Overnight Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe

Making Overnight Bread and Butter Pickles is a great alternative when you don’t have the time, equipment or enough produce to make a large batch of traditional canned pickles. It is also a perfect way for new gardeners who have not yet attempted canning to reap the benefits of their first cucumber harvest.

However, even with years of experience canning pickles, I also like to make refrigerator pickles because they turn out super crisp every time. There is nothing more disappointing than to open a jar of homemade pickles in the middle of winter only to find out that the pickles are soggy. 

After spending months growing the cucumbers and hours in the kitchen to preserve them your efforts have a less than desirable outcome. However, that is not the case with these pickles!

You can bet that each time that you take a bite into one that it will be nice and crunchy. And instead of waiting weeks to open a jar of homemade pickles, these pickles are ready to eat in 48 hours!

However, to make them turn out perfect every time, there are a few key steps to follow. By following these tips you will be able to enjoy the great taste of crispy homemade pickles.

Just be sure to plant enough cucumber plants this year. These pickles will become your new favorite snack and you will want to have a batch in the refrigerator all summer long!

How To Make Overnight Bread and Butter Pickles

There are a few important tips to follow when using any method for making pickles. Whether you are canning pickles or are making them in the refrigerator be sure to follow tips below so that they turn out perfect each and every time.

1. Use Pickling Cucumber Varieties

Pickling cucumbers are much different than the cucumbers that you find at the grocery store to use in salads. First of all pickling cucumbers are much smaller in both length and diameter when compared to salad cucumbers.

However, they also have less of a seed core and have a tougher skin which results in a much crisper cucumber. As a result, the pickles will turn out more crispy as well. 

2. Do Not Use Overripe Cucumbers

It is also important not to use overripe cucumbers when making overnight bread and butter pickles. Overripe cucumbers have an extra large seed core and they can taste bitter.

So how do you know when a cucumber is overripe? It is quite simple. Cucumbers that are overripe begin to turn from the iconic green color to yellow in spots.

They also tend to have a larger circumference in the middle when compared to each end. Although they don’t make good pickles, oftentimes they can still be used for salads, such as Cucumber, Onion & Tomato Salad. And they are also great to use to make Tzatziki dip.

3. Use Fresh Picked Cucumbers

Another important step when making pickles is to use fresh picked cucumbers. And when I talk about fresh picked, I don’t mean the cucumbers that have been sitting in your crisper drawer for days, or even a week or two.

Here I am referring to making pickles on the same day that the cucumbers are picked. Fresh cucumbers turn into crisp pickles.

If you buy your cucumbers from a local Farmer’s market, ask the vendor when they were picked. Most often they have been picked within 24 hours of market day.

Luckily, because this is a refrigerator pickle recipe that can be made in small batches, you won’t have to wait until your cucumber plants produce heavily to make pickles. Instead, you can pick a few and get started.

4. Cut Off The Blossom End

The final tip is an important one. Even when making overnight bread and butter pickles it is best to cut off the blossom end of the cucumber and discard it or add it to your compost pile.

The blossom end is the end of the cucumber that has a smooth round circle. This end contains enzymes from the flower blossom that can make the pickles turn soggy if not removed.  

However, even after looking at both ends of the cucumber you aren’t sure which one is the blossom end and which one is the vine end, do yourself a favor and cut both ends off. That way you will be sure to have removed the end with the enzymes that will prevent your pickles from becoming crisp.

How Many Cucumbers Do You Need To Make A Pint

Every time I share a pickle recipe I will get several questions regarding how many cucumbers are needed per pint to make pickles. Although I would love to give a definitive answer, the answer really is, ‘it depends’.

Cucumbers come in all shapes and varieties. Depending on what type of cucumber you plant, where you planted it, and when you picked or purchased them the size will differ.

Then comes the question of how you cut the cucumbers for pickling. Depending on if you keep them whole, cut them into spears, or slice them into chips will matter how many cucumbers you will need per pint.

However, as a general rule of thumb, 4-6 pickling cucumbers will yield approximately 1 pint of refrigerator pickle slices.

Overnight Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe

*Complete recipe instructions including specific measurements, cook temperatures and times are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to keep reading for helpful tips and tricks when making this recipe.

YIELD

• approximately 1 pint

INGREDIENTS

• 4 to 6 pickling cucumbers (approximately 3/4 pound)
• 1 sweet onion
• 1⁄2 cup white sugar
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 1⁄2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1⁄2 tsp mustard seed
• 1⁄2 tsp celery seed
• 1⁄2 tsp turmeric
• 1 1⁄2 cups apple cider vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds and slice onions paper thin and place in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients and pour over the cucumber/onion mixture. Mix to coat. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. Store in air-tight container(s), keeping in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Although this is an overnight bread and butter pickles recipe, it is best to wait a full 48 hours before taking the first bite. This will allow enough time for the cucumbers to absorb the flavor and become pickled.

Then the pickles can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month, if they last that long!

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

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