Craving a delicious appetizer without the hassle of the deep fryer? Air fryer pickles are the thing for you!
Made from freshly cut pickle spears, these air fryer fried pickles are a great alternative to deep frying – and they taste just as delicious. Serve them with your favorite creamy dressing for the full experience!
Recipe Tips/Substitutions
Before you head off to make fried pickles in the air fryer, check out these few recipe tips for best results:
- Be sure to dry off your pickle spears once you are done cutting them. The excess moisture will make the breading steps much more difficult.
- The spices we put in our breadcrumbs are a very generic blend. If you want more of a spicy kick, you can add more cayenne pepper to the mix.
- We usually use unseasoned Italian breadcrumbs when making breaded pickles, but you can also use panko breadcrumbs – it’s really up to you!
- Spraying the pickles with avocado oil spray will help them get crispier in the air fryer but this step isn’t mandatory.
- If you’re not feeling like breading pickles, you can also make frozen fried pickles in the air fryer – they worked great, too!
We use this air fryer for our recipes and it has been great.
Step by Step Instructions
If you’re wondering how to make fried pickles in the air fryer, you can follow the step by step process photos in this section below.
For those who want to just see the recipe card to get cooking air fried pickles, you can scroll down to the bottom of this post!
First, cut the pickles into half lengthwise, then cut them again lengthwise so that you have four pickle spears per pickle (see photo above for reference).
Next, pat the pickle spears dry really well with a paper towel.
Now prepare the “breading station”. Grab three clean and dry plates – place flour on one plate, the cracked and whisked eggs on another, and breadcrumbs on the last plate.
Add the spices – salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper – to the breadcrumbs and mix until the spices are well combined in the breadcrumbs.
Grab one pickle spear and dip it into the flour. Rotate the pickle until it is fully coated.
Next, dip the pickle into the whisked egg mixture and roll it around until the flour layer is fully coated in the egg.
Lift the pickle spear, let the excess egg drip off, and then place it on the plate with the breadcrumbs. Roll the pickle around in the breadcrumbs until it is fully coated.
Lastly, place the coated pickle spear onto a clean plate and repeat all these steps until all pickle spears are breaded.
Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees Fahrenheit. While still on the plate, spray half of the pickles with avocado oil spray.
When the air fryer is hot, add the first batch of the breaded pickles. There should be some space between them so that they can cook evenly and get crispy.
If you have a really big air fryer, you might be able to cook all pickles at once – otherwise, just cook them in two batches.
Cook the pickles for 6 minutes, then flip them over. You can add more oil spray if you want them to be extra crispy. Cook for another 3-4 minutes (so 9-10 minutes total). Every air fryer is different, so cook time can vary slightly.
Remove the done pickles from the air fryer. Then spray the second batch of the pickles with oil and place them into the air fryer to cook.
Serve the crispy pickles with a dipping sauce like ranch. Enjoy!
Storage Tips
Air fryer dill pickles are definitely best enjoyed hot and fresh out of the fryer. This way, the breading is still crispy.
Over time, the moisture from the pickles will soften the breading and they don’t reheat as well as their fresh form.
So, we’d suggest eating all the pickles when they are freshly made. Don’t worry, it won’t be too difficult!
What to Serve Air Fryer Pickles With
These breaded pickles are a great dippable appetizer for a party, the big game, or just a Friday night.
Usually, they are paired with a creamy type of sauce or dressing – like ranch or Caesar – to complement the tanginess of the pickles.
Related Recipes
For more really tasty appetizers, check out these yummy recipes:
- Air Fryer Breaded Avocado Fries
- Air Fried Zucchini Fries
- Air Fried Loaded Nachos
- Mac and Cheese Balls in the Air Fryer (Homemade)
- Baked Brie in the Air Fryer
Air Fryer Pickles
Ingredients
- 4 dill pickles
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup breadcrumbs, unseasoned
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste
- avocado oil spray
Instructions
- First, cut the pickles into quarters lengthwise. Then pat them dry really well with a paper towel.
- Now prepare the "breading station". Grab three clean and dry plates – place flour on one plate, the cracked and whisked eggs on another, and breadcrumbs on the last plate.
- Add the spices – salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper – to the breadcrumbs and mix until the spices are well combined in the breadcrumbs.
- Grab one pickle spear and dip it into the flour. Rotate the pickle until it is fully coated. Next, dip the pickle into the whisked egg mixture and roll it around until the flour layer is fully coated in the egg. Lift the pickle spear, let the excess egg drip off, and then place it on the plate with the breadcrumbs. Roll the pickle around in the breadcrumbs until it is fully coated. Lastly, place the coated pickle spear onto a clean plate and repeat all these steps until all pickle spears are breaded.
- Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While still on the plate, spray half of the pickles with avocado oil spray.
- When the air fryer is hot, add the first batch of the breaded pickles. There should be some space between them so that they can cook evenly and get crispy. If you have a really big air fryer, you might be able to cook all pickles at once – otherwise, just cook them in two batches.
- Cook the pickles for 6 minutes, then flip them over. You can add more oil spray if you want them to be extra crispy. Cook for another 3-4 minutes (so 9-10 minutes total). Every air fryer is different, so cook time can vary slightly.
- Remove the done pickles from the air fryer. Then spray the second batch of the pickles with oil and place them into the air fryer to cook.
- Serve the crispy pickles with a dipping sauce like ranch!
Notes
- If you bought dill pickles that already have a specific flavor (e.g. garlic flavor), feel free to reduce/adjust the spices accordingly.
- We usually use unseasoned Italian breadcrumbs when making breaded pickles, but you can also use panko breadcrumbs – it’s really up to you!
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
