My first bite of Deep Fried Pickles was in a little brewpub in Kokomo, Indiana....and I thought to myself, "There is no way this can possibly taste good...". I've been hooked ever since and I knew that when I got my air fryer I was going to HAVE to make these Air Fried Pickles.
And let me tell you, with this creamy Vegan Horseradish Sauce? As my kids would say, "They are the bomb!"
They're crispy
They're crunchy
They're pickles!
And there's not a drop of oil anywhere.
And the sauce?
Dude....this Vegan Horseradish Sauce is quite possibly my most favorite thing ever......it's THAT good.
I mean I can honestly see this Sauce as becoming my new 'goto' Mayo.
On Veggie Burgers?
As a Veggie Dip?
Oooh on a Sweet Potato? The combination of sweet and tangy?
The possibilities are endless!
Air Fried Pickles
The Pickles:
Start with a jar of Dill Pickles Spears, or you can buy Whole Dill Pickles and slice them yourselves.
We want to dry these the best we can, so here's a little trick I learned from Alton Brown of Good Eats.....
- Lay down a line of 3-4 Paper Towels - a few layers thick, and evenly space the pickles right down the center, like 2" apart.
- Then starting at one end, gently roll the whole thing into a bundle.
We want to dry as much surface moisture off as we can, but without squeezing. Let those dry while we work on the batter and breading.
The Batter:
In a medium-sized bowl, mix 2 Tbs cornstarch with 1 cup of flour.
Meanwhile, in a measuring cup, mix 1 cup of unsweetened Almond Milk and 1 Tbs Lemon Juice together and then pour that into the flour. Mix well to make a thick batter and then pour into a flat dish of some sort to dip our pickles into later. I used a small glass baking dish.
The Breading:
Finally, mix 1 cup of Panko Bread Crumbs, 1 Tbs cornmeal, 1 Tbs nutritional yeast, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ pepper, and a good shake of cayenne. Mix thoroughly and also pour into a flat dish of some sort. (I used another glass baking dish)
Time to get dipping:
Take one of our pickles and lay it in the batter. I used a couple of forks to help smother the entire thing in the batter. Gently raise it up and let any excess drip off, and then transfer it to the pan with the breading.
Use a separate spoon, gently cover the now battered pickle with the breadcrumbs. Transfer it to your Air Fryer Basket and repeat.
My small air fryer basket had room for 5 pickles without touching, so I made 2 batches. You don't want them sitting on top of each other.
Note: This recipe IS for an Air Fryer......HOWEVER..... I am using the exact same batter/breading recipe as my Crispy Baked Onion Ring recipe, so I see no reason why these won't work in a regular oven too.
Air Fry at 390 ° F for 15-20 minutes, or.....
Oven Fry at 425 ° for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Now the Sauce.....
Take a 10 oz package of Tofu and drain the water, then crumble the tofu directly into your blender. Add all the remaining sauce ingredients and process until smooth and creamy.
Watch out for some commercial Horseradish brands - their creamy versions often contain oil or eggs. Look for brands that have minimal ingredients.
Bubbies is a good brand that I found at my local Whole Foods. I used a ¼ cup (or about 4 Tbs) of Bubbies prepared horseradish. Obviously, you can adjust the amount to suit your own individual tastes.
And for the Grand Finale?
Let those crispy Air Fried Pickles cool a little on a wire rack or plate.... because trust me the insides of those pickles will be hot!
Not take a pickle and dip it into that sauce..... crunch, crunch, crunch......you're welcome..... :).
Next up - sticking to our Super Bowl Snack Food theme.....Jalapeno Poppers!
Until then....absolutely lovin' all the comments!
See ya soon.
Air Fried Pickles
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 pickles 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: American
Description
My first bite of Deep Fried Pickles was at a little brewpub in Kokomo, Indiana....and I thought to myself, "There is no way these can taste good...". I've been hooked ever since and I knew that one day I was going to HAVE to make these. Besides, the Horseradish Sauce is the bomb!
Ingredients
Horseradish Sauce
- 10 oz Tofu
- ¼ cup Prepared Horseradish
- 2 Tbs Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 Tbs Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
- 2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
Air Fried Pickles & Batter
- 10 Dill Pickle Spears
- 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 Tbs Lemon Juice
- 1 cup Flour
- 2 Tbs Cornstarch
Breading
- 1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbs Cornmeal
- 1 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 dash Cayenne
Instructions
Horseradish Sauce
- Drain Tofu and crumble into your blender along with remaining sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Allow to chill in refrigerator while making the pickles.
