If you love fried pickles but hate getting fat for no reason, these oven fried pickles are the healthy makeover you’ve been looking for! (joking… but totally serious about the pickles)
Oven Fried Pickles
These gluten-free, Oven Fried Pickles are not actually fried at all! Our Un-Fried pickles get baked to perfection in the oven, snubbing the deep fryer for greener pastures. Also because they don’t want to die getting dipped in scalding hot oil… they are better than that. The final product yields crunchy, oven-fried pickles that are much less heavy (yet just as delicious) as their greasy cohort. Not a drop of grease on ’em & no mess made…..very classy pickles, my my. THEN these pickles go and make you even more proud, joining forces with an Avocado-Dill aioli dipping sauce as the finishing touch. Très chic. This dreamy duo is now ready for dunking! A real class act, this combination- almost too immaculate to eat. Okay next up, they get demolished.
They’re not that immaculate ok… RIP pickles.
Note: If these don’t get maniacally scarfed down like a savage beast who needs a pickle fix pronto, you’re doing it wrong. Now, if you have never had the pleasure of trying fried pickles before, you may not understand the enthusiasm with which I speak. Which also means you may have some questions about fried pickles in general, which I will try to field below:
WHAT DO FRIED PICKLES TASTE LIKE?
Traditionally, fried pickles have two essential elements: an irresistable crunchy layer of breading on the outside, surrounding cool, crisp and tangy pickles on the inside. Basically your taste buds get blasted, ok? Fried pickles can be made using sliced dill pickles, or with whole pickles. The batter is made using flour, which also gets packed with flavorful spices, adding even more oomph. But perhaps the best part of eating fried pickles: the DIPPING SAUCE. You don’t just eat fried pickles. That’s egregious. You dunk ’em, into a finger-licking pool of zesty sauce. Usually the sauce is a creamy, mayo based offering. It’s quite wonderful. Now for the bad news. Fried pickles taste sinful because they are; fattening and entirely unhealthy, the jerks! Being fried in unhealthy oils actually TRIPLES the caloric density. SO… how to get a similar kick in the pants, without adding to your waistline and clogging your arteries? Simple: make a healthier version of fried pickles in the oven!
WHAT GOES WITH FRIED PICKLES?
Fried pickles are almost always served with a dipping sauce, and mostly enjoyed as an appetizer/finger food. However, if you want to make a meal of it, by all means. These oven-fried pickles would be the perfect side dish to a surprising amount of main dishes. Baked fish, BBQ anything (brisket, tri-tip, ribs, sausage, hot wings), chunky chili, meatballs… or basically anything else you feel needs a good punch of pickle. I will note: fried pickles are best served immediately after cooking, in my very professional opinion. Nobody likes a fried pickle gone soggy… so plan accordingly! Now, we will get to really important stuff with this next question. The question on absolutely everybody’s mind:
“finish up the photo mom so I can haz some oven fried pickles pwease, also i hope i’z not allergic to these cuz they look very tasty but i’ll eat them either way, u can drive me to vet if so, thx mom”
CAN DOGS EAT FRIED PICKLES?
Just trying to save you a Google search, ya know, in case you happen to affectionately feed one to your dog and then panic. That happened to my friend. Not me. Ok it was me. ANYWAYS, survey says: yes they can but they really shouldn’t. So there ya have it folks. Also. Since we’re here and all. DID YOU KNOW: in addition to chocolate, dogs also can’t have grapes, macadamia nuts, or avocado? I knew this long ago because I Google some really weird, random sh*t, but just spreading the knowledge because right now it seems useful and pertinent. VERY pertinent, since you came here for a recipe about pickles. Okaaaaay, moving on to our oven fried pickles recipe then! But first…
HOW TO FRY PICKLES IN THE OVEN?
Well, to make oven fried pickles, first you gotta ditch the deep fryer. Also ditch the unhealthy oil (canola oil is so last century). And finally, skip the white flour (gluten-free flour will be filling in). From there, simply coat your pickles in the batter, place on a wire rack, and bake to perfection! While the pickles bake in the oven, prepare your dipping sauce. You can make whatever flavor sauce you’d like, but typically something creamy really works well to bring everything together. We went with an avocado-dill ‘aioli’ style dipping sauce here, which is included in this recipe. We have included a few photos of the prep in this recipe as well. Check out the steps (& photos) for making oven fried pickles below!
