53 Pickle Recipes You Never Knew You Needed
...But once you try them, you'll wonder how you lived without them.
New to Delish? Let us tell you a bit about ourselves—we’re kind of known for our classic one-pot meals, fun cocktails, creative chicken dinners, and… pickles. Yep, you heard that right. We’re low-key obsessed with them, and we’re not just talking about the kosher dills that come alongside your deli sandwich. Instead, we’re taking everyone’s favorite divisive condiment and turning it into everything from salty snacks to desserts (really!), with tons of fun cocktails and apps in between. Not sold? Check out these 53 pickle recipes for proof that you really can do anything with them.
Let’s start small—pickles all on their own are a great snack, but don’t limit yourself to just eating them straight from the jar. Our air fryer pickles, our dill pickle potato chips, our oven-fried pickles, and our fried pickles all add a little crunch that makes them extra good. Want to take it even further? Our reuben pickle bites, our bacon wrapped pickles, and our hot fried pickle spirals turn simple pickles into noteworthy apps perfect for a party.
Speaking of sharing, we’ve also got some totally-out-there recipes here sure to please a crowd of fellow pickle fanatics. Our pickle cheesecake (think cheese ball, not dessert), our pickle cupcakes (actually dessert), our pickle pasta salad, and our pickleback wings always impress (and usually sway a few haters too!).
More of a moderate fan? Pickles are also an important part of a ton of classic recipes. Our chicken salad, our tartar sauce, our copycat Big Mac, and our potato salad all benefit from them. We always tell people—you can skip them, but we really don’t recommend it. The vinegar-and-dill-forward flavor really makes these recipes extra special.
It’s not just about pickled cucumbers either. You can pickle almost any fruit or vegetable you can think of! Check out our pickled peppers, our pickled carrots, our pickled watermelon rind, or our pickled daikon radish for ideas, then try out your own favorite vinegar and fruit or veg combo.
Homemade Pickles
Pickles of all kinds are a good cook's shortcut to better meals. The tart kick of a freshly made pickle combined with their crunch can be added to anything from fish tacos to scrambled eggs. Here's how to make 'em at home so you've always got some!
Get the Homemade Pickles recipe.
Pickle Reubens
For our next trick, we’re replacing the bread on a reuben sandwich with a pickle, turning the deli classic into a low-carb treat you can make any time.
Get the Pickle Reubens recipe.
Bacon Pickle Pizza
If you're a fan of weird pizza toppings (anchovies? pineapple?), this is the pie for you. We went with dill, but feel free to get even wilder with it.
Get the Bacon Pickle Pizza recipe.
Dill Pickle Bloody Marys
Get ready for a life-changing Bloody Mary hack: PICKLE JUICE ICE CUBES! 😵 Brunch will never be the same.
Get the Dill Pickle Bloody Marys recipe.
Fried Pickles
Crispy on the outside yet juicy in the middle, fried pickles hold a special place in our hearts, and are always a staple party starter at our game day spread.
Get the Fried Pickles recipe.
Best Chicken Salad
We'd argue that our balance of add-ins here is the pinnacle, but once you nail the chicken and the dressing, you can feel free to spread your wings and give it your own personal flair. Whatever you add, chicken salad is just as perfect eaten on its own as it is piled on a croissant with a side of pasta salad at a BBQ, or dolloped on a bed of leafy greens at brunch.
Get the Best Chicken Salad recipe.
Reuben Pickle Bites
Classic reuben flavors are so good, we’re constantly reinventing ways to get more of them. Next up, these reuben pickle bites: They’re the perfect bite-size appetizer (and they come together SO fast).
Get the Reuben Pickle Bites recipe.
Tartar Sauce
This creamy, tangy, acidic condiment is a MUST for serving with seafood, and goes surprisingly well with a myriad of other recipes too. You could buy it from a store, but as with most things, homemade is infinitely better, both for flavor and adaptability.
Get the Tartar Sauce recipe.
Hot Fried Pickle Spirals
We've done some crazy things to pickles, but this might be our favorite yet. Dill pickles covered in crunchy chips, fried until crispy, and doused in hot sauce and ranch. For a pickle lover, it just doesn't get any better.
Get the Hot Fried Pickle Spirals recipe.
Pickled Red Onions
Pickled red onions are one of our favorite salad condiments here at Delish, so we felt compelled to share this super-simple, super-delicious treat with everyone. It's perfect for tacos, salads, even sushi!
Get the Pickled Red Onions recipe.
Oven-Fried Pickles
One of our all-time favorite pickle recipes? Fried pickles. As much as we'd love to eat them all day, every day, we know that'd be trouble, so we came up with a baked version instead. The crunch is unreal.
Get the Oven-Fried Pickles recipe.
Pickled Carrots
These pickled carrots are just as easy as homemade dill pickles. All you need to do is make a brine (water + spices + sugar + salt), heat it up, and pour it over your veggies. Then all you have to do is wait!
Get the Pickled Carrots recipe.
Classic Potato Salad
A classic potato salad is a must-have at every picnic and BBQ, and ours is the best—it's creamy and tangy, with a little bit of crunch from the onion and pickles. What it's not: too sweet, which is one of our potato salad pet peeves. If you’re looking for a classic, no-fuss potato salad that won’t disappoint, this is it.
Get the Classic Potato Salad recipe.
Pickled Peppers
Pickled peppers are a legendary sandwich topping, and there are so many types—from your classic banana peppers or pickled jalapeños to a sweet mix, it can be hard to decide. With this easy recipe, you can make your own blend or as many as you want! Peter Piper would be thrilled.
Get the Pickled Peppers recipe.
Air Fryer Bacon-Wrapped Pickles
All you need is dill pickles, cream cheese, shredded cheddar, garlic, and bacon to make these adorable little apps in your air fryer. Pickles might just be the new pigs in a blanket.
Giardiniera
This pickled Italian relish is endlessly versatile. Try it on sandwiches, tossed into a hearty salad, or in place of olives in your martini.
Get the Giardiniera recipe.
Tuna Salad
Here, mayo, lemon juice, fresh dill, salt, and black pepper are precisely combined to create a light, zingy dressing that comfortably coats the tuna (+ red onion, celery, and pickles!) without overwhelming it or turning the salad unacceptably gloppy.
Get the Tuna Salad recipe.
Air Fryer Pickles
It's no secret that Delish is obsessed with crazy pickle recipes. One of our all-time favorites: fried pickles. This air fryer version uses virtually no fat, and they're insanely crunchy regardless!
Get the Air Fryer Pickles recipe.
Brussels Sprout Pickles
Pickle lovers! These briny Brussels are your new best friend. Chop them and add them to salads (they'd be great in potato salad), put them on your charcuterie board, or snack on them straight up!
Get the Brussels Sprout Pickles recipe.
Pickle Cheesecake
Though this might sound like a fail, it certainly doesn't taste like one. This isn't your average sweet cheesecake—instead it's more like a savory cheese ball, with added wow factor.
Get the Pickle Cheesecake recipe.
