Bread And Butter Pickles Recipe – No Canning Required

Homemade bread and butter pickles are hard to beat! This is the best bread and butter pickles recipe that has just enough sugar (but not too much) to lend a sweet tang. It’s the perfect easy recipe for first time pickle makers, and I’m sure you’ll agree how yummy they are!

These bread and butter pickles (or b&b pickles) are easy enough for a beginner to make with no canning required! Make these so you can delight your family and guests with a tasty treat early in the season as soon as your first cucumbers are ready to harvest.

Why I Love To Make Bread And Butter Pickles

I have a few different variations of pickles I like to make. Like these fermented pickles, garlic dill pickles or, for something totally different, my great-grandma’s mustard pickles (I also happen to love my pickled asparagus recipe, in which you could sub cucumbers for the asparagus!).

Once our garden begins to produce a harvest I love having recipes that are quick and easy to use up those first few ingredients.

When those first vegetables are ripening, they can come on kind of slowly. Sometimes it’s a fine line between too many to eat for dinner and too few to start canning. The same is true for the tail-end of the growing season.

That’s where this refrigerator bread and butter pickles recipe comes in! You can make any size jar of pickles and don’t have to worry about canning them or having enough to do a large batch.

Additionally, they will come out crunchy because there is no processing time. A perfect combination!

If you struggle keeping those canned pickles crunchy, head on over to my post on seven tips for crunchy pickles to learn what I do to get them just the way I like them.

How Did These Pickles Get Their Name?

The answers to this question are pretty diverse. Cucumbers are an easily grown vegetable and were likely easy to grow even during hard times.

When times are tough, people get creative. It’s possible they were eaten as a complete meal by taking two pieces of bread, slathering them with butter, and adding sweet, tangy pickles.

Another legend is that during the Great Depression, pickles were used to barter for staples such as bread and butter. Wherever the name originated, it stuck, and we have delicious bread and butter pickles today!

What Kind Of Cucumbers Are Best?

It’s best to use cucumbers intended for pickling. These are thin-skinned and shorter in length. To ensure crunchy pickles, cucumbers should be used within 24 hours of being harvested.

If you want to make this recipe but don’t have them planted in your garden, I recommend finding them at a farmer’s market or produce stand.

The wax on grocery store cucumbers prevents the pickling juices from soaking into the pickles. If store-bought cucumbers are your only option, look for English cucumbers or simply peel the skin off.

Tips for the Best Pickles (That Stay Crunchy)

There are a few tips to remember when making this homemade pickles recipe, especially if you want to avoid soggy pickles!

In fact, I have an entire post on seven tips for the crunchiest pickles, so be sure to read that for more tips.

When making pickles, it’s important to…

• Pick cucumbers in the morning. Cucumbers will be their firmest in the early morning. Try to avoid harvesting cucumbers in the afternoon when their water content is the lowest.
• Pick cucumbers when they’re ripe. If your cucumbers grow too large, they can get bitter or have off flavors. Pick cucumbers when they still have their prickly spines and are light to dark green in color. A cucumber is over-ripe when it turns pale yellow, loses its spines and gets bloated.
• Use a good pickling variety of cucumbers. There are countless varieties of cucumbers available to grow in the garden, but not all cucumbers make good pickling cucumbers. Choose a variety that’s known for pickling so it stays nice and crispy.
• Preserve them as soon as possible after harvesting. If you harvest cucumbers and let them sit at room temperature, they tend to get soft. Once a cucumber has gone soft, it won’t ever firm up again. So preserve them straight away, or put them in salt and ice water in the refrigerator if you don’t have enough to merit canning a batch. You can keep adding to the brine, then drain them in a colander when ready.
• Remove the blossom end. The blossom end contains enzymes that can cause soggy pickles. If the stem and blossom are both already removed and you’re not sure which end is the blossom end, look for the end that’s lighter green (watch the video for an example).
• Use an ice water/salt-water bath prior to canning. The ice water and salt help keep the pickles firm. The salt will actually help draw out excess moisture in the cucumber, which will result in a crispier pickle. You can soak cukes for up to three days in the refrigerator and add more as you harvest. Allow them to soak for a minimum of 12 hours, then drain off the water and proceed with the recipe.
• Add tannins! Tannins will also help keep pickles crunchy during the canning process. See the options for tannins in the ingredients needed section below (Grape Leaves or Black Tea).

Bread And Butter Pickles vs. Dill Pickles

Dill pickles are the most commonly known pickles. The main difference between dill pickles and bread and butter pickles is the addition of sugar and turmeric in bread and butter pickles. 

They both call for vinegar and similar seasonings with dill pickles using dill weed while bread and butter pickles use sugar.

Are They The Same As Sweet Pickles?

Bread and butter pickles are a type of sweet pickle because they have sugar in the recipe. However, there are many different recipes for sweet pickles with flavor variations. So although bread and butter pickles can be considered sweet pickles, not all sweet pickles are bread and butter pickles.

