Fried pickles are a super fun county fair snack that are actually easy to make at home.
Pickle slices, spears, or chips are battered, dipped in seasoned bread crumbs, and fried until golden and crispy!
This fried pickles recipe (frickles?) is perfect for snacking, dipping, or adding to a burger.
Fried Pickles Make a Great Snack or Appetizer
- Homemade fried pickles are so simple to make and taste great!
- This recipe makes a light and crispy exterior with a zesty dill pickle inside.
- Make in batches and keep them warm in the oven.
- Serve crispy deep-fried pickles with your favorite dips: Buttermilk ranch dressing or some blue cheese dressing, homemade aioli, or chipotle aioli for a twist!
Ingredients for Making Fried Pickles
Pickles – Choose your pickle! Fried pickles can be made from pickle slices, oval slices, or spears, any style will work. Spicy, sour, or garlic pickles are all easy to find and will make pickle chips a new recipe every time.
Pick a Pickle
Ensure you’re using thicker slices (or slice the pickles yourself). If they’re too thin you won’t get enough pickle-y flavor in every bite.
- Use pickle spears for more pickle flavor in every bite
- Try pickle slices to top burgers and sandwiches
- Fry pickle coins or rounds for easy snacking
Breading – A quick batter of pickle juice, egg, flour, and seasonings coat the pickles and helps the bread crumbs stick. Panko bread crumbs add the best crunch.
How to Make Fried Pickles
Homemade deep-fried pickles are super easy to make!
- Combine batter ingredients (per the recipe below) and let rest for about 5 minutes.
- Pat pickle slices dry, dip each piece in the batter, then into the breadcrumbs.
- Fry in hot oil until both sides are golden brown. Serve with ranch dip or aioli.
Tips for Crispy Fried Pickles
- For best results, only use a little of the breadcrumbs at a time to keep them from getting too wet from the batter.
- Choose an oil that is specifically made for frying like vegetable oil, shortening, or lard. These oils have a higher ‘smoke point’ and can tolerate higher temperatures.
- Always make sure the oil is hot enough to cook with, or else the pickles will simply absorb the oil and they won’t be crunchy.
- Reheat leftover deep-fried dill pickles in an air fryer or place them under the broiler until they get crispy again.
Dips and Sauce for Fried Dill Pickles
Anything creamy is a good choice. I personally like dips that have a little hint of heat. While you can use a store-bought dip, homemade is much better!
Did you make these Deep Fried Pickles? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Crispy Fried Pickles
Ingredients
- sandwich sliced dill pickles about 12 slices
- 1-2 cups Panko Breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- oil for frying
Batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dill optional
Instructions
- Preheat oil to 360-370°F. Whisk Panko, cayenne pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt.
- In a medium bowl whisk flour, milk, baking powder, egg, paprika, black pepper, and dill until smooth. Let rest for at least 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dab the pickle slices dry with paper towels.
- Place about ½ cup of Panko bread crumbs in a bowl. Note: If the crumbs get wet, they don’t stick so it’s best to work in small batches.
- Dip each pickle slice in the flour mixture and then gently dip into the bread crumbs. Set the dipped pickles on a baking sheet and let them rest for a few minutes while you dip the remaining pickles. This will allow the crumbs to stick better.
- Fry in small batches for 3 to 4 minutes or until brown and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and immediately sprinkle with salt.
- Serve with ranch or your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- Use pickle spears for more pickle flavor in every bite
- Try pickle slices to top burgers and sandwiches
- Fry pickle coins or rounds for easy snacking
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Party Food, Side Dish
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Recipe slightly adapted from Bake Like a Pro as seen on Youtube
Hi a few years ago there was a link to a beer batter (maybe a beer batter fish) to use instead of this batter. Do you still have the link for that batter? I made it with the batter and it was so great! But can no longer find the link to it
Here is a link to the beer batter cod recipe.
Hi used this recipes years ago and loved it. This recipe used to have a link to avert battter to replace the batter with milk but I don’t see it anymore. Is there a way for me to get that beer batter recipe? Thank you!
Hi Rebecca, we have a similar beer batter that we use on our onion rings that might work well for you.
I really enjoy your emails.One of the things that makes yours different is that you have a spot to jump to recipe.I save them to Pinterest. My question is, is it possible for you to put in the recipe a d/l tab that I can share to my phone/recipe app.Thank you,Jaye
Hi Jaye, you can favorite the recipe (with the little heart button) using your email address and then access it on any device! I hope that helps.
These came out perfect. my pickles were a little thick so I’ll cut them in half next time. but these are as good or better than any restaurant pickles I’ve had.
everything I’ve seen looks so good
super crunchy and the coating stayed in tact with each bite! Friend gave me his shoe to batter/coat/fry he lived it sooooo much!
Is he still walking around with one shoe?
The waffle house has found its new host
They turned out amazing. I made my own bread crumbs, and added fennel , and although it didn’t look exactly like the pictures, they were delicious.
So glad you enjoyed them, Jenny!
Super easy and tastes delicious!
Very good!
One tip… After your pickles are breaded put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then fry is directed.
Can you make these in advance and reheat in the oven? If so, how do I reheat?
Hi Karen, we haven’t tried reheating these so I can’t say for sure. Maybe another reader has and can offer some direction!
I have found that using an air fryer to reheat fried foods is the best way to reheat without being soggy
Can you make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate for use later that day?
Yes of course! Just make sure to mix the batter again before using it as some of the ingredients may sink to the bottom of the bowl!
Fantastic recipe, using the sandwich slices is brilliant. Super crispy and still tender pickley good. I’m vegan so I substituted unsweet cashew milk and “Just Egg” for the dairy ingredients and I would challenge anyone to tell the difference in how they turned out, which by the way was AMAZING!
Thanks for a great recipe.
Thank you for sharing Ted! I’m happy to hear that the substitutions worked so well!
These were awesome! Such a good crunch from the panko. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome Colleen! So glad you love the pickles!
Can this be made in an air fryer??
What adjustments should be made??
Yes, these can be air fried at 400°F for about 10-12 minutes. Flip them after 5 minutes.
Having trouble getting panko sticking to pickle…
Did you dab the pickles dry first and then dip them in the batter? If the pickles are wet the batter will just slide off. Hope that helps.
Overall the recipe was good. Except for the fact that these were so bland! Next time I’ll use it as a base but will definitely add more spices.
hey, i’d recommend cutting out the baking powder, i was having the bland problem also until i cut out the baking powder
also adding 1.5 teaspoons of cajun seasoning, dill, and Italian seasoning really tops it off
oh yeah and paprika
Nicely done. Just had two dill spears and left over hot oil left over from making tortilla chips. Largely diced spears and 5 min. Great snack for an afternoon of chopping and cooking
Do you have a recipee for air frying the pickles?
We are currently testing air-fried pickles but haven’t perfected them yet. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks they will be published!
Great recipe! I popped the pickle spears on a parchment lined baking sheet in the freezer for about 8 hours after drying them, it really helps the batter stick and prevents the pickle from getting mushy when you fry it which I have found with other homemade fried pickles. For a little kick my husband likes to mix sriracha in the ranch for dipping.
Thanks for sharing your tips, Amanda! That sounds awesome.
Do your batter and stuff the same way just let them sit for 5 minutes before putting in air fryer. Cook for 5 mins flip cook 5 mins. Remove. Delicious we had these for the first time last night.