The Best Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe - The Hungry Bluebird (2024)

The Hungry Bluebird » Recipes » Pickling » Bread and Butter Pickles

By: Author Kelly Wildenhaus

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Categories Pickling, Recipes, Side Dishes

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Bread and Butter Pickles, sweet and tangy, my favorite pickle canning recipe to capture summer in a jar. These are the best!

The Best Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe - The Hungry Bluebird (1)

This is the summer I tried my hand at pickling. I love it. I'm hooked. Just opened a jar of the bread and butter pickles I made and oh...my...god. Outrageously good! And I don't talk this way. So why am I? And then Meathead tasted them and he said oh...my...god, these are incredible.

The Best Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe - The Hungry Bluebird (2)

I've always liked bread and butter pickles. Something about the sweet-tart flavor and the onions. I grab a fork and stand at the counter and just eat them out of the jar. No shame and sometimes that's my lunch. I'm not kidding.

The Best Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe - The Hungry Bluebird (3)

These were quite a bit different in preparation than the dill pickles I made earlier this summer. I used the Kirby cucumbers but I sliced them using a mandolin and then chilled them under crushed ice for a few hours. Mandolins kind of freak me out. My mom gave me my dad's and this was the first time I used it. Seeing as my dad sliced off the tip ofhis finger, I was a little bit scared. But I managed with no bloody fingers and it made the slicing of all these cukes go really quickly and they were all uniform insize. Cool.

The Best Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe - The Hungry Bluebird (4)

I guess chilling them under ice keeps them crisp in the jars. It works, my pickles were crunchy, both the cukes and the onions. In terms of flavoring, the brine I used had sugar, apple cider vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric and crushed red pepper. These pickles are simplyfantastic. Better than any store bought stuff I've tried.

The Best Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe - The Hungry Bluebird (5)

So kids, some day when you have vegetable gardens and are cooking and want to makewhat your momma made, try these pickles. You will love them and hopefully think of me ~Kelly🍴🐦

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The Best Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe - The Hungry Bluebird (7)

Bread and Butter Pickles

Bread and Butter Pickles, sweet and tangy and crunchy, my favorite pickle canning recipe to capture summer in a jar. These are the best!

4.89 from 26 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Chill time: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 5 hours hours

Servings: 6 pints

Calories: 629kcal

Author: Kelly Wildenhaus

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds pickling cucumbers known as Kirby's, washed and scrubbed, ends trimmed, sliced ¼-inch thick
  • 4 large white onions, sliced
  • cup kosher salt, I use Diamond Crystal
  • 5 pieces of garlic, either whole cloves or cut in half
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 3 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
  • 1 ½ teaspoons celery seeds
  • 1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Instructions

  • Wash and sterilize 6 pint size jars, lids and screw caps, either in boiling water, hot soapy water or the dishwasher. Do not re-use lids and screw caps.

  • In a large nonreactive stockpot, combine sliced cucumbers, onions, salt and garlic. Cover with a flour sack towel and then cover with 2 - 3 inches of crushed ice. Put a lid on and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to 12 hours.

  • Prepare a boiling- water canner or large pot of water, bring to a boil.

  • Remove towel and ice and transfer cucumber mixture to a colander and rinse well. Discard garlic pieces.

  • In the same pot, combine sugar, apple cider vinegar, mustard seeds, turmeric and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in cucumber mixture from the colander and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat.

  • Pack mixture ofcucumbers and onions into sterilized jars with the liquid brine to about ½ inch from the rim. Wipe jar rims, add lids and screw caps.

  • Process jars in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove jars to clean towel and let rest for 24 hours. You'll hear lovely popping sounds as the jars seal. If after 24 hours you have any jars that didn't seal, put in fridge and use in a couple of weeks.

  • This is the hard part, let the pickles rest for 4 - 5 weeks before opening. Enjoy.

Recipe Notes

  • Adapted from BHG CanningSummer 2015
  • A hot water bath is recommended for proper sealing and canning safety. Please refer toUSDA Home Canning Guidelinesfor direction.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pint Calories: 629kcal Carbohydrates: 149g Protein: 4g Fat: 3g Saturated Fat: 1g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 1g Sodium: 6311mg Potassium: 666mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 141g Vitamin A: 319IU Vitamin C: 16mg Calcium: 95mg Iron: 2mg

Did you make this recipe? Please comment, rate it and share! And mention me on Instagram @thehungrybluebird or tag #thehungrybluebird so I can see!

