Restaurant-style appetizer made in the convenience of your own kitchen. Coat dill pickles in sourdough breadcrumbs and fry until golden brown for the ultimate crunchy snack. Serve these Sourdough Fried Pickles with my kick’n frickle sauce for a creamy dip with a bit of a kick.
I guess I am on a fried recipes kick?
A few weeks ago, I shared with you my Homemade Fried Sourdough Chicken Tenders. This recipe incorporated sourdough discard into the batter and man, was it the bomb! Juicy chicken and crispy breading, can it get tastier than that? If you haven’t tried that recipe yet, it has to be the next on your list.
Anyways, I joked that my husband was asking when I would develop a recipe for sourdough fried pickles. For the love of my sweet husband, I went to find the perfect sourdough fried pickles recipe. With some trial and error, I think I’ve found just that!
At first, I attempted to fry the pickles in sourdough discard, just like my chicken recipe. The batter was super tasty, but the crispiness didn’t complement the crunch of the pickles like I was hoping for. Then came the idea of using sourdough breadcrumbs.
Game changer!
Dill pickle spears dipped in sourdough breadcrumbs give you the ultimate crunch that is bursting with flavor. Each spear is fried just for a moment until they are golden brown and super crispy.
For another layer of flavor, dip these delicious frickles in my kick’n frickle sauce. A creamy dip with just a hint of heat and the perfect mate for a Sourdough Fried Pickle.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
Delicious:
Don’t wait until your next visit to your local dive bar to enjoy fried pickles. Sourdough fried pickles are easy to make and even tastier with the help of sourdough breadcrumbs. The crispy breading perfectly compliments the crunch from the dill pickle spear. This crunchy snack will have you coming back!
Quick to make:
Prepping the ingredients and frying these pickles is done in a snap. A delicious pickle recipe that is the perfect appetizer for game day, the neighborhood bbq, or salty craving.
No food waste:
If you are like me, I never waste sourdough bread. If I’m not going to be able to finish a freshly baked loaf before it goes stale, I will more than likely freeze it or turn it into breadcrumbs. Sourdough breadcrumbs are far tastier and healthier than regular breadcrumbs you’ll buy from the grocery store. Plus they make excellent dishes like Italian Meatballs or these sourdough fried pickles!
Ingredients:
Pickles – This recipe is perfect for your favorite pickle – pickle spears or pickle chips! I love the taste of fried dill pickles, while my husband tried a batch of fried bread and butter pickles. Both were extremely tasty.
Sourdough breadcrumbs – If you never made breadcrumbs before, no worries! It’s really quite simple. Below I will take you step-by-step on how to make breadcrumbs. Sourdough breadcrumbs give these fried pickles a hint of sourdough flavor and plenty of crunch.
Eggs – Eggs are the adhesive for the recipe, which make the breadcrumbs stick to the pickle.
All-purpose flour – Dipping the pickles in flour gives the pickles an extra layer of crunch, plus it’s how we add our seasonings.
Seasoning – Adding garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper to the flour mixture gives the perfect seasoning to these sourdough fried pickles.
Hot sauce – If you aren’t a fan of spice, you can commit this ingredient, but for a little extra kick, I like to add just a dab to the egg wash.
Oil – You’ll want to use a neutral-tasting oil to fry with a high smoke point, like vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or peanut oil. Refrain from using olive oil because it has a lower heating temperature that isn’t suitable for frying.
Homemade Dipping Sauce:
Mayo
Ketchup
Worcestershire sauce
Pickle Juice
Hot Sauce
Garlic Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Salt
Supplies
Cast Iron Skillet or Dutch Oven– I recently purchased a 10-inch Lodge cast iron – super impressed with the quality. I also use their Dutch Oven for frying, soups, and baking my everydaysourdough bread!
Shallow Bowls
Candy Thermometer
Paper Towels
Wire Wrack
How to Make Sourdough Breadcrumbs:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees f.
Slice 1 loaf of fresh or stale sourdough bread into 1-inch cubes.
