If you have never made homemade pickles before, this refrigerator bread and butter pickle recipe is the perfect place to start. Fresh cucumbers and sweet onion get packed into a half gallon jar with a simple sweet and tangy brine made from apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and turmeric. There is no canning equipment required, no special skills needed, and the whole thing comes together in about 20 minutes.
Just let the jar cool, pop it in the fridge, and in one week you have the most flavorful crunchy homemade pickles you have ever tasted.
These homemade bread and butter pickles are so much better than anything you can buy at the store and they are a wonderful way to use up an abundance of garden cucumbers at the end of summer.
The brine is perfectly balanced between sweet and tangy with just the right amount of spice from the mustard seeds and a beautiful golden color from the turmeric.
I make a few jars every summer and we enjoy them on burgers, sandwiches, snack boards, and straight from the jar all the way into fall. Once you try homemade refrigerator pickles you will never go back to store bought.
If you are looking for more cucumber recipes try my Cucumber Salad with Vinegar Dressing, my Creamy Cucumber Salad or my Watermelon Cucumber and Feta Salad.
You can find all of my snack recipes here: Gluten Free Snack Recipes
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Instructions
This recipe makes one 2 quart or half gallon jar. I slice up the cucumbers and the onions and then layer them into the jar. Be sure to press them in as you go so you can get everything into the jar.
Next I make the brine in a saucepan on my stovetop. When it's complete I pour it over the jar of pickles and onions. Let the jar set on your counter until it is cooled before placing a lid on and putting it in your refrigerator.
I like to shake the jar every other day to keep the spices mixed up with the liquid. I let the jar set in the refrigerator for one week before tasting the pickles. At this point they should have a vinegar and spice pickle flavor with a bit of sweet.
Supplies
Storage
Store the pickles in your refrigerator for up to 1-2 months in an air tight jar or container. The pickles will get more flavor the longer they sit in the brine.
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Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 1 half gallon jar 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This easy refrigerator bread and butter pickle recipe makes the most crunchy and flavorful homemade pickles with no canning required! Fresh cucumbers and sweet onion are packed into a half gallon jar with a simple sweet and tangy brine made from apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and turmeric. Ready to eat in one week and perfect for burgers, sandwiches, snack boards, and snacking straight from the jar.
Ingredients
- 6 cups Cucumbers, thinly sliced rounds
- 2 cups Sweet Onion, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 cup White Vinegar
- 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1 tsp. Mustard Seeds
- ½ tsp. Celery Seeds
- ½ tsp. Ground Turmeric
Instructions
Make sure your 2 quart jars or half gallon jar is clean and sterilized. I like to run my jar through the dishwasher and the heat dry before using it.
Slice the cucumber and the sweet onion. Layer the cucumber and sweet onion into your jar or jars.
On the stovetop in a saucepan heat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers and onions in the jar. This should fill the jars to the top and completely cover the cucumbers and onions. If it doesn't add a bit more apple cider vinegar or water to the jar.
Let the jar cool completely on your countertop. After the jar has cooled place a lid on the jar and put it in the refrigerator.
I shake the jar every other day to keep the spices mixed in. The pickles should be ready to eat in a week.
Notes
Refrigerator bread and butter pickles should keep in your refrigerator for 1-2 months.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Condiments
- Method: Pickling
- Cuisine: American
If you make these Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles I would love to hear how they turned out! Leave a star rating and a comment below and let me know what you served them with.
Don't forget to save this recipe to your Pinterest boards so you can find it again all cucumber season long!
Top Tips
I start using the pickles after a week in the brine, but the flavor gets even better after two weeks.
These refrigerator bread and butter pickles are perfect for a snack board and on hamburgers. They are a great way to use extra cucumbers from the garden.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes and pickling cucumbers are actually a great choice for this recipe! They tend to have thinner skins, fewer seeds, and a firmer flesh than regular slicing cucumbers, which means they stay crunchier longer in the brine. If you are using pickling cucumbers you can slice them the same way as regular cucumbers. Either variety works beautifully in this recipe so use whatever you have on hand or whatever is growing in your garden.
Yes, starting with a clean sterilized jar is important for food safety and for keeping your pickles fresh as long as possible. The easiest way to sterilize your jar is to run it through the dishwasher on the hot dry cycle right before you use it. You can also wash it thoroughly with hot soapy water and let it air dry completely. Since these are refrigerator pickles and not shelf stable canned pickles the sterilization process does not need to be as rigorous as traditional canning, but a clean jar makes a big difference.
Absolutely! The sweet and tangy brine in this recipe works beautifully with other vegetables too. Cauliflower florets, sliced bell peppers, sliced jalapeños, and green beans are all great options. You can even do a mix of cucumbers and another vegetable in the same jar. If you love pickled cauliflower specifically I also have a dedicated refrigerator pickled cauliflower recipe on the blog that you might enjoy.
A few things can cause soft refrigerator pickles. The most common reason is that the cucumbers sat in the brine too long before being refrigerated. It is important to let the jar cool completely on the counter before putting the lid on and moving it to the fridge, but do not leave it out longer than necessary. Using very fresh cucumbers also makes a big difference in crunch. Older cucumbers that have been sitting in the refrigerator for a while tend to produce softer pickles. Slicing the cucumbers thicker can also help them hold their texture better in the brine.
Yes you can reduce the sugar to suit your taste preferences. Keep in mind that the sugar is what balances the tartness of the vinegar and gives bread and butter pickles their signature sweet and tangy flavor. If you reduce the sugar too much they will taste more like a dill style pickle than a traditional bread and butter pickle. Start by reducing the sugar by a couple of tablespoons and taste the brine before pouring it over the cucumbers to find the right balance for you.
Absolutely! This recipe scales up very easily. Simply double or triple all of the ingredients to make two or three half gallon jars at once. Making a few jars at the end of summer when cucumbers are at their peak is a great way to stock your fridge with homemade pickles to enjoy well into the fall months. The flavor only gets better the longer they sit in the brine.
Samantha Stewart says
Can this recipe be used for canning also?
smallfarmbiglife says
Hi Samantha! I've never canned this recipe and have only ever used it as refrigerator pickles that are stored in the fridge after making. ~Elaine
Steven Munn says
How long can you store them in the refrigerator.
smallfarmbiglife says
Hi Steve. We keep these in the fridge 1-2 months usually. If the brine becomes murky or the pickles get mushy it's time to toss them out. I hope that helps. ~Elaine
Anne-Marie Carlson says
I plan to use this recipe with cauliflower. Can I substitute pickling spices for the mustard seeds, celery seeds and tumeric?
Thank you!
smallfarmbiglife says
Hi Anne-Marie. I have a recipe for pickled cauliflower also, but it uses a recipe for a spice mix and not pickling spices. I've always made my own spice mixture and have never used pickling spices so I'm unsure how much you would need for the recipe. Sorry I can't be more help. ~Elaine