If you love pickles but don’t know how to can you are going to love my 24-hour Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles recipe. This 5-star recipe requires absolutely no canning skills needed and is very easy to make.
Get ready for the easiest most delicious Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles you’ve ever had. Sweet yet still a little tangy and perfect to eat by the forkful or top on burgers, dogs, and pulled pork sandwiches to name a few. Best of all this small batch recipe makes just 2 pint jars.
I’ve always loved pickles as long as I can remember. A few years back when Facebook was just starting to get popular a childhood friend found me on Facebook and asked if it was the Katie who would only eat a plain burger with tons of pickles on it. Yep, that’s me! And although I still load my burgers and just about any sandwich on this planet up with pickles— I do enjoy other toppings now, too.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Cucumbers – I prefer to use mini cucumbers whenever making pickles!
- Salt – You’ll want kosher salt for this recipe.
- Sugar – I use a combination of white and brown sugar.
- Vinegar – I have found that a combination of white vinegar and apple cider vinegar gives the best flavoring.
- Seasonings – I use a combination of mustard seeds, celery seeds, and tumeric.
- Onion – For the sake of time and slicing I like to use dried onion flakes for this recipe. You can use fresh onion slices if you desire.
How to Make Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
- In a large bowl, combine sliced cucumbers (I like to use the OXO Hand Held Mandoline Slicer (pictured above)) and salt. Mix well and then let sit for 1 hour.
- In a medium saucepan, combine white and brown sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric, and dried onion flakes. Simmer over medium-low heat until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring often.
- Rinse salted cucumber slices and drain well.
- Place the drained cucumbers in with the hot vinegar mixture. Stir and cover. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Transfer cucumber mixture and brine to jars, pouring brine into jars until covered to the top. Cover with a lid and refrigerate. Pickles are ready to eat in 24 hours.
Canning Bread and Butter Pickles
I’ve never personally canned this recipe. However, I had a reader write-in sharing how she did it. THIS HAS NOT BEEN TESTED BY ME!
To Can Bread and Butter Pickles:
- Soak whole cucumbers in a pickling Lyme solution (1 cup Lyme to 1 gallon of water) for 24 hours. (This soaking makes your pickles very crisp).
- After 24 hours, remove the cucumbers and rinse them off thoroughly. Be sure to pour the Lyme water out, someplace outside. The Lyme isn’t good for your household drain pipes.
- Slice the rinsed cucumbers and make the vinegar solution as written in the recipe. Fill clean canning jars with cucumber slices and pour the vinegar mixture to within one half inch of the tops of the jars. Clean off rims and adjust lids.
- Processing a boiling water bath for 10-15 minutes. Remove jars and cool on a dish towel.
FAQs
This recipe uses 10 mini cucumbers and makes 2 pint mason jars full of bread and butter pickles.
The best type of cucumber for pickles are mini cucumbers. They are thinner and size and work perfect for pickling.
Refrigerator pickles can sit refrigerated for at least 1 month. The longer they sit the less crunchy the pickle will be.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve found useful when making homemade bread and butter pickles.
- Recipe yields – Recipe makes 2 pint canning jars worth.
- Storage – These pickles can stay in a mason jar for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
- Slicing – I like to use the OXO Hand Held Mandoline Slicer but you could also simply slice with a knife or use a wavy crinkle chopper. Both can be found on Amazon.
Cucumber Recipes
Still craving cucumbers? Check out these other delicious recipes.
If you make this bread and butter pickle recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Equipment
- Stove Top
Ingredients
- 10 Mini Cucumbers sliced ¼-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 1-½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric ground
- 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine sliced cucumbers and salt. Mix well and then let sit for 1 hour.
- In a medium saucepan, combine white and brown sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric, and dried onion flakes. Simmer over medium-low heat until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring often.
- Rinse salted cucumber slices and drain well.
- Place the drained cucumbers in with the hot vinegar mixture. Stir and cover. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Transfer cucumber mixture and brine to jars, pouring brine into jars until covered to the top. Cover with a lid and refrigerate. Pickles are ready to eat in 24 hours.
Notes
- Recipe yields – Recipe makes 2 pint canning jars worth.
- Storage – These pickles can stay in a mason jar for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Disclosure: There are affiliate links present in this post. That means if you click on a link and purchase something. I will receive a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your continuous support of Katie’s Cucina!
Therese
I tried them before placing them in the fridge and sooooo tasty! Cant wait for the 24 hours. I used light agave instead of white sugar (didnt have any) and brown sugar. Great easy recipe. Thanks!