Add cubed pieces of sourdough bread into a food processor. Process on high for 30 seconds for course sourdough bread crumbs or for 1-2 minutes for fine sourdough breadcrumbs.
I prefer a finner breadcrumb for this recipe, but you can keep them more coarse if you are looking for more texture.
Spread the bread crumbs on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and place into the preheated oven.
Bake for 5 minutes, stir, and then bake for an additional 10 minutes. The bread crumbs should turn to a golden brown color and be dry to the touch.
Continue to bake for a few extra minutes if necessary.
Remove the sourdough breadcrumbs from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes.
Return the breadcrumbs to the food processor and process if you desire more fine breadcrumbs.
How to Make Sourdough Fried Pickles:
Add 2 cups of neutral oil into acast iron panorDutch Oven. Canola oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, or peanut oil are all good choices.
Bring to medium-high heat.You want to fry your sourdough fried pickles around 315 – 350 degrees f.
Pro-tip:Check to see if the oil is ready by placing the bottom of a wooden spoon in the hot oil. If you see tiny bubbles around the spoon, it is ready to fry!
Prepare the Breading:
Grab three separate bowls – one for the egg mixture, one for the flour mixture, and one for the sourdough breadcrumbs.
In the egg mixture bowl, whisk together the eggs and hot sauce until combined.
Then in the flour mixture bowl, whisk the flour and seasoning together.
In the last bowl, pour in the sourdough breadcrumbs.
Prepare the Pickles:
If you are using pickle spears, I would encourage you to slice them in quarters. This gives you just the right bite of pickle to breading ratio. If using pickle chips, skip this step.
Pat the pickles with paper towels to soak up the extra pickle juice. In order for the breading to stick to the pickle, it needs to be dry.
Dip the Pickles:
When the oil is hot and ready, dip a few pickles in the egg mixture, then flour mixture, egg mixture again, and then into the sourdough breadcrumbs.
Once coated, drop the pickles into the hot oil. You don’t want to overcrowd the frying pan, so you will need to fry the sourdough pickles in small batches.
These fry up quickly, so you will only need to fry them for about a minute on each side or until they are nice and golden brown.
Remove the sourdough-fried pickles with a slotted spoon or kitchen tongs and place them on a paper towel-lined plate. Lastly, sprinkle them with a little bit of additional salt.
Repeat with the rest of the pickles.
How to Make a Kick’n Frickle Sauce:
In a small bowl, add the mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, pickle juice, hot sauce, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix until smooth and serve with fresh sourdough fried pickles.
How to Serve Sourdough Fried Pickles:
Serve these sourdough-fried pickles hot with my kick’n frickle sauce or any of your favorite dipping sauces. This a great appetizer the whole family will love! Might I persuade you to make a double batch because these will probably be gone in a second?
Dipping sauces:
- Kick’n Frickle Sauce
- Ranch dressing (another all-time favorite sauce)
- BBQ
- Ketchup
- Ketchup & Mayo
- Garlic Aioli
- Buffalo
How to Store/ Reheat Sourdough Fried Pickles:
Once the sourdough fried pickles have cooled, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
When reheating, our main concern is how to get the breaded pickles crispy again. Reheating the deep-fried pickles in the microwave can lead to soggy breading.
Instead, place the dill pickle slices or spears on a wire rack that has been placed on top of a large baking sheet. This will help the high temperature to crisp up the crust evenly on all sides. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees f, or until completely reheated.
FAQs:
WHAT KIND OF OIL SHOULD YOU USE?
The best oil to use when frying sourdough fried pickles is a neutral oil. Neutral oils with a high-smoke temperature like canola oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, or peanut oil are all good choices.
Stay away from olive oil for frying. It has a lower smoke temperature, which will cause it to smoke at such a high heat. This also causes the oil to break down and you don’t want that while you are cooking.
HOW HOT SHOULD THE OIL BE?
Pour the oil into a cold cast iron skillet or Dutch Oven and bring to medium high heat on the stovetop. You want to fry your sourdough fried pickles around 315 – 350 degrees f. Check the temperature of the oil with a deep fat thermometer.
