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.
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.
It’s perfect while eating a sandwich and playing territorial io.
tasty,easy to make
These are so quick, so easy and so tasty! Our favourite. No worries about them not keeping much longer than a month – they are eaten by then.
Love love these! Have made them a number of times
I have fond memories of the pickles my grandma made 50 years ago. I was hoping these would taste like hers, and they did! Now I can make them for my grand kids ! They are so good ! Sweet, tangy, crispy with just a little heat.
I made these twice last fall. They tasted delicious but they were not crisp at all, more on the soggy side. Second time I made them I let the juice cool a little before pouring in the jar, thinking the hot juice was making them soft, but still had the same result. It sounds like I’m the only one that encountered this, not sure why this is happening
I love, love, love bread and butter pickles! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Marilyn. Enjoy!!
Easy and good..I add couple crushed cloves of garlic and some red pepper flakes ..I like them spicy and hot so about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Fantastic , now I’m trying califlower
Made them twice for my brother and he’s become addicted
Thanks
They’re impossible to find in Egypt
I use this recipe every chance I get. It’s the best!!
These are the absolute best for me. Thank you brown eyed Baker!!
I greatly appreciate it. These are easy to make, tasty, and crispy.
Excellent from what I’ve heard. Gave one jar (pint size) to my nephew, he came back for 2 more jars. I didn’t have enough to give as gifts, so a few days later I’m having to make more. Great recipe!!!
Wow, such a great Butter Pickles recipe, I’m adding it to my Christmas dinner!
I made these recently, so delicious and easy. I was worried about getting them eaten within 30 days since I live alone…that is not a problem. I am making my second batch today. Also, love the Bormioli jars to store them in the fridge. I can’t wait to try the recipe next summer with fresh cucumbers from the farmer’s market.
We love this recipe. I’ve added hot peppers. And it’s amazing!
My daughter made these and they are delicious!!
Excellent recipe. I use it to make pickled onions too. Great on all sorts of things you use relish for. One of my favorite recipes. 5 stars
Hi Mandy,
What type of onion do you use, sweet, yellow, red ??
Georgie, personally, I use sweet onions for pickling….hope that helps…Vadalia, to be precise. :)
Excellent recipe. Thanks for sharing. Love this pickled cucumber.
Best and easiest pickle recipe ever! My sister and I love hot and sweet pickles, so I added two jalapeños (seeds removed and cut into rings) for a smoldering heat. Dee-LISH! Thank you for posting this recipe!
This is my 3rd year making these. Hands down the best B&B pickles out there. I took 4 jars to a restaurant and gifted them to some of the staff. They were 10 steps to the silverware, but I watched them eat them with their fingers, then drink the juice. If that doesn’t speak multitude’s on just how good these are? ❤️
so simple… thanks so much. Will definitely try it again
I have made these, again and again, they are so good, my daughter wants the recipe, of course I gave it to her, thanks for putting this recipe out there, <3
I made these pickles, and they are absolutely delicious. I would rate this recipe more than five stars.
Very good and very easy!!
Fabulously easy recipe… I’m on my 3rd quart jar… I can’t stop eating them.
I adjusted the amounts to make a single pint, but MAN OH MAN are these delicious! I’m usually a traditional dill pickle gal, but these have convinced me to branch out. I may just add more pickling cucumbers to my garden next year just so I can make more of these. Increíble!
Love these! Turned out delicious. Glad I made a double batch. Thank you for the recipe. I haven’t made these since my mother passed away several years ago and she took the recipe where.
These pickles are so easy to make and are so delicious. Everyone wants a jar.
These actually last for much longer than a month. Have had some as long as a year! But they’re usually eaten by then!
Has anyone used honey instead of sugar to make these?
Excellent taste. Better than store bought. Simple easy to follow recipe.
I let several people try this and they all loved the flavor.
So easy & delicious! I made a trial batch then made more tonight. All our friends & family love them! 🥰😛
We made this for the first time 3 days ago and I’m making 4 more pints today because everyone loves them
Hands down the best bread and butter pickles I’ve ever had.
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Absolutely wonderful!! Does anyone know if I can reuse the pickling juice for the next batch? My kids are going to scarf these down in the next day!
Easy and delicious!
Mustard seed is difficult to find in my area. Should I omit or is there a substitute that I could use? Thanks for any help!
I have used the pickling
Spices mix and it turns out just fine
Great and easy recipe. A hit by everyone
I tried these pickles and doubled the recipe because I had so many cucumbers. These are ABSOLUTELY the best! This recipe is a keeper!!
I love this recipe I add hot peppers from my garden and make spicy pickles. They are better than Dave’s Devil’s Spit pickles, I make some jars super hot for me and some jars less spicy for the tender pallets in my house.
How much hot peppers did you put in and what kind of hot peppers did you use?
These pickles are the bomb! First time making refrigerator pickles and definitely won’t be my last…making my second batch now! Followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t change a thing….thanks for an easy and amazing bread and butter pickle recipe! I’m addicted! 😋
Our family and friends have told me that these are the best bread and butter pickles they’ve had.
Second year in a row that I’ve made these for us as well as for friends. My quilt group brings their jars in to class. I take them home, make your delicious refrigerator bread and butter pickles, fill up their jars and take them in the following week.
My oh my do I have happy friends, relatives and quilt pals.
These are the absolute best. Thank you, thank you for your wonderful recipe.
Have a double batch resting in refrigerator right now in faze 1 of the recipe.
