Fried pickles are a crisp and garlicky appetizer or finger food you’ll love dipping in your favorite dip or salad dressing, adding to a sandwich, or elevating a burger as a topping. The pickles are fried in vegetable oil using a large pot, so no deep fryer is needed. All you need is a few simple ingredients and a slotted spoon or spider strainer!
It’s easier than you think to make a flavorful homemade batter to coat the pickles. All you need to make the batter is just water, flour, and some common spices. The secret to this recipe is patting the pickles dry with paper towels so that the garlicky batter coats evenly and sticks to the slices! Each batch takes just 2-3 minutes to fry, so you can start snacking on these while continuing to fry up the next batch! For more game day appetizers, try my buffalo chicken dip, wings recipe, or pretzel bites.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Dill Pickles – dill pickle slices have just the right amount of crispness and vinegar flavor for this recipe. Drain a jar of sliced pickles and pat dry before using.
Vegetable Oil – this neutral oil gives a nice, even fry for pickles that are crispy and brown. You’ll need enough oil to fill the bottom two inches of your pot.
Spices – I like to use a mix of garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in this recipe, but you can change things up and vary the spices used. Try using onion powder, cajun seasoning, or adding a sprinkle of Cayenne pepper or white pepper.
Water – water is used to help thin the batter so you can easily coat the pickles before frying. Increase or decrease the amount of water to adjust how thick the coating is.
How to Make Fried Pickles
1. In a large pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 375°F. Line a large plate with paper towels for draining the pickles after frying. While the oil is warming, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
2. Whisk in the water until smooth.
3. Working in batches, place several of the drained and dried pickles in the batter and coat. Remove with a slotted spoon, shake off the excess batter, and place in the hot oil.
4. Fry until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a clean slotted spoon or spider strainer and drain on the prepared paper towels. Serve hot with ranch dressing.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Drain and pat the pickles dry. Drain the brine off the pickle slices and place the well-drained pickles in a single layer on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Place more paper towels on top of the pickles and press down to absorb the juice. You want the pickles to be very dry so the coating adheres to them and remains crisp after frying.
- Use a slotted spoon or two forks to transfer the pickles from the batter to the oil. Working in batches, place several pickles in the batter to coat. Remove them using a slotted spoon or two forks, shaking off the excess batter, and transfer them immediately to the hot oil to fry.
- Maintain a consistent oil temperature by adjusting the heat. Adjust the heat as needed to keep the oil around 375°F. You may have to wait a minute or so between batches for the oil to come back up to temperature.
- Adjust the water for a thinner batter. This is a thicker batter, so you get more of the flavored coating on each pickle. Increase the water to ⅔ cup if you prefer a thinner batter. The frying time will be the same, but the pickles will have less coating.
- Coat and fry in batches. Coat only as many pickles as you are able to fry at one time. Once that batch has cooked to a golden brown color and been removed from the oil, start coating the next batch in the batter.
- Alternate cooking option. If you have a stand-alone deep fryer, you can use it to make this recipe. Set the oil to 375 degrees F and wait for it to reach the frying temperature. Fry the pickles in batches and then transfer them to the prepared paper-towel-lined plate to cool.
- Seasoning variations. Vary the seasonings used to your liking. Try using Cayenne pepper, chili powder, onion powder, sage, or rosemary. Or use 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing seasoning in place of the garlic and Italian seasoning.
- Use extra batter to fry okra, onions, or other pickled vegetables. If you have a smaller jar of pickles, you can use the extra fried pickles batter to coat and fry sliced okra or onions. Or, try this recipe with other varieties of pickled vegetables, such as green beans, bell peppers, or squash.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can whisk up the flour mixture ahead of time and store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days. When it comes time to fry, just whisk in the water, dredge the pickles, and continue with the recipe as directed.
This deep-fried pickles recipe is best served hot with ranch dressing, or your favorite dipping sauces, such as sriracha mayo or French onion dip. You can also top them off with your favorite hot sauce for an extra kick! Serve fried pickles with your favorite game day appetizers, such as ham and cheese sliders, air fryer chicken wings, spinach artichoke dip, and queso.
To keep them crisp, always fry the pickles at the correct temperature of 375°F. If the temperature is lower the breading will absorb too much of the oil, making them soggy or soft. The temperature of the oil may drop when adding a new batch of pickles, so keep the food thermometer in the oil between batches to ensure that the temperature has returned to 375 before adding more pickles. Also, be sure to pat the pickles very dry. Excess moisture will steam them on the inside and ruin a crispy crust!
This recipe can be easily made with whole pickles that have been sliced into rounds or spears. I do not to recommend frying whole pickle spears, however, as they are too thick to cook through properly.
For batter that sticks and makes a crisp exterior, use a thicker batter like the one in this recipe, and make sure to drain and pat the pickles dry before dipping them in the batter. Use paper towels to pat both sides of the pickles completely dry before coating in batter. Make sure the cooking oil is at 375°F and adjust the heat as needed to maintain that temperature to help the batter cook evenly and adhere to the pickles.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this fried pickles recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Fried Pickles
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Paper towels
- Slotted spoons
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for frying
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (60g)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup water (120mL)
- 1 (16-ounce/473mL) jar dill pickle slices drained and patted dry (see Notes)
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 375°F. Line a large plate with paper towels.
- While the oil is warming, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the water until smooth.
- Working in batches, place several pickles in the batter and coat. Remove with a slotted spoon, shake off excess batter, and place in the hot oil. Fry until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a clean slotted spoon or spider strainer and drain on the paper towels. Serve hot with ranch dressing.
Notes
- Drain and pat the pickles dry. Drain the brine off the pickle slices and place the well-drained pickles in a single layer on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Place more paper towels on top of the pickles and press down to absorb the juice. You want the pickles to be very dry so the coating adheres to them and remains crisp after frying.
- Use a slotted spoon or two forks to transfer the pickles from the batter to the oil. Working in batches, place several pickles in the batter to coat. Remove them using a slotted spoon or two forks, shaking off the excess batter, and transfer them immediately to the hot oil to fry.
- Maintain a consistent oil temperature by adjusting the heat. Adjust the heat as needed to keep the oil around 375°F. You may have to wait a minute or so between batches for the oil to come back up to temperature.
- Adjust the water for a thinner batter. This is a thicker batter, so you get more of the flavored coating on each pickle. Increase the water to ⅔ cup if you prefer a thinner batter. The frying time will be the same, but the pickles will have less coating.
- Coat and fry in batches. Coat only as many pickles as you are able to fry at one time. Once that batch has cooked to a golden brown color and been removed from the oil, start coating the next batch in the batter.
- Alternate cooking option. If you have a stand-alone deep fryer, you can use it to make this recipe. Set the oil to 375 degrees F and wait for it to reach the frying temperature. Fry the pickles in batches and then transfer them to the prepared paper-towel-lined plate to cool.
- Seasoning variations. Vary the seasonings used to your liking. Try using Cayenne pepper, chili powder, onion powder, sage, or rosemary. Or use 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing seasoning in place of the garlic and Italian seasoning.
- Use extra batter to fry okra, onions, or other pickled vegetables. If you have a smaller jar of pickles, you can use the extra fried pickles batter to coat and fry sliced okra or onions. Or, try this recipe with other varieties of pickled vegetables, such as green beans, bell peppers, or squash.
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