How to Make Bread & Butter Pickles

Supplies Needed

• Mason Jars and Lids – The wide mouth size works well for stuffing jars, but regular mouth work as well. Sterilize jars for the amount of pickles you are making. Pro Tip: After sterilizing, allow the hot jars to cool before packing with the sliced cucumbers. This will help keep them crisp.
• Knife – Used for cutting off the ends of the cucumbers. The blossom end contains enzymes that can soften the pickles.
• Mandolin (optional) – A mandolin works well for cutting uniform shapes, but I prefer to use a knife for thicker slices.
• Large Bowl – This is used to place the vegetables in after you cut them while waiting on the pickle brine to heat through.
• Stainless Steel Pan – While I love using cast iron in my kitchen, iron, zinc, brass and copper may react with the acid of the vinegar in this recipe. Stainless steel, anodized aluminum, or heatproof glass are best for pickling recipes.
• Canning Funnel and Ladle – The canning funnel makes it easier to pour the pickling juice into the jar and the ladle allows you to add the brine in a controlled manner.

Ingredients Needed

• Pickling Cucumbers – Pickling cucumbers work best for this recipe, but you can use any sliced cucumbers. That’s what makes this recipe so great for using up extra garden produce before it goes bad. Trim and slice the cucumbers with a knife or mandolin. For thick-skinned cucumbers, you may want to peel them first.
• Onion – Yellow, red, or any onion you have from the garden will work. You want sliced onions for this recipe.
• Bell Peppers – Any color combo of peppers you have on hand will work, you can even add some jalapenos if you want a sweet and spicy pickle. 
• White Vinegar – Vinegar that is below 5% acidity is not acidic enough to kill off microorganisms, preserve the pickles, and prevent spoilage. While I love to make apple cider vinegar at home, I am not certain of the acidity and choose store-bought white vinegar just to be safe. 
• Sugar – You can reduce this amount if you want, but I think the sugar is what makes them so good! One jar uses 2/3 cups sugar, so though that’s a lot, you’re not consuming all of it as much of it stays in the brine. For a flavor variation, you could use brown sugar.
• Mustard Seed – That classic sign of a bread and butter pickle is the mustard seed in the pickling spice.  
• Celery Seed – When it comes to celery seed, you don’t need much! This recipe calls for just 1 1/2 teaspoon celery seed.
• Turmeric – Turmeric is what gives bread and butter pickles that classic yellow color. A little goes a long way and this recipe only calls for 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric.
• Whole Cloves – You can use ground cloves as a substitute if you don’t have whole cloves on hand.
• Salt – Anytime I’m using salt on the homestead, you know it’s going to be Redmond’s Real Salt (get 15% off your order by using coupon code “Pioneering” at checkout). You may notice a pinkish-red sediment at the bottom of your jars of pickles, and this is completely normal and harmless. You can also use kosher salt or pickling salt, but don’t use table salt.
• Red Pepper Flakes – Though the recipe doesn’t call for it, if you want to add a little kick to your pickles, add 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the jar.

Step-by-Step Directions

Notice this recipe is for one quart jar of pickles. I wrote it intentionally like this because I tend to make my refrigerator pickles when I have just enough cucumbers for a single serving. You can make this batch in two pint jars, or double or triple the batch as needed for how many cucumbers you’re working with.

1. Wash a quart-size Mason jar and two-piece lid in hot soapy water (no need to use sterilized jars). Wide mouth jars work best when stuffing them for pickles, but the regular mouth will work as well.
2. In a stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, and spices to create your vinegar mixture. Bring the brine to a boil at medium-high heat and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, rinse your veggies (the peppers, cucumbers, and onions). Cut off the blossom end of the cucumber (it contains enzymes that can soften pickles) and slice evenly. Cut up all the rest of your vegetables and place them in a large bowl.
4. Layer the vegetables in the clean mason jar – thinly sliced cucumbers, peppers, and onions. Push down lightly to pack vegetables down and get a few more in. Allow 1/2″ headspace at the top of the jar. Place the jar on a towel folded in thirds.
5. Using a canning funnel or a ladle, pour the pickling liquid over the vegetables. You may have a slight amount left over, depending on how tightly you packed your jar.
6. Wipe the rim and apply the lid.
7. Allow to cool to room temperature for 30 minutes and then place in the refrigerator.

Pickles should marinate for two weeks and be used within three months. Confession: I always taste-test mine after two days and usually end up eating them all well before the two-week mark! But know the flavor will intensify over time.

How to Can Pickles

If you’d like to can this recipe, you simply need a hot water bath canner and some canning tools. Pro Tip: If you don’t have a canner, you can use a large pot. Just be sure the water is able to cover the jars by one to two inches.

1. While you’re packing your jars with the bread and butter pickles, prepare your water bath canner by filling it 2/3 full of water and bringing it to a low simmer on the stove.
2. When you’re ready to start canning, bring the water to a boil and place canning jars into the canner carefully.
3. Once all jars are in, bring the water back to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. (Check the altitude adjustment chart below if you’re 1,000 ft above sea level for total time.)
4. When time is up, remove each jar from the water bath and place it on a towel-lined counter.
5. Let cool for 12-24 hours. Remove rings to ensure a good seal, wipe jars, if needed, label and date and then store for up to one year.

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