These homemade fried pickles (or "frickles") are battered and deep fried to perfection, then served with tangy homemade buttermilk ranch! They're a great appetizer for game-day, burger night, or any occasion!
Fried pickles are surprisingly easy to make at home with just a heavy bottomed pot, cooking oil, and a thermometer!
You might also like these potato chip crusted chicken tenders, this southern fried okra, or these pretzel bites!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make fried pickles at home!
Pickle Chips - My favorite pickles for fried pickles are the Mt. Olive Kosher Dill Pickle Chips. But any pickle slices will do! You can also use different flavors of pickles (like bread and butter or garlic pickles) or even pickle spears! If you want to cut your own pickle slices, I recommend about ¼ inch thick.
Cornstarch - Adding a little bit of cornstarch to the flour breading mixture is a great trick for extra crispy frickles! It helps absorb moisture and prevent gluten formation so that you don't end up with soggy or gluey breading.
Spices - We don't skimp on seasoning around here! A mistake I see in many fried pickle recipes is that there isn't enough seasoning in the breading, so you end up with bland fried pickles. But feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste. [For example, don't like smoked paprika? Just leave it out! Love garlic? Add a little extra!]
Hot Sauce - This is optional, but if you want spicy fried pickles you can add 1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce to the egg/buttermilk mixture! My husband loves adding Franks Hot Sauce (just note that some hot sauces, like Franks, are very salty so you might want to reduce the salt content of the breading if you go this route).
Buttermilk - If you don't have buttermilk you can make your own "buttermilk" by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to every 1 cup of whole milk!
Oil for frying - I typically have canola oil or vegetable oil at home so that's what I use, but peanut oil is also a really delicious option (as long as you aren't allergic of course). You just want to make sure you're using an oil with a high smoke point that is intended for frying.
Flaky Sea Salt - This is optional, but I love a little sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of the fried pickles!
Ranch - There's nothing I love more than dipping fried pickles in a tangy buttermilk ranch! I've included my recipe for how to make it, but you can just use your favorite!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Homemade Ranch Dressing
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the buttermilk until fully combined and smooth. It will be very thick.
Then slowly whisk in the buttermilk until your desired consistency is reached! I think ½ cup buttermilk is perfect for dipping, but you can use a little less for thicker ranch or a little extra for a thinner dressing. Taste and add salt/adjust seasonings as desired.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week!
How to Make Fried Pickles
Pour 2-4 cups of vegetable oil (you want it to be at least 2-3 inches deep) into a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 375°F. [I love this thermometer because it clips to the pot.] Place a cooling rack on top of a lined baking sheet and position it next to your stove.
While the oil is heating, bread the pickles.
First, pat the pickles dry (this helps the breading stick and prevents soggy frickles). I like to firmly press the sliced pickles in a single layer between layers of paper towels to remove all the excess liquid.
On a large plate, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg (you can also add a few dashes of hot sauce to this if desired).
Take a pickle slice and coat it lightly in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Then quickly dip in the egg mixture and then add it back to the flour mixture to coat fully (the breading should look textured and clumpy). Batter about 10-15 pickles and then fry the first batch.
Once the oil is 375°F, add the first batch of pickles and fry for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to remove the pickles from the oil and place on the wire rack to let the excess oil drip off.
While the oil comes back up to temperature, batter the next batch of pickles. Repeat until all the pickles have been fried (it usually takes me 4-5 batches).
Once fried, you can keep the fried pickles nice and crispy by transferring the baking sheet to a 200°F oven. The low temperature ensures the pickles don't overcook but the heat helps keep the breading from getting soggy.
Sprinkle the fried pickles with flaky sea salt and fresh dill and serve immediately with the homemade ranch!
Recipe FAQ's
Fried pickles are best eaten immediately while still hot, but they will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat in the oven at 400°F for about 10 minutes, until crispy. I recommend placing them on a rack over a baking sheet so that the air can fully circulate around them and get super crispy again!
This recipe is designed to be fried and with this particular type of flour breading, I personally don't recommend baking the pickles because it doesn't crisp up properly in the oven. If you want baked pickles, I recommend searching for a recipe that uses breadcrumbs instead.
These frickles are delicious dipped in homemade ranch (recipe included). But they're also good with blue cheese dressing, garlic aioli, or fry sauce! You can also use these fried pickles to top burgers or buffalo chicken sandwiches!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Fried Pickles with Homemade Ranch
Special Equipment
- 2-4 cups canola oil for frying
Ingredients
Breading
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pickles
- 2 (16 ounce) jars dill pickle chips
- ½ cup buttermilk, substitute whole milk + 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 large egg
Buttermilk Ranch
- ½ cup buttermilk, substitute whole milk + 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
Buttermilk Ranch
- This recipe makes quite a bit of ranch so feel free to halve the recipe if desired!
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the buttermilk until fully combined and smooth. It will be very thick.
- Then slowly whisk in the buttermilk until your desired consistency is reached! I think ½ cup buttermilk is perfect for dipping, but you can use a little less for thicker ranch or a little extra for a thinner dressing.
- Taste and add salt/adjust seasonings as desired.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week!
Fried Pickles
- Pour 2-4 cups of vegetable oil (you want it to be at least 2-3 inches deep) into a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 375°F. Place a cooling rack on top of a lined baking sheet and position it next to your stove.
- While the oil is heating, bread the pickles.
- First, pat the pickles dry (this helps the breading stick and prevents soggy frickles). I like to firmly press the sliced pickles in a single layer between layers of paper towels to remove all the excess liquid.
- On a large plate, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg (you can also add a few dashes of hot sauce to this if desired).
- Take a pickle slice and coat it lightly in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Then quickly dip in the egg mixture and then add it back to the flour mixture to coat fully (the breading should look textured and clumpy). Batter about 10-15 pickles and then fry the first batch.
- Once the oil is 375°F, add the first batch of pickles and fry for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to remove the pickles from the oil and place on the wire rack to let the excess oil drip off.
- While the oil comes back up to temperature, batter the next batch of pickles. Repeat until all the pickles have been fried (it usually takes me 4-5 batches).
- Once fried, you can keep the fried pickles nice and crispy by transferring the baking sheet to a 200°F oven. The low temperature ensures the pickles don't overcook but the heat helps keep the breading from getting soggy.
- Sprinkle the fried pickles with flaky sea salt and fresh dill and serve immediately with the homemade ranch!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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