Katie
Hi Therese, So happy you are already excited about these pickles! Thanks for taking the time to leave a 5 star review!
Tiffany
This is now our go to recipe! Perfectly balanced and super quick to put together. I do just use two of the long English Cucumbers (fits one qt jar) and sometimes I use real Vidalia onion slices instead of the flakes because those are yummy to eat as well! This is definitely going on an index card and into my cherished recipe box. Thank you for the recipe!
Katie
Hi Tiffany, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I’m so happy you love this recipe! It’s one of my absolute favorites!
Ruth
How many jars will this recipe make? I’m just wondering how to preserve the extra jars if they have to stay in the refrigerator.
Katie
Hi Ruth, this recipe makes 2 pints and holds in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. I just added the canning directions in the notes section of the recipe. This was provided by a reader. I have not tested this method!
Vicki
Delicious thanks for the recipe!
Katie
Thank you Vicki for taking the time to leave a 5-star review!
Delina
I’m pleased that I can help. I’ve taken advanced classes in canning and I’m VERY careful about it. This recipe has vinegar and sugar that are both natural preservatives. Your original recipe was just perfect. They taste wonderful months later!
Delina
I LOVE this pickle recipe! I made these two years in a row. Then last fall I thought I would try canning them so that we could have them a year found. They turned out better than any canned pickle recipe I’ve ever made! Thanks so much for sharing.
In case anyone wants to know how I canned these:
Soak whole cucumbers in a pickling Lyme solution (1 cup Lyme to 1 gallon of water) for 24 hours. (This soaking makes your pickles very crisp).
After 24 hours, remove the cucumbers and rinse them off thoroughly. Be sure to pour the Lyme water out, someplace outside. The Lyme isn’t good for your household drain pipes. Slice the rinsed cucumbers and make the vinegar solution as written in the recipe. Fill clean canning jars with cucumber slices and pour the vinegar mixture to within one Half inch of the tops of the jars. Clean off rims and adjust lids. Processing a boiling water bath for 10-15 minutes. Remove jars and cool on a dish towel.
I made these last fall and here it is the middle of March. We absolutely love theses on hamburgers, sandwiches and just right out of the jar! They still tastes fresh and crisp, even months later.
Katie
Delina, this makes my heart so happy! Thank you so much for adding the canned directions. If you are okay with it I would like to add your canned directions in my notes of the recipes for those who like to can?
Mindy
How many pounds of cucumber? I have homegrown, that are different in size. Thanks!
Katie
Hi Mindy–I used 10 mini cucumbers. So if you have larger cucumbers you could reduce the amount. Also–I found using a mandolin slicer was key to having consistently sliced pickles. The mini are the best to use since that’s the traditional size of a pickle!
valerie whincup
I am interested in trying this recipe, but I will never be able these in 3 week, as I’m the only one that’s going to be eating them. Is it possible to half the recipe? Thank you.
Katie
Hi Valerie, I would give some to your friends! I have no clue how to cut this recipe down. Sorry!
Billy
I have never used a mandolin slicer.. although I’ve only made pickles once. I definitely need to use that next time, it is so genius! I can’t believe I hand cut all those cucumbers the last time I made the batch. Next time I will definitely use your method. Thank you for sharing your recipe! Definitely trying your recipe too!
CiCi
Delish! My first attempt at making homemade pickles & thanks to your recipe & advise I think it s perfection!
Thank you!
Katie
Cici, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m so glad you loved them!
Brittany
Would it be possible to just can these and keep in the cupboard?
Katie
Hi Brittany, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I have no canning experience what so ever. I’m sure it’s possible, but I do not feel comfortable giving canning advice!
Carma Rogers
I was looking for a refrigerator recipe since I don’t can and found this on the Yummly app.
Made this weekend and I have to say that these are almost as good as my Great-aunt Leona’s bread and butter pickles that she canned.
I ended up having to make one small substitution for the celery seed. I was out, so I added dill seed from my herb garden and that worked well, but I do want to get celery seed to see the difference.
I definitely will be making these again and browsing your other recipes as I get time. Thank you so much.
Katie
Hi Carma, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I’m so happy that you loved this recipe! This is one of my families favorite pickle recipes! Perfect for summertime (or year round)!
Jim
We made these and they turned out awesome. I’ll be making many more as the cucumber crop keeps growing.
Katie
Jim, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I’m glad you enjoyed them!