Deep fried pickles are an addictive finger food perfect for any get together you’re hosting whether it’s game night, movie night or cocktails with friends. If you’ve never tried deep fried pickles, it’s time to try these out for yourself. I know it sounds weird, but the combination of tart dill pickles with a crispy batter are to die for! I make these when I need a quick crowd pleasing snack to serve during game nights, movie nights or as an app prior to a dinner party. You can use any type of pickle, but dill pickles are my go-to. You can use pickle medallions or spears for this recipe, but today I’ve chosen to use spears because they’re bigger (more pickle goodness) and because they’re perfecting for dipping!
Speaking of dip, in theory you can use whatever dip you love (hello ranch and salsa), but my personal favourite is a creamy dill dip. I make this hours, or even the night before in order to give the herbs enough time to infuse their flavour into the dip. To make the deep-fried pickles, I take the pickles and dry them on a paper towel to make dipping easier. The batter tends to slide off the pickle if it’s wet, so do not skip this step! Next I create a simple beer batter. if you’re not into cooking with alcohol, you can use soda water instead – I got you covered.
I season my batter with Cajun spice and Italian herbs, along with garlic and onion powders. To help the batter fluff up while cooking, I also added baking soda. To bind it all together, I used aquafaba. Aquafaba is an amazing vegan egg substitute used in vegan baking and cooking. Aqua means water, and faba means beans. So, what I’m talking about is that liquid in your can of chickpeas! It can be whipped like egg whites into meringue or replace eggs entirely in baking and icings. Three tbsp aquafaba is equivalent to one whole egg, and two tbsp is equivalent to about one egg white. To fry these bad boys, I used my deep fryer, but you can also use a large heavy bottomed pot with at least 3 inches of oil. Next is as easy as dip, toss fry and repeat! Don’t forget to serve these with my creamy dill dipping sauce.
- vegetable oil or peanut oilfor frying
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cajun seasoning
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ cup aquafaba
- 1½ cup soda water or beer
- 10 dill pickles, sliced into spears (quarters or in half)
- Creamy Dill Dipping Sauce
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or large heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat to 375F.
- Using paper towels pat the pickles dry and set aside. You want the pickles to be very dry in order to have the batter stick to them properly.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, Cajun and Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.
- In another medium-sized bowl, whisk or beat the aquafaba until foamy.
- Add foamy aquafaba and mix.
- Slowly pour in beer or soda water, a little bit at a time, while lightly mixing between additions. Mix until smooth but do not over mix.
- Working in batches, add pickles to the batter, and gently toss to coat. Using a fork, or tongs, gently add pickles to the oil one at a time.
- Fry for 2 mins on each side or until golden brown.
- Remove pickles with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat.
- Serve with Creamy Dill Sauce.
Florence says:
Do you think this would work in an air fryer?