(Vegan) Fried Pickles
Vegan fried pickles take a quick dip in a simple, flavorful, three-ingredient batter before frying up golden-brown in a mere 90 seconds. They make a great appetizer or snack for game day or any day.
Servings: 12
Calories: 34kcal
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340 grams) full-sour pickles
- Safflower oil for frying
- ½ cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- ½ cup (118 ml) water
Instructions
- Cut the pickles into ¼-inch-thick rounds.
- Arrange between several layers of paper towels, pat well, and leave to dry for 15 to 20 minutes. Slices should be slightly tacky, not wet, before proceeding.
- In a deep, medium-sized Dutch oven or other heavy pot, heat one inch of oil to 375°F.
- While the oil heats, prepare the batter. In a wide, shallow bowl, mix together the flour and Old Bay seasoning. Pour in the water and stir to combine well.
- A few at a time, dip pickle slices in batter and coat. Let excess batter drip off — a thin coating makes the crispest fried pickles.
- One at a time, carefully drop coated pickle slices into the cooking oil. You can fry about 8 to 10 slices at a time without compromising the oil temperature.
- After about 90 seconds, slices should be golden brown. Remove with a spider strainer to drain on paper towels.
- Serve immediately with spicy ketchup or ranch dip.
Notes
- I absolutely adore my favorite full-sour fermented pickles, but regular dill pickle slices are the traditional choice for this recipe. You can buy pickles whole and slice them yourself, or buy them pre-sliced.
- Thin pickle slices (max ¼ inch) make for the best fried pickles. I usually snack on the end slices and only fry the ones with two flat sides.
- Safflower oil is my high-heat, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can use that or sunflower, canola, peanut, vegetable oil blend, or any other refined oil with a neutral taste and very high smoke point.
- Use a deep-fry/candy thermometer with a clip to maintain temperature throughout the frying process.
- To lighten up the batter and/or add flavor, you can use seltzer or your favorite vegan beer instead of water.
- To make the pickles even crisper, substitute ¼ cup finely ground yellow cornmeal for half the flour.
- Old Bay seasoning is a great match for pickles, but you can use other favorite spice blends, too. Cajun seasoning is traditional, and Italian seasoning, ranch, and many more would work well, too.
- Chopsticks are a great tool to stir the batter, dredge the pickle slices, and drop them into the oil.
- Use a fairly thin coating of batter for the crispest result.
- Fried foods don't keep so well, so serve these right away and only fry about as many as you think you'll eat. If you do have leftovers, store them tightly sealed in the fridge for up to a few days, and re-crisp them in the oven or toaster oven before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 34kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 437mg | Fiber: 1g