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You’ll love this easy plant-based treat! This recipe is vegan and can be made gluten-free and/or oil-free. You can make this recipe in the air fryer or oven with much less oil than deep frying would require. This recipe requires a few main steps that include: adding the dill pickle chips or slices to the flour and spice mixture, placing the pickles in the batter, and adding the pickle slices to the panko breadcrumb mixture. Simply cook the fried pickles in the air fryer or oven for an easy and delicious snack!

Best Results for Fried Pickles

Deep fried foods are crispy, oily, and delicious. We know this. But if you want to get similar results without all of the added oil from deep frying then I recommend you try using an air fryer or oven.

Air Fried Pickles

Wrap/place a piece of parchment paper on the air fryer basket. Use a knife to cut slits into the parchment paper to allow air to freely flow through the paper. This will help prevent the fried pickles and excess oil/grease from sticking to your air fryer basket. This will also make cleaning your air fryer much easier.
Spray or brush oil onto both sides of the breaded pickles before cooking in the air fryer. This will ensure that the fried pickles are extra crispy and have even cooking on all sides. If you’re not using oil for this recipe, the fried pickles will still be crispy and delicious, but they will be less crispy than if you were to use oil.
Flip the breaded pickles over halfway through air frying for more even cooking and a golden brown color.

Oven-Baked Fried Pickles

Spray or brush oil onto both sides of the breaded pickles before cooking in the air fryer. This will ensure that the fried pickles are extra crispy and have even cooking on all sides. If you’re not using oil for this recipe, the fried pickles will still be crispy and delicious, but they will be less crispy than if you were to use oil.
Flip the breaded pickles over halfway through baking for more even cooking and color.

Vegan Fried Pickles (Air Fried or Oven-Baked) | Gluten-Free Option + Oil-Free Option

Quick Tips

Pickles: When making this recipe, it’s very important that you dry the pickles with a clean kitchen hand towel or paper towels for a few minutes before dredging in the flour, wet, and bread crumb mixtures. This will ensure that the coating sticks to the pickles and doesn’t easily slide off.
Oil or No Oil: In this recipe I chose to use an oil spray to get an extra crispy outer texture without having to deep fry them. You can also use spray oil for the same results or you can use no oil and the fried pickles will still turn out crunchy and crispy on the outside, but not quite as crispy. If you plan on omitting the oil from this recipe, then I recommend you use an air fryer to cook the fried pickles for best results. I used avocado oil for this recipe, but you could also use olive oil or vegetable oil/canola oil.

Substitutions for This Recipe

Gluten-Free: If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour and gluten-free bread crumbs when making this recipe.
Flour Spice Blend: When making the flour spice blend, you can choose between adding paprika, Old Bay, and Cajun seasoning for this recipe. Keep in mind that, depending on the brand that you buy, Cajun seasoning and Old Bay may have higher amounts of salt in them so you may need to adjust the amount of salt within this recipe. You can always use less salt in this recipe to begin with and then sprinkle some on the fried pickles once they’re done if needed.
Wet Mix: If you don’t want to use silken tofu in the wet mix then you can instead add 1/2 cup of non-dairy milk, 1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice, and 1/4 cup hot sauce (optional). Whisk the mixture together and allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes to thicken slightly.

How to Reheat Fried Pickles

Reheating in the oven

Add the fried pickles onto a sheet pan and into the oven at 450ºF. Heat/cook the fried pickles for 5 – 7 minutes, flipping halfway through if preferred.

Reheating in the air fryer

Add the fried pickles back to the air fryer at 395ºF and heat/cook for 3 – 5 minutes. You can flip the fried pickles halfway through heating if you’d like.

While you’re here, check out some of my other favorite recipes!

Dipping Sauces

Ketchup: A simple, no-fuss condiment to go with these fried pickles is ketchup.
Vegan Ranch Dressing: The vegan ranch dipping sauce included in the recipe information below is creamy, easy to make, and perfect for fried pickles and other foods and plant-based recipes.

