter Pickles
Bread and butter pickles taste a little tangy, a little zesty, a little sweet, and wildly delicious. They add a welcome burst of flavor to:
- Burgers (like cast iron skillet cheeseburgers)
- BBQ sandwiches (I love this easy pulled pork recipe)
- Simple deli meat + cheese sandwiches
- Charcuterie boards
Try These Pickle Recipes Next
If you like this simple homemade pickle recipe, you’ll also love the following:
- Sweet and Spicy Zucchini Refrigerator Pickles
- Quick & Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles
- Dill Sandwich Pickles
- And of course, you will LOVE this dill pickle dip!
Watch How to Make Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles:
If you make these pickles and love them, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you! ❤️️
Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients
- 5½ cups (680 g) pickling cucumbers, sliced ¼-inch thick , about 1½ pounds
- 1½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
- 1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) white vinegar
- ½ cup (120 ml) apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup (53 g) light brown sugar
- 1½ teaspoons mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon celery seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
- Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1½ 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. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month.
Notes
- Cucumbers: Pickling cucumbers work best, but you can substitute small regular cucumbers if needed.
- Sugar: You can adjust the sugar quantities based on your preferences.
- Jars: You can store this entire recipe in one of these large Bormioli jars (I’ve loved these forever!) or you divide it up using regular pint-size jars.
- Storage: These pickles will keep in your refrigerator for up to 1 month.
- Long-Term Storage: This pickle recipe is not meant for long-term storage, so you should not can it or store it at room temperature for any length of time.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on August 25, 2011.
Super simple and delicious! This recipe is a keeper!
Just finished making pickles. They were quick and easy. Haven’t tried them yet for they have to sit overnight.
I made my first batch and ready to make a second! I chose not to soak them in salt first just to keep the sodium level lower. (I had made a simpler version for years and never soaked them) We really enjoyed the complex taste of this recipe and I will continue using it to make our refrigerator pickles. I added some thin pepper slices from our garden too. 😉
CRISP….and Wonderful! With an abundance of cucumbers this year this recipe was great. We loved them.
This was a great recipe and the pickles turned out delicious, which is more than I can say for some other recipes I tried. I made the Bread and Butter Pickles from your recipe and using my harvested garden pickling cucumbers. I LOVE it and my husband does too. I’ll definitely be making it again! Adding the brown sugar and the ACV in your recipe was an unexpected and delicious addition.
Thanks to this recipe, my husband calls me “the pickle baroness”! It is absolutely delicious and so easy! I usually follow the recipe as written, but recently I was out of mustard seed so I substituted 1/4 tsp. dry mustard. It turned out great.
I have given this recipe to lots of friends. Don’t hesitate to try it. I use a mandolin to slice the cucumber and onion.
So much better than store bought!
These are just wonderful pickles. Perfect flavor. I actually had some juice left and filled the jar with some sliced jalapeños. Those were also amazing.
I made these this weekend. SO SO YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!! THank you for a great recipe.
If I used a hot water bath and sealable lids/rings could I keep these w/o being refrigerated?
Salt and pepper?
Can I omit the salt? My husband is on a low sodium diet.
Are you serious? 😂
The salt is only for the wilting step. You end up rinsing off a lot of it so it should be reasonably low sodium. You could omit the wilting and the end result will be less like the expected bread and butter pickle texture, but still perfectly edible.
i do not have celery seed any substitute or can it be left out without compromising taste
It’s the best 👌 I make this recipe every year,of course it’s Gammas
‘s .😊The best,as easy peasy!
This recipe is definitely a 5 star. I have been making these pickles several years now. I also have a huge amount of cucumbers so I am always making batches to give away. Several people have asked for my recipe. It is the easiest recipe to make. Thank you!
I never have made pickles🥒 before. This recipe is easy and delicious!!! My husband opened the refrigerator and trashed the store pickles saying we need to have a jar in the refrigerator at all times!!! The flavor continues to deepen and get smoother for about 3-5 days and they are that much better then if you can imagine!!! Thank you so much for the recipe and the jar suggestion….LOVE them both!! ❤️
Wondering if I let the brine cool before adding to the cucumbers would it still work but leave the pickles more crisp…
I have made this recipe before and it does come out great just the way it is.
any pickled that is sliced before brining will be less crisp than a whole pickle… similar to how dill spears are softer than whole dills.
These bread and butter pickles are wonderful the only thing I added to them was 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1/8 of teaspoon of cinnamon they were fantastic and everyone else loved them too thank you so much!
I’ve been making this recipe for over 6 years. We look forward to it every year when we grow our cucumbers. They go great with a pulled pork or any other BBQ.
May favorite is just to eat them on the side with lunch when it’s really hot out.
I’ve been making these for a few years now. My husband and family love them. I have gone to the point of processing them in a water bath so we can enjoy them all year long.
Connie,
I was wondering if I could do the same thing. Any special tricks other than having your brine super hot and then a hot water bath. Do you remember how long you had them in a hot water bath?
I grow cucumbers every year just so I can make these pickles! The whole family loves them
I have to watch my salt. What benefit does salting the cucumber slices bring? If I omitted that it would drastically lower the sodium content of the pickles.
Salting the cucumbers prior to brining helps to draw the water out of them and help make sure they are crisp!
Steve- I skip this step and they are yummy and crisp
I have made this recipe many times over the last three years… I have never salted mine. I tend to cut mine a bit thicker and they crunch just the same. Using a good pickling cucumber is the key!
This is the best refrigerator bread & butter pickles recipe I’ve come across! Everyone loved them and requested more. Fixing to make about 3 more batches to share.
Making them now. But have a question. Since are a vinegar base, why are they only good for a month?
Actually, I think I found my answer. It’s probably because of the sugar.
I made refrigerator bread n butter pickles several years ago. Used my grandma’s recipe and ran out of jars so instead of processing them I just dumped it all in a big container and 5 months later I took them to Thanksgiving dinner. They were still delicious and crisp and everybody loved them.