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.
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.