Crunchy and Sweet Deep Fried Pickles Recipe - April Golightly (2024)

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You will flip for these deep fried pickles! They taste like indulgent fair food but you can make them right in your own kitchen. Make a really huge batch – your family will love them too!

My Pickle Obsession

I am slightly obsessed with pickles and have been for most of life. I am one of those savory over sweet people that love a good pickle and will take down a jar in one sitting.

I’ve had deep fried pickles at restaurants many times. Truly, it has probably every time that I see it on a menu. I’ve been dying to try to make them and felt compelled after I found these yummy looking bread and butter pickles. We used the deep fryer for the first time today to make these excellent deep-fried pickles. I know that you will love them as much as I do!

What are the best pickles to deep fry?

When it comes to taste, the choice is entirely up to you. I personally found that the bread and butter pickles have a slightly sweet taste that really helps the salty exterior stand out.

But I’ve also had some incredible dill pickles that people fried up.

Try some of each and do a taste test. See which you like best!

Can you make fried pickles in an air fryer?

If you don’t want to use hot oil, you can always make these in the air fryer too. In fact, Plated Cravings has a really fantastic recipe. She uses bread crumbs and flour and air fries them at 400 for about 10 minutes. It’s pretty simple and no grease splattering.

Deep Fried Pickle Recipe

Here’s my recipe! You can also find it at the bottom in a printable recipe card.

Ingredients

• 1 Gallon Vegetable oil
• 1 Jar Bread & Butter Pickles
• 2 Cups Low Fat Buttermilk
• 3 Cups All- Purpose Flour
• 3 Tbsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp CayennePepper

Tools & Supplies

These are the tools and things you’ll need before you fry up the pickles.

• Slotted Spoon or Strainer Ladle
• Deep Fryer (only $36!)
• Ziplock Bags
• Paper Towels

How to Make Deep Fried Pickles At Home

To do this you really will need a deep fryer. It makes them turn out the best, there’s no way around it.

1. Heat the Oil in the Deep Fryer.

You want it to get up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a thermometer if you have to – this is the perfect temperature for deep frying.

2. Drain the Pickles

This is important. If you want crispy fried pickles, you need to make sure and get the excess moisture off of them, so pour the pickle jar over a strainer in the sink to drain all the pickle juice.

3. Prepare the buttermilk.

In a large bowl, pour the buttermilk. You will use this for dredging.

4. Mix flour and spices in a bag.

In a large ziplock bag, add the 3 cups of flour and all the spices. Close the ziplock and mix the spices with the flour.

5. Dredge the pickles.

Dredge the pickles in the buttermilk, then put the pickle in the flour and repeat the buttermilk and then the flour again.

6. Fry the pickles.

Using a slotted spoon, drop the pickles into the fryer. Fry the pickles for 2 minutes on each side. You can flip them by pushing on one side of the pickle.

7. Drain the oil.

Line a large plate with two paper towels so that the oil can drain off. Pick up the basket out of the oil and let sit for a minute so the oil can drain and the fryer basket can cool.

8. Serve the pickles

Flip the basket over the paper towel-lined plate to sop up the oil. Serve with dipping sauce.

What to serve with fried pickles

These make a really great snack or a side dish at cookouts. If you fry up a huge batch, you’ll have enough for an entire party.

I love serving fried foods with something sweet to counteract the oil and grease. Here are some other appetizer or snack ideas that will taste amazing with these fried pickles.

• Fresh fruit salad
• Cheesecake
• Homemade apple pie
• Cake pops
• Cookies

Of course, you could also serve a bunch of fried foods together! The choice is up to you.

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More Deep Fried Recipes

Here are some more of my favorite fried recipes. These are all perfect for those indulgent snack times.

• Deep Fried Oreos – You will love how the white stuff in the middle melts in your mouth when you deep fry some Oreos. It isn’t just fair food!
• Soft Pretzel Bites – These are wonderful after school snacks. Perfect for parties too.
• Bacon Donut Recipe – There is nothing quite like the combination of fried bacon crumbles on a maple-flavored donut. It’s pure heaven.