These refrigerator bread and butter pickles are made entirely in the fridge overnight and perfectly crisp, sweet, and tangy. – perfect for using up a bounty of cucumbers!
This recipe is brought to you courtesy of my mother’s numerous-and-simultaneously-exploding cucumber plants.
Right now it’s literally us vs. cukes in a battle to use them all.
The cucumbers were winning for a bit there but then these bread and butter pickles happened and we pulled ahead.
Now it’s just a race to eat all the pickles as fast as humanly possible.
These are just so so GOOD, you guys. Bread and butter pickle lovers listen up, cause you’re gonna want in on this pickle magic.
These Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles feature…
- A perfectly crisp texture
- Sweet and tangy bread + butter pickle flavor
- Only 7 ingredients to make
- No canning involved – your fridge does the work!
Making the Bread and Butter Pickles
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cucumbers
- Sweet onion
- Kosher salt
- Sugar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Mustard seeds
Choosing Your Cucumbers
Both seed-in and seedless cucumbers will work great for this recipe. If you can, try to find medium-sized cucumbers so you get uniform, one-bite sized pickles.
We typically use six medium cucumbers in this recipe. Anywhere from 8-10 cups of sliced cucumbers will work perfectly.
When slicing your cucumbers, try to slice them as thin as possible. Thinner cucumbers = crispier pickle. You can use a sharp knife or mandoline for this step.
Tips for Perfect Refrigerator Pickles
- Soak cucumbers + onion in salt – we’re going to soak the cucumbers and onion slices in 3 tablespoons kosher salt for about 1 hour. This salt soak will draw the water out of the cucumbers, as well as flavor them. Once they’ve soaked for an hour, rinse cucumbers well with cold water.
- Make brine and cool – the pickle brine consists of apple cider vinegar, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and mustard seeds. The brine gets cooked on the stove just until the sugar dissolves. Cool the brine at least 30 minutes before proceeding with the last step.
- Divide cucumbers between jars – you can brine the cucumbers in one half gallon jar or several pint jars. Pour the brine over top, screw lids on jars, and transfer to refrigerator.
- Refrigerate pickles 12 hours – don’t skimp on the chill time! These pickles need at least 12 hours to develop that signature bread and butter flavor.
How to Store Pickles
We recommend storing these pickles in mason jars for easy storing and serving. Pickles will keep well in refrigerator up to 1 month. Make sure you keep them in their brine so they maintain their flavor.
Can I Can Pickles?
This is one of the most common questions we get with this recipe. The short answer is, I have not tried it myself, but I have heard from several readers who have had success canning these pickles.
If you would like to try canning this recipe, I would strongly recommend reading this canning guide first and learn how to can safely.
These pickles though, y’all. They’re sweet, tangy, crispy, and 100000% the type of pickle you just eat straight outta the jar. Trust me, you’ll be glad this makes a huge batch!
We love giving these pickles away for gifts in the summer, but we always make sure we have at least one jar on hand in the fridge.
Priorities, y’all, the pickle addiction is REAL.
Watch these pickles made step-by-step on Google Web Stories!
Need some grilling inspiration to go with your pickles? Try these out!
Overnight Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients
- 6 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 8-10 cups)
- 1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 3 teaspoons mustard seeds
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss cucumbers and onion with salt. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour.
- Remove cucumbers from refrigerator and rinse with cold water several times. Drain cucumbers, then divide between several pint jars (or a half gallon jar)
- Combine sugars, cider vinegar, and mustard seeds in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool 30 minutes.
- Pour an equal amount of cooled brining liquid over cucumbers. Seal jars and chill in refrigerator overnight, at least 12 hours. Enjoy!
For a step-by-step guide to making this recipe, check out the video!
Notes
This recipe was updated with new photos and tips 6/30/21
Patrick says
I’ve been missing out, too. I would like to eat an entire jar of these, please ?
Thomas James says
Look yummy! One of my favorite Refrigerator Bread, nice to see your recipe, easy to follow, will cook this for family this weekend.Thanks you!
Steve Bernoski says
Hi Sarah. I love bread and butter pickles but am not canning type of person so your recipe it right down my lane. However, I am diabetic and wonder if you had ever tried this recipe using a natural non-sugar sweetener?