Anxious to try your sweet & spicy zucchini pickles. They sound just as fantastic.
Love this recipe. Easy to make and gave some away and had to make more for more people.
My family loves this recipe! I did add 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes because we like a little spice. Thank you.
So anxious to try these! Do they stay crispy? Thank you!
I made a huge batch of these pickles on Friday, they were gone by Sunday, the star of the weekend house party!
These are my husband’s favorite! What is the reason that these can’t be water bath canned? They seem so similar to another recipe that I did in that way (only they are much better)
This pickle is very delicious. Everyone loves them!
Absolutely delicious pickles. I made several batches and gave them away to relatives… I kept 3 jars for myself. Everyone loved them. Thank you for this recipe.
Oh my gosh! These are great! This is my first try at making pickles and they taste better than we imagined! Thank you so much! Now I’m going to try the dill pickle recipe!
My neighbor gave me regular size cucumbers… can I use those?
I make these
all the time with full size cucumbers and they turn out great. They’re just a little seedier.
I look forward to Kirby season at my farmer’s market so that I can make these pickles. I have also made pickled watermelon rind using this recipe. This recipe has a permanent bookmark on my computer.
How long will they last in the refrigerator?
I have seen comments that said a couple of weeks but I have kept them for severral months with no issues, good as the day they were first fixed if not better. My Mother did these years ago and kept for a long time in refrigerator.
Looks easy!!!
This is now my go-to recipe for pickles. Everyone loves them!
Very delicious recipe! I didn’t change a thing and my family ate them up within a week. I’m going to try zucchini and other vegetables in the mix next time. Thank you for this!
I made these yesterday and I always use regular pint jars. Last time they sealed and this time they didn’t. What did do wrong.Ellen
Love this recipe. Great way to use my home grown cucumbers 🥒🥒🥒. :)
This is my favorite pickle recipe. I give small jars as gifts and people rave about them. I chopped up some and made relish too. I look forward to my cucumber harvest so I can make these pickles! You will not be disappointed.
Is there a reason they need to be in a bowl for an hour instead of pouring the mixture over a cucumber packed jar?
I believe it dehydrates them and then they stay crispier and absorb more of the brine….
Good stuff right here. Takes me back to my grandmas kitchen. I add jalapenos and habaneros also.
I now have a family of “pickle-addicts” with this recipe. They beg me to make these! The only thing I add is 1/2 of a jalapeno for some kick. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
These are awesome!
I’ve made refrigerator dill pickles for years and found your recipe for bread and butters. I’ve got the first step chill-laxing in the fridge now and I can’t wait to see how these turn out after reading the great reviews!
My husband ate 2 big jars of them in 5 days. Making more today to feed his addiction!😂😂
Love this recipe. Great way to use my home grown cucumbers 🥒🥒🥒.
Pickles came out great. I added 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes which added just a little heat at the end.
Beatiuful! And it’s made of ingredients we almost always have on hand—what could be better? :)
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I follow you all the recipes and they are all too good… Keep posting. Thanks and regards 24BestBuys.com
Delish pickles.
Perfect for anytime when you have too many cucumbers
Tttt
Everyone loves these pickles. I can’t make enough.
I have made these they are excellant !!!!! Best bread and butter pickles i ever made.
I made these last week, and I’m making
Them again now. I follow the recipe exactly except
I used seedless English cucumbers and cut them thicker.I love them! Thanks! PS super
Easy to make
Haven’t made yet but going to. As a teenager I used to make this with zucchini/courgette , (beautiful ), it had thinly sliced red capsicum/ red pepper in it as well. The recipe had got lost over the years so very happy to have discovered it again.
I don’t like pickles either but love these, only ones I eat and straight out of the jar. Lol
I am not a fan of bread & butter pickles, but my husband sure is. I made these for him and a neighbor and both of them said these were the BEST they’ve ever had! Now, to make your homemade bread (which I certainly am a fan of). Thanks for all of your great recipes.
Just made these today and can’t wait to eat the. They taste amazing! Thanks for your recipe!
I tweaked a few things in the recipe, but my friends and family really enjoyed them!! Thank you!
These were very easy and quite tasty! Thank you for the recipe!
Love this recipe, quick, easy and the pickles are delicious!! Thanks for sharing..
I LOVE homemade pickles and these bread and butter pickle slices were super easy to make! They’ll be made again soon!
My first time ever making pickles of any kind. I was so surprised at how easy they were to make. I’m not a big fan of pickles of any kind but these are delicious! I only wish I would have had smaller cucumbers. Will be making these again for sure!
Try using English cucumbers next Time.
How long do they last in the fridge?
Easily a month or more. I’ve had
Them for a couple months. They
Stayed really good.
Great results. Easy. Simple.
Might I sub honey and coconut sugar?
Best refrigerated bread and butter pickle recipe by far! Do you have a recipe for a canned version of these?
This was my first experience making pickles. Let me just say they were amazing! My son has been eating them like candy. Thanks so much for the recipe!
I first used this recipe last year to make B&B jalapeños. Did everything the same except replaced cukes with the peppers. So good and a great variation on cowboy candy! I sliced the peppers about 1/4”. Just finished another batch moments ago. The peppers are no where near as hot as you’d expect. Thanks!
I just made six jars last night with an abundance of cukes I had from my garden. They look so good! Can’t wait to try them this evening!
I just made them and OHHHHHH MYYYY!!!!
THEY ARE DELICIOUS! Not vinagry at all!
They are amazing!!!
I don’t think they will last in the fridge at all!!
Thank you!!
This is a super easy recipe and the pickles are delicious!! For a spicy kick I added a fresh jalapeno from my garden. I placed this beautiful concoction in mason jars and gifted them to friends and coworkers. GREAT RECIPE!!!
Love quick and easy
This pickles are the bomb! I
wouldn’t change a thing aboutthis recipe! So easy and
delicious! I’m addicted! Thank you for an easy and perfect
bread and butter pickle recipe!
Amazing flavor!
Just made these with homegrown cucs and onion. We like sweet and spicy so I added one of our Hungarian hot wax peppers (seeds and all!) thinly sliced when I added the onion. I was out of celery seeds so subbed fennel seeds and out of sugar so subbed 3/4C honey (I REALLY need a pantry restock!). They turned out SO GREAT!! I’ll be making another batch just as soon as the cucs ripen enough. Yummers.
Love, love this recipe, will definitely make them again.
Just made my second batch. I mistakenly left the final mixture on the counter top over night – forgot to put in refrigerator. Is that a problem?
Perfect balance. The sweetness is there, but it’s not syrupy sweet. A very clean taste if that makes sense. I reversed the amounts on the vinegars because I like AC vinegar, and I emptied my bottle of white vinegar and there was only half a cup. I used way more onion than called for as I didn’t measure, I just used a mandolin to thinly slice a whole sweet onion. Which is fine because if I don’t eat them all before I make a burger, I’ll just put pickles and pickled onions on the burger. Just great, simple and easy. Just those three spices were perfect. Thank you.
Absolutely perfect as is. I have made them numerous times now and everyone LOVES them. Crispy, tart, sweet…YUM!
I love these pickles! 4th time making them! Thank you for sharing!
These are awesome, so easy and crispy and delish, made some last week and making more today, perfect recipe, will always have homemade bread and butter in the fridge thank you for sharing
My family and friends love the Bread and butter pickles. We grow our own cucumbers and I enjoy making them the receipe is so easy.
I made these but added 3 Tbsp of pickling spice . Sooooo delish!!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
My pickling cucumbers have started coming on heavy in my garden and I looked for recipe for B&B pickles. I found yours, made a couple of jars using your recipe exactly. I waited two days and popped one open for a taste….”OMG!” I love these pickles. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
I used this recipe to make Sweet Hoagie Peppers, swapping out red and green bell peppers for the cucumbers. Phenomenal!
I also did a batch of Bread and Butter Giardiniera, as I dislike the texture of olive oil-based giardinieras. We’ll find out how those went in a few days.
I have been making bread & butter pickles for maybe 40+ years and have never added brown sugar
Right I was wondering about the brown sugar. Would that alter the taste or liquid consistency? I’ve always used white sugar to.
Hi, the brine is coming to a boil on my stove now. I’m just curious as to why there is no water in the brine solution. I’ve never made refrigerator bread and butter pickles before, however I’ve made refrigerator dill pickles often, and there is water in the brine along with the vinegar.
These pickles are perfect as is. I don’t know why people have to start mucking about with the recipe. It’s easy, quick to make and tastes amazing. Yeah, you can substitute ingredients if you want, but WHY? And if you do, why tell us about it?
I Love it when people share if their alterations worked well or not. sometimes i’m out of an item or need to reduce sugar for health reasons or whatever and it helps to see if someone has tried it and how it work.
what i don’t like is when people alter a recipe and give it a bad rating cause its not the actual recipe they’re rating.
How long can you keep in fridge?
Just made these….WOW!! We love them. When I went to add the apple cider vinegar…it was bad. So I added white balsamic in its place!! Tastes great!!
Hi
I am looking to try these can I omit the brown sugar.
Love these pickles. Made them twice and both times my pickles shriveled. Does any one know why this happens? Followed recipe as written
I was wondering why you suggest not to can this recipe? We so love these that we would like to preserve them to last us thru the winter. Such an awesome recipe! We just love them & so does everyone I give them out to!
I wonder if the measurements of ingredients in this recipe are not safe for canning. That could be why she states it in the recipe. I would love to can these for winter and wonder if anyone knows what it needs in order to be safe.
I added 3 taps of ground cloves. It turned out delicious. Great recipe!!
I made these yesterday afternoon and couldn’t even wait the 24 hours to try them. They are delicious! More tangy than most sweet bread and butter pickles and very crisp!! They’ll be amazing on hamburgers. The onions are delicious too!
I wish we could access pickling cucumbers year-round so I could always have a jar of these on hand. I’ll have to can some as well but they won’t be the same! (I used 10% vinegar which may have added some tang).
PS. I used 10% acetic acid vinegar so that may be why mine are a little tart – but I love it!
Can these be stored in Tupperware or other plastic containers instead of glass jars
I have just discovered this recipe and I was wondering how long would these last in the fridge before you have to throw them out, provided there are any left.
Thank you
The recipe states 1 month in the fridge.
The recipe looks great, and I intend to try it this week, however, I wanted to write a review to address a recurring problem, Nutritional counts are not of any real value unless a serving size is indicated. Is the recipe 300 calories for the whole batch or for an undisclosed number of grams or ounces of pickles?
Right above the nutritional value box it states that the value is based on 1 cup in juice
I was given 6lbs of cucumbers, what to do, so I went to your website, the best pickles ever, maybe the bread an butter, Next I want to make garlic and dill, yummmm.
I really LOVE this recipe. I come back here to get it every summer when the cucumbers are ready to harvest. Good job girl!!
Actually, these are quite good! (I was prepared to be disappointed, as I’ve always done the traditional type canning.) For some reason, yellow mustard seeds were sold out in both my local grocery stores, so I substituted brown mustard seeds. I also used half light & half dark brown sugar. Very tasty!
I used to buy a particular brand of B&B pickles that I thought were crisper than most, they don’t hold a candle to these. I love the flavor and crunch!! (I confess that I typically use splenda rather than sugar to minimize the carbs, and they are delicious!)
I’m trying to see reviews about long term storage of these outstanding b&b pickles.
Thank you so much MICHELLE for provide a Refrigerator bread idea. It’s very healthy for us and looks delicious. I love your blogs, Now I make this refrigerator bread at home. It’s all credit goes to you. Again, thank you for share your beautiful ideas. I hope you will soon provide some more ideas.
These are wonderful! We no longer buy bread and butter pickles!
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
These are amazing. This is my third batch! ❤️
How long do they last in the refrigerator ?
Hi Jeff, About 1 month.
We love this recipe! I did change it a little; I do not salt or soak the cucumbers and onions. The results I get are still fantastic, (and no salt.) I’ve also used your recipe to pickle dried pineapple, mango, papaya, and even avocado. I think we eat these pickled creations every day; so good! Thank you.
Made a bunch of these last year,put them in small tupper ware containers and into freezer,had pickles all winter
Just like fresh, will be making a lot more this yr. thanks
You can also use canning jars to freeze in. I don’t fill to the top for expansion, have not used them to freeze pickles but freeze baked beans in them
I will say the pickles don’t taste anything like the bread & butter pickles you buy in the store.
That’s a good thing! Many store-bought foods are full of chemical additives, fillers, and dyes. These are natural and delicious.
Good and full description, thanks for such extensive material. It will definitely come in handy and I will share it with my friends, thanks
Perfect! I have made these many times. Too many to count. Reliably good, even if I mistakenly alter white/apple cider vinegar ratio. Used different cucumber varieties, they all turn out great. I usually use onion, but shallots are excellent also. I also add whole coriander, just a preference in our house. They are amazing! Not for canning! (But they won’t last long, gobbled up so fast!)
I have a large jar of pickling spices. Could I use these instead of the celery and mustard seed?
I think that would work just fine. Enjoy!
Absolutely stunning! Thank you on a detailed recipe! 🙂
My Norwegian great-grandmother served these every holiday. We had a Norwegian meat fest on NY Eve and this was the perfect bread & butter pickle to serve with them. You don’t need to change a thing, though I two things…I doubled the mustard seed because I love them so!! Second, I took a fork and scored the cucumbers with the fork lengthwise before slicing them on a mandoline. Thank you for sharing, just delicious!
Such a great recipe thank you for sharing with us.
I made these last year and am about ready to make some again but with a little change to the recipe that I tried before. Because I saw statements to the effect that these were a crisp pickle and I prefer mine a little less crunchy after doing everything as mentioned but before putting the cucumbers in the jars I put them in the heated liquid for about 5 minutes and then scooped them out with a slotted spoon, put them in the jars, poured the liquid in till the jars were filled to the top (possibly adding a little more vinegar before putting the regular metal lids on them.
The next morning when I got up the jars had actually sealed as if I had canned them so I took a chance since I had so many jars and ate them all last winter and even had a jar to take for Thanksgiving dinner this year where everyone who tried them said they were better than any store bought ones they would normally buy.
I do all my ‘canning’ this way. I put whatever jam, salsa, chilli sauce, pickles hot into hot sterilized jars, put on 2 piece lids that have been simmered and still hot, tighten and then listen for the sealing ‘pop’ a few minutes later.I store jars in my cold cellar on a shelf. Currently eating raspberry jam from 2015. I’ve been doing things this way for nearly 50 years. No spoilage and no one got ill…ever. So much easier. Iv3 never done the ‘boiling bath’ thing.
Thanks for sharing your canning experiences! Quite helpful!
Wow, these look so amazing and yummy. Looks so delicious. Need to try them
Yes I made this recipe twice. The first time I left the cucumber overnight in the sss as lt and while it was good it was a little salty. The 2nd time I followed the recipe exactly as written with amazing results in taste and great comments from others. I took a jar to a friend and while sitting on their porch for only 45 minutes half the jar was gone. They said I don’t know what is better the pickles or the onion. I put these pickles and onion on most of my sandwiches. I’m 70 years and my friends want me to open a pickle shop.
Making my 2nd batch in 2 weeks! This recipe is perfect. I’ve gifted away a few jars and eveyone agrees. Thanks for sharing!!.
These pickles look so amazing and I am feel very much tempted to try these out. I am sure my husband will love it.
Hi, Michelle. This is Saswati Dey from India. I have just go married and prepared this pickel which is loved by Husband and his family too much. He has gisted me a nice digital alarm clock as a presnt for this great food. https://decoraterstore.com/best-digital-alarm-clock-india-2020/
Thanks again. You are adarling.
I planted Armenian cucumbers this year, and I only got one cuke off of them. And it was slightly bitter. (it was a bad year in the garden for everything except the volunteer tomatillos) I used this recipe to make B&B pickles from it. (mostly. I scaled it back about 25% and I used all white sugar.) It made one quart of pickles and they were wonderful. Especially after being in the fridge for a couple of days. I also put a few dried red serrano pepper slices in because I remember my mom’s pickles had a little bit of heat, but they didn’t really do anything — the red looks pretty in the jar though :) The pickles are almost gone, I think I might put jalapenos and more sliced onions in the juice.