OVEN-FRIED PICKLES, STEP BY STEP
STEP 1. Assemble ingredients / pickle workstation LIKE A BOSS. Most crucially, drain & set pickles aside on paper towels to dry off. Wet pickles straight from the jar are NOT gonna work here, so give yourself a head start. Also, pre-heat the oven now.
Then set up your pickle assembly line. You’ll need 3 shallow dishes, arranged in order Left-Right (GF-flour, egg wash, GF-breadcrumbs), plus a baking sheet lined with foil & fitted with a wire rack. Note: I forgot to take a photo of the “pickle station” before starting, soooo here’s a picture of it by the time I remembered that I forgot.
STEP 2. Pat pickles dry with a paper towel, then start at the front of your assembly line. Coat pickles in gluten-free flour:
STEP 3. Coat pickles in egg wash:
STEP 4: Dredge pickles in gluten-free breadcrumbs, packing each side thoroughly for maximum crust:
STEP 5: Place pickles on foil-lined baking sheet, fitted with a wire rack. The elevated rack is important; it ensures that the pickles aren’t sticking to the baking sheet and ripping off their precious crust. That would suck. PLUS, this will make cleanup a breeze:
STEP 6: Place pickles in oven to bake. Meanwhile, prepare the avocado-dill aioli, using a food processor or blender.
STEP 7: DEMOLISH.
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Oven Fried Pickles (Gluten Free) with Avocado-Dill Aioli
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 60 slices 1x
Description
Fried pickles get a healthy makeover with these oven-fried pickles (gluten-free & guilt free). Accompanied by an avocado-dill aioli for your dipping pleasure!
Ingredients
For the fried pickles:
- 1 jar Hamburger Dill Slices (24 oz)
- 1 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs/panko (may need more or less depending on pickle size)
- 1/3 cup gluten-free flour
- 2 eggs, beaten lightly
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- Salt, to taste
- Spray cooking oil
For Avocado-Dill Aioli:
- 1 small avocado, halved
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 1 tsp avocado or olive oil (adjust amount as needed for desired consistency)
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425. Drain pickles & place on a large, paper-towel lined surface to dry off. Line a baking sheet with foil; place a wire rack on top, generously spraying rack with cooking oil. Now assemble your ‘pickle station’; placing 3 shallow dishes side-by-side. In left dish: add flour. In middle dish: add egg wash. In right dish: add breadcrumbs, garlic powder, dill, cajun seasoning, white pepper, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Now, time to bread ’em! Pat pickles dry with a paper towel. Coat one pickle slice at a time, evenly on both sides. Move in 3 stages, Left-Right. First stage: toss pickle in flour.
- Second stage: coat pickle in egg wash, shaking off any excess.
- Third stage: dredge pickle in breadcrumbs, packing generously all over and patting in place.
- Finally, place each pickle on prepared wire rack that has been sprayed with cooking oil
- Bake pickles in oven for 12 minutes, or until they begin to brown. In the meantime, prepare the aioli: combine avocado, garlic, fresh dill, mayonnaise, lemon juice, chipotle chili powder, avocado or olive oil, and salt into a food processor. Pulse until smooth, thick, and creamy. (You may also use a blender on low.)
- Serve pickles immediately, with avocado-dill aioli on the side. DEMOLISH.
Notes
- We prefer the Vlasic brand hamburger dill pickle chips, because they were the thickest of the brands we tried.
- DON’T use “bread and butter” pickles for this, unless you are some sort of sicko. While experimenting to find the brand of pickles I liked best, I casually grabbed a jar of these. Ummm… these are sweet pickles folks. So wrong- they should really put a warning on the label. ANYWHO, “bread & butter pickles” stands for “don’t buy me” in case you want to warn others
- Use whatever mayo you’d like! In an effort to maintain the “healthier version” theme of the recipe, I used an avocado-oil based mayonnaise (no corn or canola oil). The brand was “Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Mayo”.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 slices
So much yes right here! I love fried pickles but usually have to resist temptation… this recipe is the perfect healthy substitute thank you!
★★★★★