Sarah says
Hi Steve! My recommendation for a natural alternative to the sugar in this recipe would be honey. In place of the sugar you would use 1 cup of honey and heat it with the vinegar and mustard seeds like the recipe instructs. Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
Susan Dubose says
Great recipe, I cut down on sugar and still wonderful. Only had a quart of cucumbers but I am headed back to farmers market for more
Sarah says
Wonderful to hear, Susan! Glad you enjoyed. 🙂
MIKE JANOWIAK says
EASY AND DELICIOUS!
I ADDED FOUR JALEPENO PEPPERS FOR SOME BITE & IT WORKED GREAT.
Sarah says
Sounds wonderful, Mike! 😉
Nancy Schmidt says
I have a small garden. 6 cucumber plants. Enough for me. I made these pickles and my husband started building Me another raised garden bed. I ask.. what’s this for? CUCUMBERS he said… I think he likes your recipe!!?????
Sarah says
Oh my gosh, I love to hear that, Nancy! Fingers crossed you get a good cucumber harvest and you can make many batches of these pickles! 🙂
Gary Cline says
Sarah! I have never made home made anything before,have made your bread and butter pickles twice.Never buying brand name again.love them!!!
Sarah says
Oh my goodness, yay! Glad you loved them, Gary!
Callie says
These are the best canned bread and butter pickles I’ve ever had! Simple to put together and tasty all year long! THANK YOU!
Sarah says
I’m so thrilled you loved these pickles, Callie! Thanks for the feedback. 🙂
Lori says
easy to make it. It look so YUMMY. I will try it soon. Thank your recipe much
!
Sarah says
Wonderful! Let me know how they turn out!
Brian Statler says
Awesome recipe! Pickles turned out great. My only changes were I added a teaspoon or so of crushed red pepper and two garlic cloves. I also let the sugar, spices and vinegar simmer on low for about 30 min.
Sarah says
Love the sound of red pepper and garlic in these pickles! 😀
Emily Stimpson says
I made these 2 days ago. When I tried one today I found them to be bitter.
Sarah says
Sorry to hear that, Emily! Are you sure it wasn’t perhaps the cucumbers you used that caused the bitter flavor?
Kat says
Look yummy! I would like to eat an entire jar of these, please
Kat says
Great recipe
Kat says
Great recipe.DELICIOUS!
Lisa says
Great pickles! I only added half of the red pepper though and it was plenty to give it a little kick.
Sarah says
Thanks for letting me know, Lisa! Glad you loved these pickles. 🙂
Rashelle says
Excellent recipe. Pickles are so crisp. Highly recommend. To get maximum flavor, I wait 24 hours to eat
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing, Rashelle! 🙂
Sam says
I forgot about my cucumbers and left them salted in the refrigerator overnight instead of just one hour. Can I still use them or should I throw them out and start over?
Sarah says
They should still be fine! Just make sure you rinse them well.
Marsha Crenshaw says
I have now made this recipe many times and love it! My husband did not like Bread and Butter pickles until I made these.
I use Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener instead of sugar, as we neither one eat sugar, and a brown sugar substitute (Swerve) for the brown sugar.
I do can them, as I make a lot at a time, and it has worked well each time. I process only 10 minutes.
Angela Dawn Holt says
Hi, you said you canned these? I’m interested in knowing more about this. My husband likes the sweet and spicy cucumber chips from the store, however last year I tried canning some, and he said they were perfect off the stove, however after a week or so, he didn’t like them anymore. He said he tasted too much vinegar.
Will these have a strong vinager taste? If not, I may try this recipe for my canning this year, as we are ALREADY swarmed with cukes!
Sarah says
Thank you so much for sharing your modifications, Marsha! Many readers ask me about canning these pickles and I’m thrilled to hear you’ve had success doing so!
Cindy Reith says
I couldn’t believe how crisp they were after only 12 hours in the refrigerator. They really do taste like a good b& b pickle. Everyone loved them. I only had enough cucumbers for 4 pint jars, but I definitely will make them again. Thank you so very much for this tastey and easy recipe. Cindy
Sarah says
Hi Cindy – I’m so thrilled to hear these pickles were a success! Enjoy. 🙂
kim johnson says
Perfect pickles every time! Trust them s recipe:)
Sarah says
I’m so happy to hear that, Kim! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