Yummy! It’s appealing enough to make me try it.
Hi, Michelle. My mom made this pickle and we loved it too much. She said thank you.
Question actually. Can you make these using straight apple cider vinegar? I am allergic to wheat so I can’t use distilled vinegar’s, this is the reason I have to make my own pickles.
Yes, straight cider vinegar will work in a recipe like this. It might taste a little different but not much. But if you really can’t have distilled vinegar (there shouldn’t be any wheat left after the distilling process) make sure your apple cider vinegar really is made from apples and is not apple cider *flavored* vinegar. A lot of them are just distilled grain vinegar with a little caramel color and apple flavor added — which is fine for some applications for most people but maybe not for you. HTH
These pickles look so good. They seem so easy to make too. Love the pictures…now I’m craving them….
First time trying any sort of pickle, and they turned out Wonderful!! Thank you so much!
Excellent!!
These were the best refrigerator b&b pickles. I am about to make my second batch this year.
This recipe is fabulous. The first batch is gone.
Can this recipe be made and canned?
Can the cucumbers be packed in the bottles and pour in the hot brine and sealed? If not do you have a recipe for bread and butter pickles for storing until winter. Thanks
Made my fourth batch of pickles, and I haven’t given any away!, wonderful use of my cucumbers.
thanks for the recipe. i love it
Love this recipe, i grew my own Kirbys last summer, I ended up making 6 and 1/2 gallons of these, everybody loved them. I know you said they stay fresh in the fridge for about a month, but I have to say that we finished the last gallon of them at the end of June and they were still awesome and crisp.
FAB-U-LOUS! Absolutely LOVE these pickles! We grew cucumbers in the garden this year and I’ve made 2 double batches (at different times), and am down to my last jar. Of course I shared a couple jars with my MIL, but otherwise we ate them all ourselves! Especially easy to make if you have a mandoline to speed up the slicing, but if you don’t have one don’t let that deter you! I’d do them with a knife if I didn’t already have one.
A keeper in my book.
Hi
can I us any kind of cucumbers, I have an over abundance of English cucumbers and don’t want to waste them
Thanks
Sure, that would work!
I love this recipe! I have even kicked up a little by adding hot peppers for a sweet heat. And I’ve also used it on mixed veggies
Thank you so much! These are delicious, crunchy, and so easy!
Quick, easy and tasty. My kind of recipe
I have to say…These bread and butter pickles taste the EXACT SAME as my grandma’s did when I was little. I am now 50 years old and have not been able to eat bread and butter pickles for 30 years because that was the last time my grandma made some for me. I have tried every single bread and butter pickle on the market and can’t find one I like, (my grandma spoiled me!). I will continue to make these and will continue to grow cucumbers for this recipe alone.
Thank you so very much for this recipe…It is AMAZING and has brought back a flood of memories with every bite!!!
I used Swerve granular sugar and Splenda brown sugar as substitutes in the recipe to make a lower carb version. They are delicious and my family loves them. I just made my fourth batch this summer and have been sharing with family and friends who keep requesting more !
These pickles are absolutely delicious! It’s always my “go to” recipe for fresh cucumbers out of our garden. I share several jars with friends and family. I love the simplicity of it and they last a long time in the refrigerator. Thanks so much!
Made this recipe and they are already half gone. Making another batch tomorrow. Super easy, just follow the recipe. Thank you so much
I planted cucumbers in my garden this year and have an overabundance. So I looked for pickle recipes and settled on
this one. It’s really great, my daughter loves them so much I’m making her another batch. Well done on the recipe.
Thanks
When you have a half-bushel of pickling cucumbers and you’ve already made freezer Copycat (Starts with a C) Kosher Dill refrigerated pickles, what else do you do?
Make up some of these bread and butters. I will also say, I froze the Kosher Dills and plan on doing the same with these. They will remain crisp, as did the Copycat dills, for several weeks. But neither one will last that long, guaranteed! And, I put them in ziplock quart freezer bags to help save space.
I made this recipe last year and it was fabulous! Making them again this year!
Yummy!🌞
Had to use 1.5 recipe of liquid to cover my cucumbers. Will have to wait 24 hours to taste them, however they smell divine. Sure we will enjoy them tomorrow.
I’m on my second quart of these. I’ll admit, I mostly ate the first jar by myself and literally put them on everything lol! SO GOOD and I’m a picky bread and butter pickle gal! All the flavors blend perfectly and it’s this perfect balance of sweet and tang! I never write reviews but couldn’t let this one pass!
Been experimenting with different recipes since I’ve gotten so many pickled cucumbers this year! This is by far my favorite recipe and have gotten a lot of compliments on my pickles :)
Thanks for sharing and highly recommend!
Making my 2nd batch in 2 weeks! This recipe is perfect. I’ve gifted away a few jars and eveyone agrees. Thanks for sharing!!
Just curious, why not can this recipe? My friend canned these and they’re amazing!! I didn’t eat them after they sat for months and month, though.
Love the fact that you
can have crunchy pickles so quickly. Thringanks for sharing.
Michelle these are absolutely delicious with the perfect seasonings, and it comes together so quickly!
Thank you for sharing the recipe–it’s now a family favorite!
