Air Fried Pickles

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us! My earliest memories of the Super Bowl involve hanging out with friends and eating delicious snacks. Even if gathering this year involves just your immediate household or some sort of Zoom party, there is no reason to skip out on the delicious snacks. These easy air fried pickles can also be made in the oven, but take very little time to prep and cook. This air fried pickle recipe yields a snack that is salty, sour, and just a little spicy.

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How to make air fried pickles

When I write that these are easy, I am not kidding. I love a good fried food, but creating a multi-part breading and then baby-sitting the temperature of my oil is not always something I get excited about. These pickles use a "shake n bake" method of preparation and it saves so much time. First, add all breading ingredients to a gallon sized storage bag then shake to combine them. Next, add drained pickle slices and shake again to coat.

Place the breaded pickles into the air fryer or oven at 400 degrees. Then spray generously with olive oil cooking spray and cook for 8 minutes (16 minutes in the oven). Flip the pickles, spray with oil, and cook for another 6 minutes (12 or so in the oven). The pickles will be warm and tasty before these times, but if you want them to be crispy and retain their crispness, the long cook time is necessary. Dip in ranch or eat them in their natural state. Cheer for your team or space out until the commercials. Play a board game and forget there is a football game happening at all.

Tips and tricks

Breading

These pickles are delicious with a panko breadcrumb breading, but any kind of bread crumb will work. If you have stale bread lying around, this is a good time to toss it in the blender and put that bread to use. If you are wanting or needing a gluten-free option, I tested this recipe using almond flour as well. It comes out tasting just as good -- see if you can pick out which pickles have panko and which have almond flour in the pictures.

Seasoning

If you don't like spicy foods, omit the cayenne. If you want a little less kick, then a small sprinkle of cayenne may be more up your alley.

Corn Starch

Corn starch helps the breading stick to the pickle and crisp it up a bit. If you are trying to avoid corn, tapioca flour makes an excellent substitute.

Pickles

This recipe is made for the flavor of dill pickles. If you choose to use bread and butter or sweet pickles I am not sure what the result will be. My all time favorite fried pickles are served at the Alamo Drafthouse theaters and are made with pickle spears. I haven't tested it yet, but I have every intention of trying this recipe with pickle spears and long slices.

Air Fryer

This recipe is quickest made in the air fryer. If you do not own an air fryer, they can also be made in the oven! I tested these in a 400 degree oven, but the it takes almost double the amount of time. The prep is still very easy, but the cook time becomes almost half an hour, so give yourself plenty of time if you are making them in the oven.

The Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup panko bread crumbs (almond flour for gluten-free)
2 tsp corn starch
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/16 tsp cayenne
2 cups pickle slices, drained
olive oil spray

1. Add all breading ingredients to a gallon food storage bag, seal, and shake.
2. Add pickles, seal, and shake again to coat.
3. Place pickles in a single layer in the air fryer basket, spray with oil, and cook for 8 minutes at 400 degrees.
4. Flip pickles, spray again, and cook for an additional 6 minutes.
5. Serve warm.