recipes

23 Recipes Where Pickles Are the Point

For when you find yourself in a pickle—or at least with a big jar of them on hand.
Pork Adobo Sliders with lots of pickles spilling out on a marbled surface
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Gerri Williams

Real pickle lovers aren’t just into homemade pickles, store-bought sweet pickles, and savory dilly pickles, they’re into all recipes with pickles in them. Tartar sauce. Potato salad. Tuna melts. Pulled pork sliders. Any-pickle dip. We could go on. This even includes pickle juice, which you’ll find in this martini and these ice pops—and yes, the pickle-obsessed will absolutely put pickle brine in their soup. (Heck, they—actress Kristen Bell among them—will make something called dill pickle soup. The pickle brine is the soup.)

Are you one of them? Or, should we say, are you one of us? Then you’ve come to the right place. Here are our favorite easy recipes with pickles.

  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by JoJo Li
    3/23

    Ðồ Chua Pickle

    This is the delicious, everyday Vietnamese refrigerator pickle that you’ve seen and eaten countless times in banh mi, on rice plates, and in other dishes.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Gerri K. Williams
    4/23

    The Ultimate Tuna Melt

    Canned tuna can do a lot, but perhaps its finest move is making possible a creamy tuna salad that can then be topped with melted slices of cheese and stuffed between two slices of crisp fried bread.

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  • Photographs by Mamadi Doumbouya, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Shannon Maldonado
    5/23

    Classic Potato Salad

    This pickle-packed recipe gives the old-fashioned side dish a sweet and zingy profile courtesy of red onion, bell peppers, and a dressing reminiscent of the filling for deviled eggs.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by JoJo Li
    6/23

    Pickled Vegetables

    Got white vinegar? Then you can pickle almost any kind of veggie: Italian-American giardiniera, Southern-style pickled okra or green beans, soy sauc-y radishes, zucchini, bell peppers, you name it.

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  • Alex Lau
    9/23

    Classic Tartar Sauce

    Our best tartar sauce recipe bears almost no resemblance to the variety that comes in squeeze jars or packets. It’s creamy, briny, and loaded with fresh herbs.

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  • Photography by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Adriana Paschen, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jamie
    10/23

    Skillet Salmon With Pickle-y Salad

    The award for best supporting actor in this gluten-free supper goes to the bright, tart root vegetable salad. Slice the daikon and carrots as thinly as possible so they can absorb the coconut-garlic glaze.

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  • Alex Lau
    11/23

    BA's Best Fried Chicken Sandwich

    No crispy fried chicken sandwich worth talking about is devoid of bread-and-butter pickles. That’s why this one made the list. In fact, the bread-and-butter pickles are so good, you’ll want to eat them on their own as a snack (and we’re certainly not going to stop you.)

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata.  Food Styling Cyd McDowell.  Prop Styling by Paige Hicks
    12/23

    Mortadella Wedge Salad

    It’s not like a regular wedge; it’s a cool wedge—and by cool we mean stuffed with pickled jalapeños and paper-thin slices of mortadella and drizzled with buttermilk dressing.

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  • 13/23

    Chinese-Barbecue-Style Pork Chops

    Inspired by sticky-savory char siu, these pork chops are treated to a savory marinade (hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, ginger, sesame oil—yum), then tossed on the grill.

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  • Photo by Julian Cousins, food styling by Adriana Paschen, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
    14/23

    Sesame-Lemon Pickled Cucumbers

    Lemon, green chiles, and sesame seeds add intrigue to these snappy cucumber pickles. If you want something more all-American, though, here’s a classic dill pickle recipe.

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  • Alex Lau
    15/23

    Pickled Chiles

    If you haven’t tried pickled jalapeños or serranos on pizza, please make this pickle recipe your next priority—or these pickled hot red chiles. Either way, you’ll be on the path to finally experiencing true joy.

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  • Photographs by Mamadi Doumbouya, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Shannon Maldonado
    16/23

    Beef Hot Links With Chowchow and Gold Sauce

    Chowchow, a sweet and spicy pickle relish from the American South, often contains chopped cauliflower, bell peppers, celery, and carrots. Put it on a cheese plate or use it to garnish a hot dog. Speaking of which, let’s take a moment to shout out the Chicago-style hot dog: a dill pickle spear is its signature accompaniment.

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  • Alex Lau
    17/23

    New-New Bloody Mary

    Our favorite Bloody Mary is an instant classic. Great-quality tomato juice, salty dill pickle juice, savory Worcestershire, and a tangy hot sauce deliver on all fronts.

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  • Photo by Isa Zapata, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Nicole Louie
    18/23

    Sach Ko Ang

    Sweet, spicy, and aromatic, these galangal-and-lemongrass–marinated beef skewers are a Cambodian street food staple that, when served with a side of green papaya and carrot pickles, make for a great summertime meal.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by D'mytrek Brown
    19/23

    Quick-Pickled Red Onions

    These simple pickled onions made almost entirely from pantry staples (!) work in everything from salads to vegetarian grain bowls to hamburgers to crispy fish tacos.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Gerri Williams
    20/23

    Pork Adobo Pull-Apart Sliders

    The pickle-y mixture of daikon and cucumbers for these football-friendly snacks was inspired by Filipino achara. Speaking of game-day foods, it’s worth noting that a pickle wrapped in cheese is simply a great snack. You might want to add that to the shopping list.

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  • 23/23

    Fried Pickles with Spicy Mayo

    Whether you call them pickle chips or fried pickles, this recipe with pickles is THE vegetarian comfort food starter. If you don’t want to deal with a saucepan full of hot oil, you could use an air fryer, but you’ll want to manipulate the batter, as well.

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Joe joined the Bon Appétit team in 2022 after climbing the editorial ranks for a few years at Condé Nast’s other food publication, Epicurious. As the senior SEO editor, he works to make sure Google loves all of BA’s cooking stories just as much as you do. Look for his... Read more
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