These super easy pickles are sweet and sour and crispy and best of all – no canning required!
Oh Lord, if you’ve never tried Bread & Butter pickles, you don’t know what you’re missing. Don’t get me wrong — I love a good dill slice on a burger, fried pickles with homemade ranch, or even a sweet gherkin now and then, but these are the only pickles I want to eat straight out of the jar. They’re sweet, tangy, and because they’re not cooked, they stay super crisp.
Why Are They Called Bread & Butter Pickles?
I always assumed it was because in the South we’ll slap just about anything between bread and butter and call it lunch. Turns out, I was wrong! The origin of Bread & Butter pickles goes back to Omar and Cora Fanning in the 1920s.
They sold their sweet-and-sour pickles under the name “Fanning’s Bread and Butter Pickles” and are said to have bartered them for basic groceries like bread and butter. So, there you go — a recipe and a history lesson all in one. Thanks, Mr. & Mrs. Fanning.
Do You Have to Use Turmeric in Bread & Butter Pickles?
Turmeric is one of the key spices in these pickles — it adds an earthy flavor and that bright yellow color we all expect. While there are substitutes (like saffron, annatto, or safflower), turmeric is the best option by far.
- What turmeric does: It’s closely related to ginger, used often in Indian cooking, and adds depth to the flavor of pickles.
- Basic pickle ingredients: Vinegar, sugar, salt, and turmeric are the foundation — with plenty of room to add your favorite spices and herbs.
- Health benefits: Turmeric is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and may support heart health, memory, and even arthritis relief.
Fun Spice Fact
Did you know saffron is more expensive than gold? It comes from the saffron crocus flower, and each flower has only three red stigmas.
It takes about 170,000 hand-picked flowers to make just one pound of saffron — which can cost up to $5,000! (Vanilla is the second most expensive spice, but I’ll save that story for another post.)
How to Make Bread & Butter Pickles
First you need some beautiful pickling cucumbers. They are much smaller and have a thicker skin than a regular cucumber, but if you can’t find them – that’s perfectly OK, small cucumbers will work.
Slice your cucumbers into 1/4″ thick slices. Cover them the salt, give a toss or two, cover and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.
If you have one of these fun crinkle cutters – use it, if not, that’s ok too.
Once your pickles have chilled out for a while, rinse them really well to get the salt off and then toss the onion in with the cucumbers.
Next, gather your brine ingredients. You’ll need both white & apple cider vinegars, both granulated and dark brown sugars (Light brown will work too), whole grain mustard or mustard seeds, celery seed and turmeric.
Put them all in a medium saucepan and over medium heat, bring to a simmer making sure all the sugar has dissolved.
Finally, pour the hot vinegar brine over the cucumber and onion slices and let cool at room temp for about an hour. Put them in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.
I suspect that they’d keep in the fridge for up to 3 months, but they never go that long without being eaten in my house so I’ve never tested the theory.
A few more fun staple recipes to try:
Super Easy Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Equipment
- Large Shallow Bowl
- Medium Saucepan
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 pickling cucumbers or 2-3 small cucumbers (anywhere from 2 cups to 5 cups of slices), sliced ¼” thick
- 1 ½ Tbs salt
- 1 cup sweet onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp whole grain mustard
- ½ tsp celery seed
- ⅛ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 cup white vinegar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- In a large shallow bowl, combine the cucumber slices and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 60-90 minutes
- Move cucumber slices to a colander and wash well, making sure all the salt is rinsed off
- Return to the bowl and toss in the onions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients and heat until just simmering and all of the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally
- Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the cucumbers and let cool for about an hour
- Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight
