Easy Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles

There is something about opening your fridge and seeing glorious jars stuffed with seasonal vegetables to improve any and all your meals so incredibly inviting.

These Bread and Butter Pickles, which are essentially, sliced cucumber and onion blanched in vinegar liberally sweetened and spiced and dashed through with fresh dill.

Recipes for these kind of sweet and sour cucumber pickles go back to early 20^th century America. Many sources claim they are named as such either because they are were traditionally served in bread and butter sandwiches. Or that jars of these pickles were traded during the depression between families for everyday groceries, like bread and butter.

They are known for their sweetness, sharp tang and gentle spicing. They are not as astringent as dill pickles and as such they are incredibly moreish and do not last long in our fridge. It’s just as well they are so simple to make then.

When we have a jar in our fridge we use them in any way we can. They are really appreciated in our homemade burgers, cheese and ham toasties. But also excellent with fish cakes, homemade quiche, pork pies, sausage rolls or with a cheeseboard or BBQ buffet.

Ingredients Needed

Cucumbers. You want small firm cucumbers. These are best in the summer season if you are using UK cucumbers and you’ll most likely find them at farmers’ markets or in your local greengrocer. However, you can use imported cucumbers throughout the other months. You can use regular supermarket cucumbers but they tend to be more watery and so you may like to salt them overnight (instead of the suggested 2 hours)

Shallots. I usually choose echalion shallots, sometimes called banana shallots, as they are larger and easier to peel and slice than the small round shallots. You could also use a small white onion.

Salt. I use kosher salt in my kitchen for brining the vegetables.

White wine vinegar. You could use apple cider vinegar instead of if you prefer. Avoid malt vinegar or red wine vinegar which are not right for this recipe.

Sugar. Use white granulated sugar as it’s the most economical choice plus has a more neutral flavour than the molasses based brown sugars.

Garlic. You just need two fresh cloves, peeled and crushed to add flavour to the pickling liquid.

Spices. We are using a mix of coriander seeds, mustard seeds, celery seeds and black peppercorns to add warmth to our pickling vinegar. I also add in a small pinch of red chilli flakes but these are totally optional.

Fresh dill. Finally I love using fresh herbs and dill is a traditional addition to cucumber pickles. The flavour is superb.

How To Make Easy Bread and Butter Pickles

See the recipe card at the bottom of this page for the full instructions.

Slice the cucumbers and shallots thinly and evenly, using a sharp knife or mandoline. Place in a colander, toss with salt. Fit the colander on top of a large bowl.

Cover the surface of the vegetables with a piece of baking parchment, then place a heavy weight on to help draw out excess moisture. Chill for at least 2 hours. Spread out on wire rack and pat dry.

Place the rest of the ingredients (except for the dill) in a non-reactive pan. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Place the cucumber and onion into the pan and bring up to the boil again and turn off the heat.

Stir in the fresh dill. Remove the pickles from the pan using tongs to pack into hot sterilised jars.

Pour over the pickling vinegar to cover, leaving half an inch to the top of the jar. Seal the jar/s. Wait for 24 hours before eating. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Equipment Needed

No specialist equipment is needed for making these Bread and Butter Pickles. However, there are some pieces you may find useful for a streamlined process.

For a full list of equipment you might like to have on hand if you rather enjoy pickling and preserving it’s worth looking at my Equipment Guide For Preserving which explains must-haves and nice-to-haves.

Mandolin. It’s more about slicing your cucumbers and shallots in a uniform manner – which means the texture will be consistent throughout your pickles. It’s easier to manage this with a mandolin or the slicing attachment of your food processor (which is what I use).

Heavy weight. I used this cast iron burger press to weigh down the vegetables to press out the excess moisture. It's a worthwhile investment as this weight has so many uses in my kitchen.

Stainless steel saucepan. This isn’t a huge batch recipe as it makes enough for about 500g pickles so it’s not really worth investing in a maslin pan for this recipe. Just use a large stainless steel saucepan. The stainless steel aspect is important so the pan material does not react to the pickling vinegar.

Wide funnel. Once you have a wide mouthed jam funnel in your kitchen you will never look back in your preserving process. It’s wide enough to fit a good tongful of vegetables through without getting any sticky mess onto the jar.

Tongs. So much easier to use than spooning your vegetables from your pan into your jars. I use stainless steel ones so that they can be sterilised.

Jars. You need either 2 x 250ml jars or 1 x 500ml jar for this recipe. I like the Kilner jars with the screw top banded lids.

Storage

These are refrigerator pickles which need to be kept chilled. As such you may want to think about the jars you are storing them in if they are going to be taking space in your fridge for a couple of weeks. They should be used within two weeks of making.

I don’t recommend using this recipe to process in a water-bath to be used for long-term storage.

You will still need to be using sterilised jars to ensure the pickles are free from contamination. Use clean utensils to remove your pickles from the jar. If you notice any mould forming or off-putting smell when you open the jar then discard the pickles.

See my guide for full instructions on how to sterilise your jars for preserving.

Label your pickle jar with the date it was made / use-by date to help you with your fridge organisation.

How To Serve Bread & Butter Pickles

These Bread and Butter Pickles are delicious served in the following ways:

• Topping a delicious homemade burger or hot dog.
• Stuffed into a salt beef sandwich.
• Enjoying inside a ham and cheese sandwich/toastie or a tuna melt.
• Bolstering up a cheese or charcuterie board during the holidays or at summer BBQ gatherings.
• Perfect with a Ploughman’s lunch.
• Diced into salads like this Turkey Salad or my Garbage Salad.
• Accompany them with sausage rolls, pork pies or a homemade quiche.
• They are lovely with fish too. Try them with salmon fishcakes or alongside these salmon nuggets.

More Pickle Recipes You’ll Love

This Pickled Golden Beetroot is crisp and vinegary with a hint of sweetness from honey. An essential addition to your cheese or charcuterie board.

These Pickled Mirabelle Plums are an excellent way to make use of Summer’s bounty. A deliciously sweet and tangy preserve.

This Courgette Relish is the perfect way to get the most out of a bumper courgette crop. It is an easy relish to knock together and has endless uses from burger or hot dog toppings, barbecue accompaniments or the grace within a cheese sandwich.