Fried Pickles

This almost-famous recipe is as close as we could come to cloning Texas Roadhouse's popular fried pickles.

Getting reviews...
Jump to Recipe
Almost-Famous Fried Pickles
Loading Video...
Level: Easy
Total: 25 min
Active: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings

Article by Emily Saladino

As legend has it, one day, the wife of the manager of a Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Colorado was craving fried pickles. What the kitchen whipped up was such a hit that all Texas Roadhouses soon added the dish to their menus. The recipe developers in Food Network Kitchen recreated the recipe so you can fry up a batch at home whenever the mood strikes.

How to Make Fried Pickles Like a Pro

You don’t need a deep fryer to make fried pickles that everyone will love. Here’s everything to know.

Prepare the fried pickles’ dipping sauce first. Fried pickles are best served immediately, so get the dipping sauce ready before you start to fry.

Slice the pickles as evenly as possible. If you start with whole pickles, slice them 1/4-inch thick. It gives this fried dill pickle recipe a good pickle-to-batter ratio and helps them fry evenly.

Dry the pickle slices before tossing in the batter. Blot with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. This helps the batter adhere and keeps them light and crispy.

Use a deep-fry thermometer. The temperature of the oil will fluctuate as you add and remove the pickles, and if it’s below 375 degrees for too long, your pickle chips will turn out soggy, not crunchy. Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature and adjust the burner as needed, making sure to keep the needle away from the hottest areas on the side or bottom of the pot.

What to Serve with Fried Pickles

The Cajun-spiced sauce below is our favorite fried pickles dipping sauce, though you can also substitute store-bought or homemade ranch dressing. Serve fried pickles as an appetizer or side dish to everything from barbecued chicken to cheeseburgers.

Can You Make Fried Pickles in the Air Fryer?

You can make fried pickles in the air fryer with a few tweaks to the process and ingredients. Our air fryer fried pickles recipe uses panko, the crunchy Japanese breadcrumbs, to help the batter cling to the crispy pickle slices.

Almost-Famous Fried Pickles

  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 25 min
  • Active: 25 min
  • Yield: 4 servings
Most of the things that make this steakhouse stand out — line-dancing servers, cowboy decor, huge portions — are direct imports from the Lone Star State. But the fried pickles hail from Colorado, where one Texas Roadhouse started serving the dish after a manager’s wife had a craving for them. The deep-fried pickles were such a hit, they showed up at all 360 locations in no time. Food Network Kitchens re-created the recipe so you can fry up a batch yourself.

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

For the Pickles:

Directions

  1. Make the sauce: Mix the mayonnaise, horseradish, ketchup and Cajun seasoning in a bowl; set aside.
  2. Fry the pickles: Heat 1 inch peanut oil in a pot over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup water in a large bowl until smooth. Spread the pickles on paper towels and pat dry.
  3. Add half of the pickles to the batter and toss to coat. Remove from the batter using a slotted spoon, letting the excess drip off, and add to the oil one at a time. Fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Return the oil to 375 degrees F and repeat with the remaining pickles and batter. Serve immediately with the prepared sauce.