Calling all pickle junkies. These are perhaps the easiest and best spicy pickles you can make at home. This is not a recipe for pickling cucumbers, but rather a method for how to make spicy pickles from store bought dill pickles. Quick, easy and full of flavor, these unique Homemade Sweet and Spicy Pickles will be a staple in your refrigerator.
My Aunt Lena always said “You can pickle a beet, but you can’t beat a pickle“.
I wish she was still alive as I’d make these for her on a regular basis. She thought eating a pickle cured any worry, any ache or any pain. And I do believe she’d have loved this recipe.
Homemade Spicy Pickles
What a great way to dress up, spice up and sweeten up a big jar of dill pickles.
And when they’re done you have super delicious, crunchy, spicy pickle chips. With a flavor perfect for snacking, piling onto Kickin’ Chicken Sandwiches, or Buffalo Bill Burgers. Or even chopped up for potato salad or macaroni salads.
And perfect on a hot dog. Instead of Calico Beans or that peach pie, take a big bowl of these pickles to the next back yard BBQ you’re invited to.
Most refrigerator pickles ask you to heat a brine with vinegar, water, sugar and salt. And add a complex mixture of pickling spices.
Do you have sugar? Do you have garlic? Do you have red pepper flakes and Tabasco Sauce? Then let’s get started.
A semi-homemade pickle recipe, here’s how easy it is to make Best Spicy Pickles
How To Make Spicy Pickles From Store Bought
- Buy two large jars of Vlassic Original Whole Dill Pickles. Do Not Use Kosher pickles, the texture will be bad in a rubbery sort of way.
- Remove them from their brine and slice them about 1/2 inch thick into a large bowl.
- Simply add sugar, a big splash of Tabasco Sauce, dried garlic and red pepper flakes.
- Let them sit at room temperature for two hours, stirring now and then.
- During their rest, they will create their own liquid. After the two hours, transfer to jars and let them rest in the refrigerator for three days before eating. And you have some of the best tasting homemade sweet and spicy pickles ever. And they keep their crunch.
I’ve seen similar recipes that are names Fire and Ice Pickles, Texas Christmas Pickles and Cajun Christmas Pickles.
They are great for gifts for my pickle loving family and friends, but I love having them in my refrigerator year round.
Recipe for Best Spicy Pickles, How to Make Sweet and Spicy Pickles from Dill Pickles
I hope you give this easy spicy pickle recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite refrigerator pickle recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
Love pickling? Ever tried pickled beets? Take a look at my step by step recipe for Pickled Beets.
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Best Spicy Pickles, How to Make Sweet and Spicy Pickles from Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 2 46-oz jars whole dill pickles not Kosher
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
- 1 tablespoon dehydrated minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Drain and discard the pickling juice from the dill pickles (or save the juice and use to marinate chicken wings).
- Slice the pickles in thick, nice size chips, (larger than quarter-inch, less than half-inch) and place in a large bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Allow to rest for about 2 hours. Stir from the bottom several times. The sugar will dissolve and the pickles will produce its own liquid.
- Place the chips in jars distributing the liquid among the jars. Seal and refrigerate for 3 or 4 days before enjoying and gift giving.