Why Does the Breading Keep Falling of the Sourdough Fried Pickles?
The biggest culprit for this problem is moisture. In order for the batter to stick to the pickles, you need to make sure the pickle slices or spears are nice and dry. Pat each pickle with a paper towel before dipping them into the batter.
You could even pop them in a 400-degree oven for a few minutes to reduce extra moisture.
Happy frying!
More Crispy Recipes Like This:
Homemade Fried Sourdough Chicken Tenders
Cast Iron Skillet Bacon
Sourdough Bagel Chips
Fried Pickles made with Sourdough Breadcrumbs Recipe
Yield: 40+ fried pickles
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Restaurant-style appetizer made in the convenience of your own kitchen. Coat dill pickles in sourdough breadcrumbs and fry until golden brown for the ultimate crunchy snack. Serve these sourdough fried pickles with my kick'n frickle sauce for a creamy dip with a bit of a kick.
Ingredients
Sourdough Breadcrumbs
- 1 loaf of fresh or stale sourdough bread
Sourdough Fried Pickles
- 16 oz dill pickles, quartered
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups sourdough breadcrumbs *directions below
- Neutral oil
Kick'n Frickle Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tsp pickle juice
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce
- 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
How to Make Sourdough Breadcrumbs:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees f.
- Slice 1 loaf of fresh or stale sourdough bread into 1-inch cubes.
- Add cubed pieces of sourdough bread into a food processor. Process on high for 30 seconds for course sourdough bread crumbs or for 1-2 minutes for fine sourdough breadcrumbs.
- Spread the bread crumbs on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and place into the preheated oven.
- Bake for 5 minutes, stir, and then bake for an additional 10 minutes. The bread crumbs should turn to a golden brown color and be dry to the touch.
- Continue to bake for a few extra minutes if necessary.
- Remove the sourdough breadcrumbs from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes.
- Return the breadcrumbs to the food processor and process if you desire more fine breadcrumbs.
How to Make Sourdough Fried Pickles:
- Add 2 cups of neutral oil into acast iron panorDutch Oven. Canola oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, or peanut oil are all good choices.
- Bring to medium-high heat.You want to fry your sourdough fried pickles around 315 – 350 degrees f.
Prepare the Breading:
- Grab three separate bowls - one for the egg mixture, one for the flour mixture, and one for the sourdough breadcrumbs.
- In the egg mixture bowl, whisk together the eggs and hot sauce until combined.
- Then in the flour mixture bowl, whisk the flour and seasoning together.
- In the last bowl, pour in the sourdough breadcrumbs.
Prepare the Pickles:
- If you are using pickle spears, I would encourage you to slice them in quarters. This gives you just the right bite of pickle to breading ratio. If using pickle chips, skip this step.
- Pat the pickles with paper towels to soak up the extra pickle juice.
Dip the Pickles:
- When the oil is hot and ready, dip a few pickles in the egg mixture, then flour mixture, egg mixture again, and then into the sourdough breadcrumbs.
- Once coated, drop the pickles into the hot oil. You don't want to overcrowd the frying pan, so you will need to fry the sourdough pickles in small batches.
- These fry up quickly, so you will only need to fry them for about a minute on each side or until they are nice and golden brown.
- Remove the sourdough-fried pickles with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle them with a little bit of additional salt.
- Repeat with the rest of the pickles.
How to Make a Kick'n Frickle Sauce:
- In a small bowl, add the mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, pickle juice, hot sauce, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix until smooth and serve with fresh sourdough fried pickles.
Notes
How to Store/ Reheat Sourdough Fried Pickles:
Once the sourdough fried pickles have cooled, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
When reheating, our main concern is how to get the breaded pickles crispy again. Reheating the deep-fried pickles in the microwave can lead to soggy breading.
Instead, place the dill pickle slices or spears on a wire rack that has been placed on top of a large baking sheet. This will help the high temperature to crisp up the crust evenly on all sides. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees f, or until completely reheated.
Did you make this recipe?
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