Air Fryer Bread and Butter Pickles: The Ultimate Easy Snack
Air fryer bread and butter pickles are a crispy, tangy, and slightly sweet snack that is easy to make at home. They are perfect as a quick appetizer, a game day treat, or a fun side dish when you want something crunchy without deep frying.
This simple air fried pickle recipe uses everyday ingredients, including bread and butter pickle slices, flour, egg, panko bread crumbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. The pickles are coated, lightly sprayed with cooking oil, and cooked in the air fryer until golden and crisp.
Serve these crispy air fryer pickles hot with your favorite dipping sauce. Ranch, blue cheese, honey mustard, mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce, and sour cream are all tasty choices. The sweet and tangy flavor of bread and butter pickles pairs especially well with creamy or savory dips.
Because the air fryer uses circulating hot air instead of a pot of oil, this method is a convenient alternative to traditional deep fried pickles. You still get a crunchy coating and warm pickle center, but cleanup is easier and the recipe comes together quickly.
🫙 Bread and Butter Pickles vs Dill Pickles
Bread and butter pickles and dill pickles are both popular, but they have very different flavors. Both are made with cucumbers, vinegar, and seasonings, yet the finished taste is not the same.
Bread and butter pickles are known for their sweet and tangy flavor. They often have a mild, slightly buttery taste that makes them a great match for crispy breading and creamy dipping sauces. Their sweetness also balances nicely with garlic, pepper, and salty seasonings.
Dill pickles, on the other hand, are usually more sour and salty, with a stronger dill flavor. If you prefer a sharper pickle taste, you can use dill pickle slices in this recipe instead. The texture and cooking method will be similar, but the final flavor will be different.
This recipe is made with bread and butter pickle slices, but you can choose the pickle variety you enjoy most. The important thing is to drain the slices well before breading them, since excess liquid can make it harder for the coating to stick and crisp properly.
🍞 The Breading
The breading is what turns simple pickle slices into a crunchy air fryer appetizer. For this recipe, the coating is made with all-purpose flour, panko bread crumbs, egg, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper.
The flour helps absorb moisture from the pickle slices and gives the egg something to cling to. The beaten egg helps bind the coating together, while the panko bread crumbs create a crisp outer layer. Panko is lighter and flakier than regular bread crumbs, which makes it a good choice for air fryer recipes.
Granulated garlic, salt, and pepper add flavor directly to the flour mixture. This keeps the coating from tasting plain and gives each bite a savory finish. You can adjust the salt and pepper to suit your taste, especially if your pickles are already very flavorful.
☀️ Air Fryers: A Healthy and Convenient Way to Cook
Air fryers cook food by circulating hot air around the ingredients. This helps food cook evenly and quickly, while using less oil than traditional frying. For crispy appetizers like breaded pickles, an air fryer is especially useful because it can brown the coating without needing a deep pot of oil.
Air fryers are also convenient for small batches. This recipe makes one batch, which is ideal for one or two servings. If you want to make more, cook the pickles in batches so they remain in a single layer. Crowding the basket can prevent the coating from becoming crisp.
Some of the benefits of using an air fryer include:
- It cooks food evenly and quickly.
- It uses less oil than traditional frying.
- It is convenient for appetizers, snacks, and side dishes.
- It can help create crispy versions of favorite fried foods.
A basic air fryer is all you need for this easy air fryer pickle recipe. Be sure to check the pickles near the end of the cooking time, since air fryer models can vary slightly.
💡 Using Parchment Paper in an Air Fryer
Parchment paper can help keep breaded foods from sticking to the air fryer basket and makes cleanup easier. For this recipe, basket-style parchment works well because it helps contain crumbs and keeps the pickles easy to remove after cooking.
Air fryer parchment paper is available in different shapes and sizes, including round, square, flat, and basket-style sheets. Some sheets are solid, while others have ventilation holes to help air circulate. Always use parchment paper that is suitable for air fryer cooking and place food on top of it so it stays in place while the air fryer runs.
Using parchment paper is a simple way to make air frying less messy, especially when working with breaded foods like these crispy bread and butter pickles.
🥣 Dipping Sauces for Air Fried Bread and Butter Pickles
Air fried bread and butter pickles are delicious on their own, but a good dipping sauce makes them even better. Since bread and butter pickles are sweet and tangy, they pair well with creamy, smoky, sharp, or slightly sweet sauces.
Try one or more of these dipping sauce options:
- Ranch dressing
- Blue cheese dressing
- Thousand Island dressing
- Honey mustard sauce
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- BBQ sauce
- Sour cream
Choose your favorite or serve a few dips together for a fun appetizer plate. These pickles are best served hot, while the coating is still crisp.
🥒 Bread and Butter Air Fried Pickles Recipe
Prep Time: 2 minutes, plus 10 minutes to drain pickles
Cook Time: 12 to 15 minutes
Yield: 1 batch, 1 to 2 servings
Ingredients
12 bread and butter pickle slices
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
½ cup panko bread crumbs
Cooking oil spray
Supplies
Paper towel
Air fryer
Basket-style parchment paper
3 small bowls
Tongs
Instructions
1) Place a paper towel on a plate. Arrange the pickle slices in a flat layer and let them drain for about 10 minutes to remove excess liquid.
2) Add the flour, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper to one bowl. Stir until combined. Crack the egg into a second bowl and beat it. Add the panko bread crumbs to a third bowl.
3) Place basket-style parchment paper in the air fryer basket.
4) Dip one pickle slice into the seasoned flour, then into the beaten egg, and finally into the panko bread crumbs. Place it on the parchment paper in the air fryer basket.
5) Repeat with the remaining pickle slices, arranging them in a single layer. Lightly spritz the tops with cooking oil spray.
6) Set the air fryer to 350°F and cook for 6 to 7 minutes.
7) Use tongs to carefully flip the pickles. Lightly spritz the second side with cooking oil spray. Cook for another 6 to 7 minutes, or until the coating is golden brown and crisp.
8) Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.
More Air Fryer Recipe Ideas
Air Fryer Recipes
- Nutella Uncrustables Donuts
- Corn on the Cob
- Beets
- Brussels Sprouts with Garlic
- BBQ Potatoes
- Polenta
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- Cinnamon Baguette Crisps
- Maple Egg-Free French Toast
- Poppy Seed Bagels
- English Muffins
- Cinnamon Apples
These crispy air fryer bread and butter pickles are simple, flavorful, and fun to make. Enjoy them as a snack, appetizer, or party bite whenever you are craving something crunchy and tangy.