I made your recipe a couple of years ago and loved it. Making again this summer. Why do you not suggest canning this way? I don’t want to change up the recipe as it’s perfect the way it is. I’m so hoping to can it this way. Let me know. Thank you
This is a really good got water bath for bread and butter pickles and they’re shelf ready. I made some using summer squash and some using zucchini and they’re AWESOME
https://www.thespruceeats.com/bread-and-butter-pickles-p2-3059126
Making my third batch! These are the best sitting one week in the refrigerator, but you might not be able to wait that long.
My pregnant friend, who lives next door, was my inspiration.
Who knew they were her husband’s favorite pickle:)
Good idea to wait for the cucumbers to sit in salt for the requested 1 hr 1/2. I believe it dries them out a bit so they “float” less?
Yummy.
I was somewhat skeptical that the cucumbers would actually become pickles, but I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled with the final results. I didn’t have turmeric so I substituted a little curry in its place and still they received rave reviews from my family. Thanks for sharing!
Really simple to make and they turn out great every time.
What size jar does this recipe take and does it take more than one jar?
We tried these for the first time tonight and OMG! They are yummy! I couldnt keep my hubby out of them. We liked them so much that we have banana peppers and jalapeños in the fridge for tomorrow. Definitely gonna make these to share with family and friends.
I would have made this recipe but you have so many ads in the way I can’t see the recipe. Done with your site.
What’s the point of leaving a snotty comment? Just move along.
get an ad blocker, all these sites have ads, its 1 of the ways they make money. I have Adblocker Ultimate works great.
These pickles are the bomb! I shared mine with two friends and they gave them rave reviews too!
Loved the taste. Very easy to make.
These pickles are amazing and so easy to make!! We can’t keep a jar in the house because we eat them so fast. And I have the same exact crinkle cutter as in your picture. Maybe it’s a Pittsburgh girl thing? 😉
Thanks so much for always posting so many easy and great tasting recipes!
I’ve been making these for 2 years now. First time I’d made pickles and so easy!! I love them and everyone else does also. They stay crunchy and they are on my table with every meal. Thank you for sharing!
Just read your commentary today, and I couldn’t agree and love you more! Well said… 💕💕💕
This is our favorite bread and butter pickle recipe! Delicious and so easy.
Making this today – can’t wait. Gentle question regarding the nutrition label – assuming the sodium is incorrect. :)
YUM!!! My uncle was making these and we loved them so I got the recipe from him and have made them myself now! I’ve never made pickles before, they were super easy and are so good.
A question – if I save the brine can I pour it cold over the next batch? Or does it have to be hot?
So glad you’ve been enjoying these! Many other readers have mentioned reusing the brine for a second batch, so I think that would be okay.
These were so easy and tasted great! I’ll be making them again soon.
I make them for my niece every year. So now I am auntie pickles. They are so good.
I’ve never made homemade pickles before. It was easy and they are delicious!! I gave some to my in-laws and they loved them too. :)
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This is by far the best recipe I have used for refrigerator bread and butter pickles!!! Thank you
I made these a couple months ago and not really being a fan of vinegar, I didn’t care for them but my mom loved them so I sent them home with her. Pickling cucumbers were in the market today so I tried the recipe again using only Rice Vinegar. I didn’t have Turmeric so I used Mustard Power instead. I love these! I’ve already “tasted” more than I should and can’t wait until tomorrow. Thanks for this recipe!
Just made a batch of these pickles and they turned out beautifully! In the fridge now and can’t want to try them tomorrow!
I have been making these pickles for over a year now, and finally got around to thanking you for this terrific recipe. My grandchildren devour these delicious pickles, and reminds me of my grandmother’s bread and butters. My favorite pickle recipe 😍👌
best pickles ever. I modified the recipe for canning. Still awesome.
This is a ‘real deal’ recipe! Very tasty, even as a side dish. Goes well with fatty foods especially. I have made variations of this over the years. It’s a great hostess gift as well. If your market has pearl onions, you can use them whole. Who doesn’t love pickled onions?
Help! I accidentally added 1/2C brown sugar to brine instead of 1/4C!!! Remedy, please…?😉
I did just the same thing in my first batch. I used 3/4 c white sugar and 1/4 c brown sugar in the next batch and could see little difference in taste. Just less sugar for us diabetic folks.
I’m out of tumeric. Will it make a noticeable difference if I don’t use?
We made this today and decided after tasting them we had to make more. Rushed out and bought more stuff to make double the recipe. Added crunched cloves of garlic 4 per bottle (We love garlic) but this recipe was so wonderful. We are now making batches :)
I used to love these as a kid many decades ago; my grandmother would put up lots every summer coming from the last generation where ‘if you wanted it canned you canned it yourself’. With her own home grown cucumbers no less. Your recipe brings back lots of faded memories and makes delicious pickles. I only make one small addition, four or five cloves in the bottom of each jar. The pickle slices and onions come out of the jar with a delightful spicy perfume. Try it sometime.
I don’t have mustard seed .Should I attempt this without?
You could, but I do think it adds wonderful flavor; if you can get to the store to buy some, I would!
Best Bread ‘n Butter pickles ever! Love love love these pickles! Also, really love the Browneyed Baker site for the best most reliable recipes.
This is the only refrigerator pickle recipe I’ll use from now on! They are delicious and so easy. I did use a few more cucumbers though.
I’ve used this recipe all summer, and we love it! One of the best tasting, palate cleansing, recipes that all of have loved!