Air Fried Pickles
- Cut pickles into spears if not purchased like that already.
- Lay out on paper towels and gently dry. One cool trick is to lay them along a length of several paper towels and roll into a bundle. Allow to dry while you make the batter & breading.
- Mix flour and cornstarch together in a medium-sized bowl. Also mix almond milk and lemon juice together to make a 'buttermilk'. Mix the wet into the dry to make a thick batter.
- Pour batter into a flat, square baking dish and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl mix the Panko, cornmeal, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Pour breading into another flat, square baking dish.
- Take a pickle and gently dip into the batter. Use a fork to ensure the whole pickle is covered. Allow excess to drip off and then transfer to breading.
- Use a spoon to gently cover battered pickles with the breading mixture.
- Transfer to either your air fryer basket - or a parchment-lined baking sheet. If using a small air fryer like mine - fry in small batches so pickles do not touch. I fried 5 at a time for 2 batches.
- Air Fry at 390 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Check occasionally to ensure they're browning nicely as some air fryers may be more powerful than others.
- OR....Oven Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes - turning halfway through the baking time to ensure they're evenly browned.
Notes
Tips are always appreciated!
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Leslie
Hi! They came out great but wanted to know how long the batter is good for? I have plenty left over 🙂
Chuck Underwood
Nothing lasts more than 3-5 days in my fridge before I toss it.
Sam
Just got an air fryer and I haven't used it yet, this will be the first recipe I try with it tonight. What brand of pickles do you like? I typically use Cook's Pantry because of their simple ingredients. Can't wait to munch on some crunchy pickles tonight, thanks for sharing!
Chuck Underwood
Bubbies!
Jeff Quade
Do you bloggers even make these recipes or steal them from somewhere else? Your camera skills are some thinng to be proud of.but the steps suck. The batter turned out like paste, had to dilute 3 times. Not enough on t he breading side. Do me a favor, make it taste it , THEN blood it
Jennifer
Angry elf!
Russ
Believe me looks good. I will say I wish more recipes here were more aware of how SODIUM is a no-no for so many people, and this recipe probably is not edible for many folk who are watching or even alarmed at their blood pressure. Just don't think any recipe with mainly pickles can be remotely within my sodium limits. Still other wise it sounds fun and I wish I could. To the rest: be sure to consider sodium carefully, really.
Melanie
Hey, there! Tofu...what type? firmness?
Chuck Underwood
Firm is ok. Organic always.
Billy
I've never tried air frying before. Would you say they get just as crispy as when you deep fry them? Thanks for sharing! Love the recipe and can't wait to try.
Chuck Underwood
Yes, providing you use a good batter. Nice and crispy.
Jo
How long will the horseradish sauce keep in the fridge?
Thanks for all you do.
Ameera - Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
I love fried pickles! These air fried pickles look so delicious, and that crunchy-coating is incredible! Definitely need these in my life!
Leanne
First recipe we tried in our new air fryer. OMG!!! These were so good. The only change we made was a gluten free flour mix as I’m celiac. I will definitely be recommending this recipe. Thanks.
Emily
This looks great, thank you! I am looking for a good air fryer. What qualities should I be considering or what features do you value the most? TIA.
Chuck Underwood
I'm happy with my little NuWave Brio so far. I have that and a few other recommended by my readers at my Amazon Store page. https://www.amazon.com/shop/brandnewvegan
Fred Whitehouse
If I make homemade horseradish it usually calls for lots of vinegar and salt. If I prepare it this way would I leave out the vinegar and salt in the recipe? Could I just add blended rough horseradish in place of the prepare? Look forward to trying.
Chuck Underwood
I think I saw a recipe somewhere for making prepared horseradish from scratch. You may look there first, but I think it will take SOME additional vinegar and salt to make my sauce. Sorry but I've never dealt with raw horseradish before.
Pat
YOU are the bomb! Thank you so much for your posts! How kind!
Lisa Huff
I want it all! Looks soooo good!
Dulce
I am so looking forward to making these! What flour did you use??
Chuck Underwood
The only flour I buy is King Arthur's Bread Flour or King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour. In this case, I used the bread flour.