53 Strangely Delicious Pickle Recipes, From Popsicles To Guacamole (!!)
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 note-worthy 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 anytime.
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 is 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, everyday, 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.
Get the Air Fryer Bacon-Wrapped Pickles recipe.
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.
Pickle Pops
If you snack on pickles on the reg or have ever taken a sip out of the empty pickle jar, these pops are for you. We went with bread and butter pickles because they're a bit sweeter than dill, but you do you.
Get the Pickle Pops recipe.
Pickle Chicken
Pickle juice is salty—it gives this chicken marinade amazing flavor when mixed with olive oil, garlic, and fresh dill.
Get the Pickle Chicken recipe.
Copycat Big Macs
Our favorite part of the iconic Big Mac? That Mac sauce. Once a trade secret, all it takes is whisking together mayonnaise, sweet pickles, yellow mustard, and ketchup (for that trademark pink color) with vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
Get the Copycat Big Macs recipe.
Pickle Cupcakes
Pickle... cupcakes?! Nope, these aren't a joke! There's something about the sweet and savory combo here that just works.
Get the Pickle Cupcakes recipe.
Pickle Guacamole
When we say that our classic guacamole recipe is the perfect jumping-off point for adding in all your favorite guac must-haves, THIS is what we mean. 😜
Get the Pickle Guacamole recipe.
Pickle Mozzarella Sticks
The process for these mozzarella sticks starts out very similar to the process for our NSFW pickle hot dogs. Remove the pickle ends, hollow out with a small spoon, and stuff in the string cheese. If it feels wrong, you're doing it right.
Get the Pickle Mozzarella Sticks recipe.
Pickles In A Blanket
If you love pigs in a blanket for a party appetizer, just wait until you try PICKLES in a blanket. Filled with bacon, cheese, and a dill spear, these will be devoured in minutes.
Get the Pickles In A Blanket recipe.
Pickle Vinaigrette
Trust us, pickle juice is just what your salad dressing's been missing. Plus, this can finally solve what to do with all that leftover pickle juice (this, and pickleback chicken wings).
Get the Pickle Vinaigrette recipe.
Pickle Dip
Craving even MORE pickles? This party dip guarantees you can have them with everything—try it on burgers, with chips, or just with a spoon (no judgement here!).
Get the Pickle Dip recipe.
Pickle Egg Rolls
Can't go wrong with a fried pickle, and these egg rolls are the easiest and fastest way to get one—only shallow frying required!
Get the Pickle Egg Rolls recipe.
Pickled Daikon
Known as danmuji in Korean cuisine, pickled radish is a sweet, salty, crispy affair. It can be served as a part of small side dishes known as banchan, or used in staple recipes like kimbap. Traditional danmuji is dyed yellow by gardenia fruit, but in a pinch, dried or fresh turmeric can give your radish pickles a bright golden pop too.
Get the Pickled Daikon recipe.
Pickle Pasta Salad
Pickle lovers will relish the thought of this delicious pasta salad that's got bowties, bacon, AND cheddar in there too.
Get the Pickle Pasta Salad recipe.
Pickled Watermelon Rind
Just like pickled carrots, pickled cukes, pickled onions, pickled watermelon rind is crunchtastic and a great addition to top off summer salads, fried rice, a simple sandwich, or simply enjoyed on its own.
Get the Pickled Watermelon Rind recipe.
Chocolate Pickles
You've heard of chocolate-covered strawberries. Let us introduce you to chocolate-covered pickles. We're wild, we know.
Get the Chocolate Pickles recipe.
Zucchini Pickles
Move over, cucumber. You can make pickles out of summer squash too!
Get the Zucchini Pickles recipe.
Pickle Corn Dogs
In the grand scheme of things, these pickle corn dogs aren't entirely wild, right? Pickles deep-fried in cornbread batter? Not so weird, and actually very, very delicious.
Get the Pickle Corn Dogs recipe.
Kool-Aid Pickles recipe
If you've ever felt your pickles simply aren't fun enough then these are for you! Soak your pickles in your favorite flavor of Kool-Aid and make crazy colored, crazy delicious pickles that everyone will go nuts for.
Get the Kool-Aid Pickles recipe.
Dill Pickle Potato Chips
Wanna make potato chips even better? Soak 'em in pickle brine!
Get the Dill Pickle Potato Chips recipe.
Loaded Pickle Chips
You've heard of loaded potato skins, but what about loaded pickle chips? You're welcome!
Get the Loaded Pickle Chips recipe.
Dill Pickle Deviled Eggs
All deviled eggs should have a little pickle juice in them, and these are proof! How cute are those little slices of cornichons too?
Get the Dill Pickle Deviled Eggs recipe.
Pickle-Brined Turkey
Would it be a Delish holiday without pickles? We don't think so. Start saving your pickle juice for this turkey, and trust us—it's surprisingly good!
Get the Pickle-Brined Turkey recipe.
Pickle Butter
If you're new to the world of compound butters, consider this your sign to get on board. From Tuscan butter to garlic butter, and now, pickle butter, you really can't go wrong.
Get the Pickle Butter recipe.
Pickle Juice Whiskey Sours
Taking inspo from our pickleback wings and our pickleback pulled pork, we've reinvented the whiskey sour to taste like a pickleback shot. The only regret we have is how long it took us to think of it!
Get the Pickle Juice Whiskey Sours recipe.
Cool Ranch Pickle Chips
We'll admit—we LOVE Cool Ranch flavor, and have used it to flavor everything from chickpeas to zucchini chips. These pickle chips take it OTT with actual Doritos.
Get the Cool Ranch Pickle Chips recipe.
Dill Pickle Hummus
Our classic hummus is wildly creamy and delicious, and you should make it. But we really want you to give this dill pickle version a chance too. It's shockingly good...even if you're not a huge pickle person.
Get the Dill Pickle Hummus recipe.
Pickleback Dogs
Sometimes relish just isn't enough for topping a hot dog. Hollowed out pickles (!!!) meet a wildly good whiskey-mustard sauce sure to satisfy any and all pickle fiends at your cookout.
Get the Pickleback Dogs recipe.
Pickle Dogs
Sometimes, you just run out of hot dog buns, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on a great hot dog. Enter: your new favorite "bun." Yes we went there, and yes, it's delicious.
Get the Pickle Dogs recipe.
Pickle Sub
This has all your favorite sub flavors, minus the bread.
Get the recipe from Delish.
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Avocado Pickles
Vinegar helps keep avocado bright and green for longer — we're putting this avo-condiment on everything from eggs to tacos!
Get the Avocado Pickles recipe.
Pickleback Chicken Wings
If you're unfamiliar, a pickleback shot is a shot of whiskey followed by a, you guessed it, shot of pickle juice. This recipe turns that bar classic into a briny, salty chicken wing that'll keep you and your guests coming back for more. They just might be the best way to use pickle juice.
Get the Pickleback Chicken Wings recipe.
Dill Pickle Cheese Ball
Throwing a game day party? You've gotta make this dill pickle cheese ball—it'll be the first thing to go!
Get the Dill Pickle Cheeseball recipe.
Pickleback Jell-O Shots
These pickleback Jell-O shots are SO weird, in the very best way possible.
Get the Pickleback Jell-O Shots recipe.
Dill Pickle Bread
Pickles + quick bread = perfection. We can't even dill with how good it is.
Get the Dill Pickle Bread recipe.
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