If you process these in water bath is vinegar brine strong enough to be shelf stable
Why can’t I use this recipe for canning?
Because canning requires very specific amounts of acidity in order to prevent botulism. If you want to can them, flow a canning recipe.
I just made these pickles using larger diameter cucumbers. Both table cucumbers with green skin and Lemon cucumbers with yellow skin. I did add calcium chloride to try and see if that will crisp up the pickles.
Time will tell.
I made these 2 weeks ago and they are gone! Perfect bread and butter pickles!
My family and friends can’t get enough. Went to the farmers market last night and am making a double batch. Thank you for your yummy recipe.
Absolutely, LOVE these bread & butter pickles! Easy to make! Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome results, everyone loved them..so simple to make..
Wow…quick and oh so good!! Plan on making more.
I just made this recipe for the first time I think I cut my cucumbers too thin and added too much onion will this make it mushy and oniony ?
A very easy recipe. They taste pretty good but I would lessen the vinegar and increase the sugar!
Yum fast and easy. I added some jalapeno rings for some extra zest. Definately a keeper
This is soooooo easy! My family loves these pickles. A great way to use up all the extra cucumbers the garden is gifting us with!
HI! Found a typo you may want to correct.
You say this:
You’ll combine white vinegar, cider vinegar, WHITE SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR, mustard seed, celery seed and ground turmeric in a saucepan.
But the recipe says this:
½cup apple cider vinegar
¼cup LIGHT BROWN SUGAR
1½teaspoons mustard seeds
What happened to the white sugar?
Looking forward to trying!
My pickles taste very vinegary. What did I do wrong? I added more sugar plus water that I simmered but they are too vinegary I LOVE the simple, easy to follow recipe!
I just made these and they are so easy and delicious!
Can I process these like I do for freezer pickles where I can use at a later date.
There is only 2 of us and the freezer recipe is great for us but can still refrigerate some for use in the long to short term.
I think freezing these should be okay.
Thanks for these. Added two Serrano peppers and got a little heat! Perfect amounts of everything!
I was thinking I too wanted to add some heat. Did you slice your peppers or leave them whole?
Our mustard seeds here is black instead of the one you’re using. Not sure if that would affect the taste somehow ? Do you know ? I wouldn’t wanna try and then waste an entire batch of cucumbers. Hope I get a reply on this.
I don’t think it should matter, as long as they’re regular mustard seeds.
Way too sour to be b and b’s. Unless I tweak next time, won’t be making these again.
I made these 2 days ago. When I tried one today I found them to be bitter. Followed the recipe as written. Not sure why they would be bitter. Is there anything I can do to take the bitter taste away??
It could be the pot you boiled the liquid in. You need to use a non-reactive pot whenever you boil vinegars so you don’t leach metal into your liquid. I found this out the hardway years ago after I spent an hour peeling tiny quail eggs to pickle.
I finally had a chance to make these now that we have a garden and a surplus of cucumbers. They are SO GOOD! Even my husband likes them, and he’s not always keen on sweeter pickles, but prefers spicier things. This is definitely going to be a recipe that I use again and again.
Hey, Kristina, I added two Serrano peppers to mine and got that spicy kick your husband might like!
The best ever
Thanks for this recipe. I’m going to use it as a template to make a different blend of spices with less sugar.
Brine recipe doesn’t even cover the cucumbers :(
only covers half.
I love making these. Simple, easy, and most of all delicious!!! I like to add a 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes for a little heat.
You’re right. Although the pickles are yummy…..I’ve used this recipe for a couple of years. Makes yummy pickles, but I always have to double the brine amounts to get enough to cover pickles once they are jarred.
As they sit they make more water, mine did anyway, were swimming in brine by the time i moved to fridge
So very easy and came out deliciously! I used cucumbers and zucchini and used brown sugar and date sugar.
I so love them!! Can you eat them all and add more cucumbers?? Or do you pour out and remake?
People around my area make something similar to the pickles, but include zucchini, yellow squash, red, yellow, and green peppers, onions, and sometimes carrots. Could this liquid be used to make this treat, also?
Yes, absolutely!
I accidently salted them too much on step 1 (for some reason I had it in my head that I was doubling the recipe). Is all lost? Will they be super salty??
Hannah, did the saltiness mellow out?
My pickles are not completely covered, what can i do?
can this recipe be canned?
No, it is not formulated for long-term storage.
Wow! The flavor is spot on! This was so simple to do and my family loves them. An entire jar gone in less than 30 minutes. So good!
We love love love these pickles. Can’t wait for our garden to start producing our pickling cucumbers to make again. Just wanted to let everyone know that these do hold up well wayyyyyy past the month mark. I made them last summer, put them in my spare refrigerator and ate my last jar in December and they were just as crunchy and yummy.
I made these last year and they were fabulous. Really tasty and easy to make. I was wondering if there is something that can be substituted for the sugars, not artificial but natural like possibly coconut palm sugar? Or if anyone has tried making this with a natural sugar. Thanks again for a great recipe!! Make them and you won’t be disappointed!!!
I used swerve substitute for sugar and they came out fabulous! No aftertaste, just perfect
Can this recipe be used to make whole B&B pickles????
Hi Angi, did you ever receive a reply about making a whole B&B pickles recipe? I can’t find any info on why they are always sliced and I would prefer to make mine whole, but am wondering if there is some good reason why they are never prepared that way? If you have gained any experience or insights (since you posted the question several months ago) that you can share, I would totally appreciate it. Thanks, John
I’m glad to see you did that. I’m diabetic and I was looking ❤️
I love these. I have been making them weekly because they keep disappearing. The only thing I do change is I add sliced jalapenos to make them sweet and spicy.
