Bread and butter pickles are hard to beat! This is the best refrigerator bread and butter pickles recipe that has just enough sugar (but not too much) to lend a sweet tang. 

These bread and butter 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 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 tailend 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 waxed cucumbers are your only option, be sure to peel the skin off.

What Is Different About Bread And Butter 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.

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. Slice or dice the onion into small pieces.
• 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!
• Mustard Seed – That classic sign of a bread and butter pickle. Did you know that mustard seeds are a source of protein? 
• Celery Seed – An interesting fact about these tiny seeds is that they have minerals that support bone health. It’s amazing the benefits our seasonings have!
• Turmeric – Turmeric is what gives bread and butter pickles that slight yellow color. It's become very popular over the last few years for its many health benefits such as improving heart health with its anti-inflammatory properties.
• Whole Cloves – You can use ground cloves as a substitute if you don’t have whole cloves on hand.

How To Make Bread And Butter Pickles

1. Wash in hot soapy water a quart-size mason jar and lid. 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. Bring the pickle brine to a boil at medium-high heat and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, rinse 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.

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