I grew up having a jar of bread and butter pickles in the fridge at all times. I had no idea how easy it was to make my own; and the best part? You don’t even need to can them. Meet: Quick Bread & Butter Pickles. Let’s get pickling!
The 80’s were good to me for so many reasons. The best part has to be all of the gatherings we had growing up. My parents’ home was always the place where people gathered, and my mom was constantly entertaining. The cheese and cracker boards were a bit different back then, but she always had a little dish of bread and butter pickles on it.
Fast forward to now and we have become the house for entertaining: and I love it! Cheese boards are still a thing, and I’m always looking for new ideas to throw on mine. I’m about to add back this homemade version of bread and butter pickles that will blow the socks off of any store-bought version any day of the week.
How to Make Quick Bread & Butter Pickles
There are just a few easy steps to make your own bread and butter pickles:
- Wash and slice pickling cucumbers and place them in a jar with thinly sliced onions.
- Make a sweet brine out of spices, vinegar and sugar.
- Pour the brine over the cucumbers and onion and refrigerate for 2-3 days or up to 1 month.
How to Serve Bread & Butter Pickles
My favourite way that my mom served bread and butter pickles was in a tuna salad sandwich. To this day my kids will only eat her tuna salad sandwiches, and I swear this is the reason (she doesn’t skimp on them). Add them to a cheese board, on a burger (try them on a fish burger!) or Chicken Sliders.
If you are looking for more quick pickling recipes, try my Pickled Ginger or Pickled Red Onions recipes.
Bread & Butter Pickles
Quick Bread & Butter Pickles
These crunchy sweet quick pickles are made for your next cheese board, sandwich or simply snacking on.
Ingredients
- 630 grams pickling cucumbers, sliced into 1/4" thick coins 5 cups sliced
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 cups thinly sliced sweet or yellow onion 1/2 large
- 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pickling spice
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
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In a large bowl combine the sliced cucumbers with the salt, stir to combine and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Rinse the cucumbers to remove the excess salt, drain, return to the bowl and toss together with the sliced onion. Divide the cucumbers and onions between two 1-quart jars.
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In a medium non-reactive saucepan (stainless steel or similar) combine the vinegar, sugar, apple cider vinegar, pickling spice, mustard seed and turmeric. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and whisk just until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
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Pour the warm brine over the cucumbers and onion to cover. Let cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for 2-3 days or up to 1 month.
so does this mean they only last one month in the fridge?
Yes! But you could of course properly can/preserve to keep longer. They are so good I hope you give them a try!
Hi Tori, thanks for the recipe! I do a lot of canning but sometimes I don’t want to spend a whole day making pickles, ya know! These are so easy and quick to make. I used cucumbers from my garden; they turned out wonderful!
Hi Jill! That made my day – I’m so happy you liked them!
Can I make my own pickling spice?
You sure could! I typically just use the store-bought, but you can by all means make! 🙂
love these pickles, so crunchy. Is it safe to leave the pickles longer than a month. What would happen, if you cannot eat to whole batch within a month..
Can I use monk fruit sugar instead of granulated sugar?
Great question! Truthfully I have not tried… but if you do please let me know! xx
I can’t wait to make these with my son. We both love pickles and I love to bring him in the kitchen with me. I have a question though, what kind of pickling spice do I need? Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Misty! I love this, what a fun activity for the two of you! In the spice aisle, you can find pickling spice mix. The major brands make one like McCormick’s and Club House!
Have so much fun. xx Tori