This easy microwave bread and Butter Pickles Recipe is sure to become your favorite way to use up some of your abundant cucumber harvest.
If you’ve ever tried making your own bread and Butter Pickles, you know that it can be just a little bit messy (and time-consuming). The good news is there’s an easier way to make a batch of fresh homemade pickles in under 10 minutes using the microwave!
The best part is that you don’t have to wait too long to taste the efforts of this bread and butter pickles recipe! You can serve these easy microwave bread and butter pickles as soon as they are cooled off or better yet, let them sit in the refrigerator for a few days to develop a deeper flavor. Trust me, they won’t last long, so don’t worry too much about letting them get better with age!
This bread and butter pickles recipe is similar to our pickled beets recipe and is a great way to use up cucumbers if you’re like me and become overrun with them this time of year.
Sweet, tangy and spiced with mustard, celery seeds and turmeric, the pickles made from this easy bread and butter pickles recipe are so good that they’ll win over just about everyone in your house.
When I planted cucumber seeds in my permaculture garden this spring, I never guessed that I’d end up with so many cucumbers come summer! I don’t mind at all because cucumbers are one of my all-time favorite vegetables. I love them in straight out of the garden sprinkled with a little salt, added to salads for a bit of extra crunch, but by far, my favorite way to eat them is pickled.
This easy microwave bread and butter pickles recipe my mother taught me and is my go-to for easy refrigerator pickles. This recipe uses a combination of white vinegar, sugar, salt, onions, and spices. The combination is amazing! I love the warm scents of onion and turmeric that fill my kitchen as I prepare this easy recipe.
If you’re like me and have a lot of cucumbers to use up, then you’ll love this bread and butter pickles recipe. You can double, triple, or even quadruple it depending on how many cucumbers you have. Don’t worry about making too much. It seems that no matter how big a batch I make, my family has no trouble gobbling them up and then asking for more, they’re that good!
If you’re looking for more old-fashioned recipes, check out my recipe index.
What Kind of Cucumbers Should I Use?
For this easy bread and butter pickles recipe, you can use any kind of cucumbers you have. The best option may arguably be the pickling cucumber, which is grown for pickling. However, any cucumber will work.
I used a combination of several different kinds of cucumber for these pickles because it’s what I had on hand. English cucumbers, or slicing cucumbers, will produce a softer pickle, but they taste just as great. You can even use cucumbers that have gotten to be a bit too large for just eating, you know the kind I’m talking about…the ones with the larger seeds. To use these monster cucumbers cut off their stem ends, cut them into quarters lengthwise, and cut away their seeds. Then, instead of cutting them into cute little circles cut your overgrown cukes into chunks.
Slicing the Cucumbers
For this recipe, I sliced my cucumbers thin—about ¼ inch thick. This size is great for adding on top of hamburgers. Feel free to slice them thicker if you prefer. For even vegetable slicing, If you are making a large batch at once, I recommend using a mandoline slicer or the slicing attachment for the Kitchenaid mixer. This makes the whole process much faster.
How Do I Store these Pickles?
This recipe makes two pint jars of pickles. You can also use a glass casserole dish or other randomly sized jars in your home. I often make several batches a day for a week, filling one large jar to keep in the fridge throughout the summer.
How Long Will These Pickles Keep?
If you store these pickles in the refrigerator, they will last for two months. Since they’re not canned, they are not shelf-stable and need to be stored in the refrigerator all the time.
Easy Microwave Bread and Butter Pickles
Equipment
- Mandoline Slicer
- Chef's knife
- Pyrex Liquid Measuring Cups
- Casserole Dish with Cover
Ingredients
- 2 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Thinly slice cucumbers and onion and add to a covered pyrex or caserole dish. Add vinegar, sugar, water, salt, mustard seed, celery seed, and turmeric . Stir to combine.
- Cook on high in the microwave for 8 minutes stirring halfway thru.
- Cool on the counter for an hour or two before placing in fridge, or divide into 2 pint sized jars.
- Refrigerate until completely cooled before eating. Store pickles in refrigerator for up to 2 months
