Fried pickles are the super fun county fair recipe that can be made at home!
Pickle slices, spears, or chips are dipped in seasoned bread crumbs and deep-fried until golden and crispy.
This fried pickles recipe (frickles?) is perfect for snacking, dipping, or adding to a burger. Kids love them!
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 & Variations
PICKLES: Choose your pickle! Deep-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.
Pickle Tip: 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 in every bite, deep fry pickle slices to top burgers and sandwiches, and try coins or rounds for easy snacking!
SEASONINGS: The batter is lightly seasoned with paprika and pepper (and optional dill). For a more distinct flavor, add a teaspoon or two of a DIY blend to the batter like Lemon Pepper Seasoning or Cajun Seasoning.
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!
- Ranch Dip – Classic and simple and SO good!
- Chipotle Aioli – Creamy and delicious with a little kick!
- Creamy Blue Cheese Dip – Classic for a good reason, pairs perfectly with crispy deep-fried pickles.
- Creamy Jalapeno Dip – This easy dip is made in the blender and is perfect to prep ahead of time.
Did you make these Deep Fried Pickles? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Crispy Fried Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- Sandwich sliced dill pickles about 12 slices
- 1-2 cups Panko Breadcrumbs
- 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.
- Combine all batter ingredients and stir until smooth, let sit at least 5 minutes.
- Dab pickle slices on paper towels to dry them. Place about ½ cup of Panko bread crumbs in a bowl (add more as needed). (If they get wet, they don’t stick so it’s best to work in small batches.)
- Dip each pickle slice in the wet batter and then gently toss in the bread crumbs, let sit for a minute or so, this will allow the crumbs to stick better.
- Fry in small batches for 3-4 minutes or until brown and crispy.
- Serve with ranch dip.
Notes
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.
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Adapted from Youtube
Will regular breadcrumbs work?
Yes, they’ll work just fine. Panko is a bit crispier but either will work.
One of the best ever crispy fried pickles recipe i have ever tried. Thanks for sharing this fried pickels recipe with all of us.
Seasoned or plain panko bread crumbs?
Just made these with my stepdaughter! They were incredible! Followed recipe exactly as written! The breadcrumb coating gave the pickles the perfect crunch!
Can u batter, coat with panko and put in fridge for a couple of hours before frying? Trying to prep ahead
Yes, these can be prepared ahead of time. You might like to put them on a rack on a pan to allow the air to circulate around them (so the bottom crumbs don’t get too wet from sitting).
Can I use buttermilk instead of regular milk? How much? 1 cup also?
That will work just fine. You would need the same amount (1 cup).
These are so delicious!!
I didn’t have baking powder still turned out delish!
I used spears and used gluten free flour in the batter. My only issue was that the batter didn’t seem quite thick enough. I thoroughly dried my spears but the batter was a little too much on the liquid side. Other than that they turned out great. I did use the suggestion of another and used old bay seasoning (in place of the other seasoning) and there was enough batter for two jars of spears (I did have to add a little extra breadcrumbs).
Seriously delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out fantastic! I will definitely be making these again soon.
I made some fried pickles. I thought I would save time by using some prepackaged Panko crumbs……Don’t ever do that! Mine were ruined. I never even thought to look at the sodium content. So when we went to bite into them the they looked great and the texture was perfect, but all we tasted was salt. It was terrible. This brand I chose ended up having almost 1000mg of sodium. Next time I’ll just take the time and do it right.
These are awesome. Also used batter for fried green tomatoes.
So glad you enjoyed the pickles Pam. I am going to have to try the batter with fried green tomatoes, that does sound good!
Worked beautifully. I made pickle spears, not slices but the batter coated really well and the taste was sooooo good. Used a bit of A&W seasoning salt after they came out of the fryer too. Super easy, gonna make these for a crowd sometime… probably going to need to make a LOT since they are delicious.
Definitely want to double this recipe for a crowd, I can’t stop eating them Lynnelle!
I’m from Maryland and we use Old Bay Seasoning in everything, give it a try in the dry ingredients.
That sounds like a delicious idea Carol!
Yes!!!
I so agree Simeon!
Thanks for the recipes! Always good and easy with things I have in my pantry!
You’re welcome Yvonne! Isn’t it the best when you have everything in your pantry already?!
Could you do these in an air fryer?
While I have only made this recipe as written I believe the fried pickles would be awesome in the air fryer Katen!
I find that the batter just tastes like crispy flour.
How do you make fried pickles
You’ll find the instructions on how to make fried pickles on the recipe card in this Crispy Fried Dill Pickles post. To find the recipe card, you can scroll down, or click on the Jump to Recipe button near the top of the page. Enjoy Casey!
Did you guys use fresh dill or dried dill in the batter?
You can use either but dried works perfect in this recipe!
Love these!!!! They turned out great!! They were a hit at the super bowl party!!! Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!!
So glad you loved them Julie!