The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
These perfectly golden fried pickles are easy to make and are a perfect appetizer idea for a party. Once you taste this batter recipe you’ll want to use it for everything!
Be sure to serve these with my easy Honey Mustard Sauce and try my Popcorn Chicken recipe next!
Beer Battered Fried Pickles
Although you can substitute water for the beer in this recipe, Epicurious explains the benefits of using beer in batters such as this.
To sum it up: the usage of beer helps create an airy, extra-crispy batter. This is due to the combination of carbon dioxide, foaming agents, and alcohol in the beer.
Batter Ingredients
- Self Rising Flour- For an airier consistency. Regular flour may be substituted if needed.
- Corn Starch– Helps create an extra-crispy consistency.
- Cayenne Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Sugar
- Cold Beer– Pale Ale works well. (Water may be substituted.)
The Secret to Perfect Fried Pickles
Don’t smother the pickles in too much batter. You don’t want to lose the pickle in a round mound of batter, you want the batter and the pickle to compliment each other.
Be sure to run the battered pickles along the rim of the batter bowl to drip off excess batter. You want to be able to clearly see the ridges in the pickle before you fry it.
👇Tip: A spider strainer makes it much easier to lift multiple fried pickles up from the oil at once. It’ll be your best friend when it comes to any fried food.
How to Reheat Fried Pickles
- To reheat friend pickles, simply place them on a baking sheet in a 350° oven for 10-15 minutes, until heated through.
Try These Next!
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- Fried Shrimp
-
- Onion Rings
-
- Popcorn Chicken
-
- Jalapeño Poppers
-
- Fried Chicken Tenders
-
- Baked Potato Slices
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Did You Make This Recipe?
I would love for you to leave a rating and a comment below! How’d you do?! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fried Pickles
Ingredients
- 16 oz. dill pickle chips
- ½ cup self rising flour
- 1/8 cup corn starch
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup cold beer, pale ale works well
- 1 quart vegetable oil
Instructions
- Dry each side of the pickles on paper towels, they’ll cling onto the batter this way.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add in the cold beer. Stir to combine, lumps in the batter are fine.
- Place the batter in the fridge while the oil heats up.
- Use an oil thermometer and heat 2 inches of oil in a dutch oven to 375 degrees. It’s important for the temperature to be exact. A deep fryer may also be used.
- Once heated, fry the pickles in batches. Place about 8 pickles into the batter. Pick them up one at a time and use the rim of the bowl to rid each one of excess batter, you want a thin coating and need to be able to see the ridges in the pickle.
- Use a spider strainer to carefully lower the pickles into the heated oil. Fry for about 1 ½ minutes, until golden. Use the spider strainer to remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat until all pickles are fried.
- Serve with Ranch or Chipotle Ranch Dressing, ketchup, or sriracha mayo, or homemade Comeback Sauce.
Notes
Be sure to serve these with my easy Honey Mustard Sauce!
Regular flour can be used instead of self-rising if needed.
Seltzer water may be used instead of beer if necessary.
If the batter feels too thick, add a tad more beer. If too thin, add a touch more flour.
Made these and they are delicious. The batter had a great flavor. Next time think I’ll do a dry batter.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed these Darlene! I’m due to make a batch! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
We found 3 different recipes and made them all. We did a taste test with 10 different people, and 100% agreed that this was the best recipe! It is the recipe that we will use from now on! They were excellent!
Wow, sounds like the ultimate taste test Cyndi, I love it!🙌 Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!
Stephanie,
Can these be made in an air fryer?
Btw, love your recipes!
Hi Amy! Thank you, I am so happy to hear that you are loving the recipes! WOO!!! Unfortunately, this isn’t a good candidate for the air fryer, because the wet batter will splatter everywhere from the air flow.
I made these today and they were awesome. I didn’t have beer so I used Perrier mineral water. Worked perfectly. I don’t like a lot of batter and this recipe fit the bill. Try it, you won’t be disappointed.❤️
I’m so happy you enjoyed the fried pickles! Great to know it worked out with mineral water. Thanks so much for the great review!
I made fried pickles for the first time ever and used this recipe!! It was great i used spears instead of chips. It still turned out really good! Definitely pat dry the pickles first.
I’m so happy you enjoyed these! I agree, definitely make sure to pat the pickles dry first. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
I love fried pickles, but I much prefer pickle spears to chips – any modifications needed to make this with pickle spears?
Hi Karen! The only thing I would do differently is maybe add a little bit more oil so that there is plenty of room for the whole spear 🙂
My husband and I just made these and they were super simple! We did use regular flour as we didn’t have self rising flour, and I think they turned out perfect! We also used a deep pot to fry in as we didn’t have a Dutch oven. So delicious!
Hey Carly! That’s so awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time to review and it also share your modifications! You’re the best! -Stephanie
Great recipe for fried pickles. Made some yesterday and I will definitely be making them again. The only thing I didn’t add was the sugar.
Hey Dona! That makes me super-duper happy! Thank you sooo much for taking the time to comment and rate!! I can’t wait for you to make them again, fried pickles are my favorite! 🙂
Wonderful. They turned out perfect! Thank you….will be doing these again!
Hey Denise! I’m SO happy that the fried pickles came out perfectly, you made my day! (And you made me hungry. lol.)- Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how it went!! -Stephanie
Made these according to directions and they came out perfect according to my husband who loves fried pickles. Making this Sunday for Super Bowl
Hi Darlene! I am BEYOND happy to hear that! That’s fun that you’ll be making it again on Sunday, I think I might have to do the same! 🙂 Thank you SO much for taking the time to let me know how these came out for you! -Stephanie