Do you love traditional bread and butter pickles but wish they had a little more kick to them? Well, here's my recipe for delicious zesty bread and butter pickles.
I've been making a lot of pickles lately since our garden is giving us lots of cucumbers. So I thought I'd share with you this recipe for bread 'n butter pickles with a little kick! If you're a fan of that spicy-sweet combination, then I think you're really going to like these.
This recipe differs from a traditional bread 'n butter pickle recipe because of the addition of peppers and some spices that you don't add to the traditional ones.
To make these pickles, you will need: 25 pickling cucumbers, 6 onions, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper,1 banana pepper, 2 jalapeno peppers, 6 cloves of garlic, ½ cup pickling and canning salt, 3 cups cider vinegar, 5 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons mustard seed, 2 teaspoons celery seed, 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes, and 2 teaspoons ground turmeric.
Remove the ends of the cucumbers and cut them into ¼ inch slices. Chop all of the peppers (remove the seeds from the jalapenos!), cut the garlic cloves in half, and slice the onions. Mix them all together in a large bowl and pour ½ cup of pickling and canning salt on top. Add enough water to cover everything.
Add ice to the top of the bowl (it's supposed to make the pickles extra crispy) and let stand for 3 hours.
When you are ready to make your pickles, get out your water bath canner and wash and sterilize at least 10 pint size jars. In a large pot, add the cider vinegar, sugar, and spices. Bring to a boil. Rinse and drain your cucumber mixture and add it to the boiling vinegar solution. Remove from the heat just before it returns to a boil so that you don't cook your cucumbers.
Put your cucumber mixture into warm, pint sized jars, wipe the rims, add the lids, and screw on the bands. Process the pickles in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for several hours. If you have never canned anything before, you may want to read my instructions in the post Homemade Dill Relish.
For best flavor, don't eat the pickles for at least 2 weeks, if you can wait that long!
Looking for more canning recipes? Check my best mason jars recipes collection with delicious recipes that you can make at home.
📋 Recipe
Zesty Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients
- 25 pickling cucumbers cut into ¼ inch slices
- 6 onions thinly sliced
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped
- 1 banana pepper chopped
- 6 cloves garlic halved
- 2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup pickling and canning salt
- 3 cups apple cider vinegar
- 5 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoon mustard seed
- 2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
- Mix sliced cucumbers, peppers, onions, and salt to a large bowl. Cover all the ingredients with water and add ice to the top of the bowl. Let stand for 3 hours.
- In a large pot, bring vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, red pepper flakes, cloves, and turmeric to a boil.
- Rinse and drain the cucumber mixture and add to the hot vinegar solution.
- Remove from the heat just before boiling so that you don't cook your cucumbers.
- Fill sterilized, warm pint jars with the pickles leaving ¼ inch headspace, wipe the rim of the jars with a paper towel, add the lids and screw bands.
- Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the jars from the canner and transfer to a towel lined countertop. Let cool for several hours or overnight. Check rims for proper sealing before storing in a cool, dark place.
Notes
And if you have a lot of cucumbers like me, you may want to make some traditional Bread 'n Butter pickles and some homemade dill relish too!
Annette
You mentioned you just fill a large colander. How many quarts is your colander? I'm using home grown cukes as well. Last year I guestimated the size of the bowl in your pics, but I did not have enough brine to cover after filling jars, so I assume I used too many. I just didn't process them and kept them in the fridge. They were delicious!
Dolly
These look and sound so delicious! Thanks for the recipe I hope to try them soon.
Michele Albert
My brine looks almost golden because of the turmeric, is this normal?
Jane Windham
Yes, your brine will be golden colored.
Mark
I'm anxious to try these, they sound wonderful! My only concern is the 2 tablespoons of pepper flakes? Sounds like a lot? Would you consider these mild, medium or hot? We are more of a mild to medium family.
Jane Windham
Mark, I would consider these mild even with the amount of red pepper flakes in the recipe. But if you are concerned about the heat, you could always just add 1 tablespoon. Enjoy your pickle making!
Carmen
My husbands favorite pickle! I made them for the first time last year. Thanks for sharing
Mickey
Have you changed up this recipe lately? Just want to know of any updates you have made.
Jane Windham
No, I haven't changed the recipe at all.
Michelle
I made these this year, and they are the BEST pickles ever!! I am tripleing my batch for next year, we are almost out. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer
I made these last year and they were best!!! I can wait to make them again
Jane Windham
Thanks for coming back to give us your feedback on the recipe!
Maria
We made these last year and LOVED them! I don't remember putting garlic in them and the recipe doesn't say to chop it. Do some jars get some and others don't?
Jane Windham
I think I tried to make sure there was at least one garlic clove in each jar.
Joanne
This recipe looks great! I’m a little nervous about using the jalapeño peppers tho. They can be super-hot sometimes!
Jane Windham
If you remove the inner membrane and the seeds, they will not be as hot.
Thandi
Hi Jane thank you for pickles recipe will be making my own as well God bless Thandi South Africa
Melissa
Can I make these with just the banana peppers? I have a sensitivity to jalapenos.
Lisa
My husband and I did a batch of these Zesty pickles last year and they didn't even make it past the first 3 months in our pantry!! So this year we have canned 36 pints. We love to share them with family and friends and they have all been asking for them this year. One of the best recipes in our arsenal! Thank you for sharing!
Laura
Jane, Do you think this would taste good without the sugar? I have a TON of cucumbers to can but can not find dill around here anywhere. So dill pickles are out. But my family doesn't like sweet pickles. They do love spicy though. I'm having a heck of a time finding a recipe that doesn't include dill but also isn't sweet. Thank you!
Melissa
Hello,
This is my first year growing pickling cucumbers and canning pickles. Can anyone please tell me how many pounds of cucumbers I should use for this recipe?
Thank you!
Jane Windham
Melissa, I'm so sorry that I cannot tell you how many pounds of cucumbers I used. Since we grow them, I just usually start slicing my cucumbers until I have a large colander full! Good luck with your pickling!
Sola
Thanks so much for the recipe!! Just finished making 14 jars. I also "taste tested" a few.....the jars will not remain unopened for two weeks, that's impossible!
Carole Gartman
I made these pickles a couple of days ago with cucumbers from my garden. I was looking for a recipe with just the right balance of sweet and spicy and found it with your Zesty Bread 'n Butter Pickles. They are so beautiful to look at with the red, yellow and green peppers and they are delicious, too! I opened a jar last night when some neighbors came over for dinner and they were a huge hit. Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
Jane Windham
Carole, thanks for taking the time to come back to the blog and leaving your feedback about the recipe. I'm delighted that you and your neighbors enjoyed the pickles!
Kathy
About how many pounds of cucumbers per batch?
Kathy
Just made a batch. I left out the red, green & banana peppers ( we're not fond of them), but otherwise followed recipe. They are great! Thanks
Shirley@Housepitality Designs
Oh my goodness Jane...they look spectacular...now if my hubby was at your house, there would not be a bread and butter pickle jar left as we would have secretly moved them into our car!!...I have to buy him a jar of those (from the grocery store) every week!!!...The recipe sounds amazing!
Brandi
Yum, homemade pickles sound like the perfect summer snack. I've never tried making my own, I bet they taste so much better than the stuff we buy in the stores. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Pat Peele
How long are the pickles you used? This looks really good! Thanks for the recipes.
Tammy Sandbothe
How long do these pickles last and do they need to be refrigerated after put in jars?
Mary
Your pickles look wonderful Jane and would be the perfect addition to a July 4th celebration! Love the sweet & spicy combo! I'm a big fan of Ball jars, but never canned!