The Best Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe - The Hungry Bluebird (2024)

FAQs

How long do bread and butter pickles last? ›

Properly canned bread and butter pickles can be stored in a cool, dark place (like a pantry) for up to 1 year. Store opened jars in the fridge and use within 3 months. If you skipped the water bath canning, transfer the cooled jars directly to the fridge and eat within 3 months.

What's the difference between dill and bread and butter pickles? ›

The key difference between these two types of pickles is their taste. Despite bread and butter pickles using the same cooking method as dill pickles, they use far different spices that make them sweeter. According to Wyse Guide, sugar is added to the bread and butter brine to help alleviate its sharp vinegary taste.

Are bread and butter pickles good for you? ›

Pickles are fat-free and low in calories, but they are also low in most other nutrients, except for sodium. A 100-gram serving of bread and butter pickles contains 457 milligrams of sodium, or nearly 20% of the recommended daily limit. Most pickles are high in sodium, so it is important to limit consumption.

What are the best kind of pickles? ›

By far the most popular kind of cucumber pickle, dill pickles get their name because recipes use the dill herb. Fresh dill is added to either a vinegar brine or a salt brine along with other flavor-packed ingredients, like mustard seeds and pepper.

Can you eat too many bread and butter pickles? ›

Eat bread-and-butter pickles in moderation to limit added sugars, and keep an eye out for sodium too—if you already eat out or eat foods high in sodium, a pickle spear or two per day could push you over the limit. Buy fermented pickles for added gut health benefits.

Why are my bread and butter pickles mushy? ›

Using too weak a salt brine or vinegar solution may cause soft or slippery pickles, as can using moldy garlic or storing the pickles at too warm a temperature.

Why are my bread and butter pickles bitter? ›

Why do pickles have a strong, bitter taste? This happens when you use old spices, cook too long in vinegar, or you use too much spice.

What kind of pickles does McDonald's use? ›

McDonald's uses dill pickles in their burgers including in the Big Mac®.

What gives bread and butter pickles their taste? ›

Bread and butter pickles are best described as being a lot like sour dill pickles, but with sweet onion and sugar added to the pickling mix to give them their one-of-a-kind flavor.

Is drinking pickle juice good for your liver? ›

Pickle juice has a huge downside despite all of its potential benefits which include: Pickle juice is high in salt. People with hypertension or kidney, liver, or cardiac illness must avoid it. Because there are other low-sodium probiotic choices, the advantages of pickle juice are unlikely to outweigh the hazards.

What is the healthiest pickles to eat? ›

“The pickles that are beneficial for your gut health are the fermented ones, made by brining them in salt rather than vinegar,” says Dr. Oppezzo. “While vinegar pickling is a common method, true fermentation in brine enriches them with beneficial probiotics for your gut.

Can diabetics eat bread and butter pickles? ›

Are pickles safe for people with diabetes? People living with diabetes can enjoy pickles as a snack or part of a meal. However, they should use caution with sweet pickles, and consider the impact of extra sodium for those at risk of heart disease. Pickled and fermented foods may provide some benefits.

What is the number one pickle brand? ›

Garlic-heavy, sour and full of crunch, Grillo's took home top honors in this contest of the cucumbers with a pickle that excelled in practically every category.

What kind of vinegar is best for pickles? ›

Most pickle recipes call for distilled white vinegar. This is the clear, colorless vinegar made by fermenting grains. It has a mellow aroma, tart acid flavor and does not affect the color of light-colored vegetables or fruits.

Why are restaurant pickles so good? ›

Some restaurants make their own. Others will take pickling cukes and “half-pickle” them, which takes a few days, rather than weeks to months, in a brine that may combine their leftover commercial brine and a few touches of their own (more garlic, more heat, more sweet, more clove, more dill, etc.).

How do you know if pickles have gone bad? ›

How To Tell if Pickles Have Gone Bad
  • Visible mold.
  • Discoloration of brine or pickles.
  • A bad smell when opening the container.
  • Texture change.
Jul 25, 2023

How many years do homemade pickles last? ›

As long as you keep them in the brine (pickle juice), they will last for over a year. They do get more sour over time and at some point get too acidic to eat. But it is not a safety issue unless they get moldy.

How long until homemade pickles go bad? ›

How long do refrigerator pickles last? Homemade refrigerated pickles last at least three to four weeks in the fridge, McClellan says. Any longer and the quality will start to decline. You'll notice the brine goes from clear to murky and cloudy, and the pickles start to lose their texture.

Should bread and butter pickles be refrigerated after opening? ›

Those pickles have been briefly cooked in a brine, and should be refrigerated after you open the jar. The salt and vinegar should keep them safe for a while, but they will likely go bad at room temperature before you finish eating the whole jar.

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