Becky, about how many jalapeno’s do you use?
Made 2 batches, some like it hot! In one jar I added a Tablespoon of red pepper flakes! They are definitely spicy! As a fan of bread and butter pickles, these were wonderful! Other than the peppers in one jar, I followed the recipe exactly. I will be making this recipe again soon because these won’t be in the fridge long! Thank you for this recipe!
Joie, great idea! I did that with the dill pickles I made, but didn’t think to add the chilis to this one. Will do that next time.
Omg! This recipe for refrigerated bread and butter pickles was fabulous..they taste awesome..and I never liked bread and butter pickles…thank you so much for the recipe..you made a bread and butter pickle lover out of me..
‘I’ve been canning his exact recipe for any years and storing them as well. They come out perfect for the past dozen years. Just wondering why you DO NOT suggest canning???
Can you tell me how to can them? I am new to this. I would like to make a big batch and keep it on a shelf through the year
I can them also….they turn out fine
Did you go by this recipe when you caned these?
I do t have the small cukes year round, can you use English or regular cukes for this recipe?
I made these last week, and they were very easy to make and when chilled down, they are
delicious! I will be making them again.
Awesome recipe😀 made them my son in law who passionetly hates pickles loved them n ate them out of the jar!!
Horrible. They taste like vinegar… the vinegar burns the back of my throat when I eat even one. I saw other recipes that add water. This recipe does not. Is that the reason why? I’m American and moved to South Korea where I can’t find this kind of pickle so I wanted to make it myself. Now I have so many terrible pickles and we have to eat them so as not to waste.
WOW!!! That’s amazing to hear. Is it possible that your vinegar was rancid? Did you remember to put in the brown sugar and white sugar? I can’t get enough of how delicious and sweet these are and I followed the recipe to a T
This is a wonderful recipe! I have made it three times so far this year from our summer garden, and will be making it again with regular cucumbers from the grocery store. Hopefully, they will turn out as good. Thank you for sharing!!!
Best tasting refrigerator bread and butter pickles! My husband was eating them out of the bowl before I could get them in containers. Served them to a friend and her fiance – it was our first time meeting him. He got tears in his eyes while eating them and we were concerned – he told us that they reminded him of his aunt’s homemade bread and butter pickles. She had died several years ago and he didn’t think he would ever taste anything like her pickles again….he was thrilled to get recipe. Taste evokes wonderful memories!
Thanks again!
Do you have a recipe for these pickles for canning?
Hi Rhonda, I do not, unfortunately.
I have made this recipe twice and I love the pickles, but I have not had enough liquid to fill the jars holding the cucumbers either time. This time I ended up with 3 pint jars and had another pint jar and a half pint jar full of cucumbers, but with no liquid left to fill them. I even make a 1 1//2 times the recipe for the liquid. I had 1 pound 11 ounces of cucumbers.
Do you sterilize the jars before and if so what method? Thanks
Hi Anne, No I just run them through the dishwasher before using.
So thankful to come across this recipe, I’ve made more jars of pickles than I can count this year…..everyone loves them!! So easy and doesn’t matter they are only good far a month in frige…they don’t last a week!
How long do these last in refrigerator
Hi Sherri, For 1 month.
I made this last week thay were so good 😍😍 I made 6 jars and thay did not make it past 3 days. Everyone who came over tried them and took a jar 😅😅😅
Awesome! Sharing it with my friends and family!
Just put them into the jars and waiting to sample. The brine is really tasty and I cannot wait to add theseto our plates! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
So easy and so delicious!
I’m making these for the third time this season. My family loves them! Also, the brine makes amazing pickled eggs!!! Just pour over peeled hard boiled eggs and let sit in the fridge for a few days. A dozen eggs doesn’t last more than 2 weeks in the house, everyone eats them so quick!
These are very good and so easy to make. I’m currently making a batch, this time I’m adding sliced peppers as well as onions just because I have it all from my car. Looking forward to eating this batch with Mississippi roast sandwiches tomorrow!
I made these last week for my big macs, they were so easy and turned out so good! No wonder they’re one of your most popular recipes.
I think i will love the way that u have put the pickles on the internet
Great Refrigerator B&B Pickles!!!
Excellent, made them last year, making a
batch as I’m writing this👍🏼
What would you recommend adding to this recipe to make it spicy? :)
Hi Kyla, I would try crushed red pepper flakes!
So how long will they last in the fridge?
Hi Jana, About 1 month. Enjoy!
I just made these! I have a small mandolin with three thickness settings and zipped right through the cucumbers and the onion when it was time to add it. While I am not a fan of sweet pickles, even I am impressed by how zippy these are after only a moment sitting in their brine! Hubby, who loves bread & butter pickles gave an appreciative “MmmM!!” after sneaking an early taste too!
Thank you for your wonderful recipes! You have never steered me wrong! ♥
I just made these for the first time. So simple and easy. At this point, they’re sitting on my counter step. I’ll let you know in 25 hours.
They came out delicious.
I made these for a friend last week and they loved them! I added a bit of chopped garlic and they turned out great! I am making more for my friend today. Thanks for the great and easy recipe!
You’re welcome, Marlene! I’m so thrilled to hear they were well-received!
What is the recipe for long term caned bread and butter pickles?