Crisp and delicious, Freezer Bread and Butter Pickles are the easiest way to preserve all those cucumbers!
These are so good, that I've bought cucumbers just to make them. You won't believe how fresh, sweet and tangy they are!
No canning required!
Right now my fridge is filled with jars of refrigerator pickles. I love refrigerator pickles.
They are such a great way to preserve summer vegetables and make them last a few months.
The only problem is that my fridge gets crowded, so when I learned that you could freeze pickles, I was instantly intrigued.
We love bread and butter pickles, so they were first on our list to try!
These come out so good!! They are crispy and sweet and tangy. You would never know that they had been frozen! Now I have jars of these in my freezer to enjoy all winter long!
Ingredients:
Cucumbers - for pickling, pickling cucumbers are nice, but they can be regular cucumbers, the smaller the better. You don't want big, large cucumbers with lots of seeds.
Onion - just a regular yellow or white onion works great.
Red Bell Pepper.
Pickling salt - pickling salt doesn't have an additives like regular table salt. You can also use kosher or sea salt as long as there are no additives.
Apple cider vinegar and sugar.
Mustard seeds, celery seeds and turmeric.
Instructions:
Wash your freezer jars or containers, this recipe makes about 3 cups. I like to use pint jars. Any leftover that doesn't completely fill a jar, just store in the fridge and eat within a few days.
Note - you'll find some jars are labeled freezer jars. That usually just means that they don't have a shoulder, so that food can slide out easily. You can use regular canning jars for freezing.
I would recommend using plastic lids. Metal lids will corrode over time from the vinegar.
Thinly slice the cucumbers, onion and red bell pepper and place them in a non reactive container. Sprinkle with the salt and toss to make sure they are all coated.
Let them sit for about 3 hours, stirring them occasionally. This is to remove the extra moisture from the vegetables and will help them stay crisp in the fridge.
After 3 hours, drain the vegetables and rinse and drain them twice.
Warm the vinegar by heating it in the microwave for 30 seconds or on your stove top.
Add the sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and turmeric to the vinegar and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Pack the vegetables tightly into your freezer containers. Pour the vinegar mixture over them. Seal and store in the fridge.
You can store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. After you thaw them, try to eat them within several days (not a problem!) because they will lose their crunch.
These are so good! They really do come out so fresh and crisp.
You don't want to eat them within a few days because they will lose some of their crispness. That is why I use smaller size jars for freezing.
These freezer pickles are so good though, you won't have any trouble finishing them off in a few days!
Note - these pickles came from my favorite canning book on Small batch canning! There is a link to it in the recipe card.
More pickle recipes:
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Recipe
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Freezer Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients
- 4 cups cucumbers thinly sliced
- 1 cup onion thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 2 tsp pickling salt
- 1 ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp celery seeds
- ½ tsp turmeric
Instructions
- Place the cucumbers, onions and bell pepper in a nonreactive bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and mix well. Let sit for about 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, drain the vegetables and rinse them twice and drain thoroughly.
- Heat the vinegar in a microwave for about 30 seconds to warm it slightly or heat on the stove. Add the sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and turmeric. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Pack the vegetables into clean freezer safe containers. Pour the liquid over them.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
This was originally published in 2010 and has been updated for 2020.
Noelle says
My favorite kind of pickles! Can't wait to making theses, great idea!
Dannii says
This looks like a great way to use up all the cucumbers we are growing. I can't wait to try it.
Angela says
Sweet and tangy, these pickles are perfection! I'll never get store-bought pickles again!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
These sound so tangy and delicious! You just can't beat a good pickle.
Michelle says
I am jealous of your freezer full of pickles! I've just been too intimidated by canning and pickling so I didn't even plant anything! But your recipe looks doable, so I feel like I might be able to try it successfully!
elizabeth says
These were really good. Thanks for posting! I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup and think it might be fine with even less sugar. I'll see next time since I'll definitely be making these again.
Today I'm trying dill pickles. Wonder if they'll be as good as these.
Wearinbeads says
After your description when you packed your cookbooks, I ordered this book. I love it too. thanks!
Bella Rum says
I just filed this under "things to get to." It sounds simple enough even for me. And they're so pretty. Love your photos on this site. So pretty.
Christy says
I love recipes like this that make small amounts - as a beginner in the world of preserving it makes it seem so much more do-able. Oh, and I love bread and butter pickles!
Debinhawaii says
Yum! I am really going to have to find that book. Everything you make from it looks amazing. 😉
merrilymarylee says
I love the small batch-ness of it. I may try it!
Nancy says
These look fabulous! I will order that book. As for me, my freezer is too small for freezer pickles, so I've just been buying ripe berries and freezing them. Next year for the pickles.
grace says
it'll be awesome to crack open a jar of these in the dead of winter. awesome.
Marjie says
You make me want to preserve stuff, not that I'm going too. Nothing lasts long enough around here.
Celestial Charms says
These pickles look great. Love the camera angle.
Maureen
food for thought says
they look so pretty, besides being tasty~
Mary says
I am in love. I adore pickles and these have my name all over them. Thank you for the recipe. I can't wait to give these a try. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary
Happier Than a Pig in Mud says
Looks great, different from the freezer dills I made earlier!
5 Star Foodie says
A terrific idea, I bet those are so good!
Mags says
My cucumbers are gone for this year, but you can bet I'm bookmarking this one to try next year.
Jacqueline says
Very pretty and very appealing 🙂
Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe says
I would have never thought to try this. I bet they are yummmy!
This looks like another friday favorite!
Joanne says
I have two cucumbers sitting in my fridge that I stupidly bought thinking for a brief second that they were zucchini (oy). And so you can imagine how happy i am to see this recipe!
inanoyster.com says
mm i love those kinda pickles!