Products for this recipe (Sold through Amazon)

Air Fryer (Optional)
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (Optional)
Gluten-Free Bread Crumbs (Optional)
Oil Spray

Vegan Fried Pickles (Air Fried or Oven-Baked) | GF + OF Options

Total Time: 23 – 30 minutes
Yield: 2 – 4 servings 1x
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

These Fried Pickles are vegan and can be made gluten-free in the air fryer or oven! This recipe uses low oil since there is no deep frying.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Flour Spice Blend Ingredients:

1 cup All-Purpose Flour or Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Tsp. Paprika, Old Bay, or Cajun Seasoning
1/2 Tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/4 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper

Wet Mixture Ingredients:

1/2 cup (Approximately 4 oz.) Silken or Soft Tofu
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Hot Sauce (Optional, but recommended)

Bread Crumb Mixture Ingredients:

2 cups Bread Crumbs or Gluten-Free Bread Crumbs
1 1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Black Pepper

Other Ingredients:

24 oz. Jar of Sliced Dill Pickles
Oil Spray*
Ketchup (Optional)

Optional Vegan Ranch:

12 oz. Silken Tofu, Extra Firm
1/3 cup Raw Unsalted Cashews
1/2 cup Plain Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
2 Tsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp. Nutritional Yeast
2 Tbsp. Fresh or Dried Chives, Minced (Optional)
1 – 2 Tbsp. Pickle Juice (Optional)
1/2 Tsp. Dried Dill (Optional)
1 – 2+ Tbsp. Additional Milk/Water (Optional)

Instructions

Oven-Baked Fried Pickles Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Place a clean kitchen hand towel or a few layers of paper towels onto a large plate, cutting board, or clean countertop and place a layer of pickle slices on top. Cover the pickles with another clean kitchen hand towel or a few layers of paper towels and gently press to remove excess liquid.
Add the flour mixture ingredients to a large plate or bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the wet mixture ingredients to a small bullet blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the blended wet mixture to a large plate or bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the bread crumb mixture ingredients to a large plate or bowl and whisk to combine.
Working in small batches, add a handful of pickle slices to the flour mixture and toss to coat all sides. Gently shake off any excess flour.
Add the flour-coated pickle slices to the wet mixture and use a fork to turn/coat all sides.
Add the wet pickle slices to the bread crumb mixture and toss/flip to coat all sides. Gently shake off any excess bread crumbs.
Place the coated pickle slices onto a baking sheet pan that has been lined with parchment paper or silicone parchment.
Repeat the dredging process until all pickle slices have been fully coated.
Spray or brush oil onto both sides of the pickles.
Bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes, flipping halfway. Sprinkle with additional salt if needed and serve with dipping sauce of choice.

Air Fryer Fried Pickles Instructions:

Place a clean kitchen hand towel or a few layers of paper towels onto a large plate, cutting board, or clean countertop and place a layer of pickle slices on top. Cover the pickles with another clean kitchen hand towel or a few layers of paper towels and gently press to remove excess liquid.
Add the flour mixture ingredients to a large plate or bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the wet mixture ingredients to a small bullet blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the blended wet mixture to a large plate or bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the bread crumb mixture ingredients to a large plate or bowl and whisk to combine.
Working in small batches, add a handful of pickle slices to the flour mixture and toss to coat all sides. Gently shake off any excess flour.
Add the flour-coated pickle slices to the wet mixture and use a fork to turn/coat all sides.
Add the wet pickle slices to the bread crumb mixture and toss/flip to coat all sides. Gently shake off any excess bread crumbs.
Optional Step: Place a piece of parchment paper on the air fryer basket and use a knife to cut a few slits through the paper. I do this to prevent food and grease from sticking to my air fryer basket, but it isn’t required. If you do decide to place parchment paper in your air fryer, you’ll want to cut the slits into the paper to let air go through the paper and make the food crispy.
Preheat the air fryer to 395°F. In batches, add the dredged pickles to the air fryer.
Spray or brush oil onto both sides of the pickles.
Cook the pickle slices for 8 minutes, flipping halfway through. Sprinkle with additional salt if desired and serve with dipping sauce of choice.

Optional Vegan Ranch Instructions:

Pour boiling water onto the cashews and soak for 5 minutes.
Drain the water and add the cashews to a blender along with the tofu, lemon juice, non-dairy milk, onion powder, salt, nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth.
Taste the ranch and add the remaining optional ingredients if desired for additional taste and texture. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Notes

*Oil Spray: I used avocado oil spray in this recipe, but you can use any type of oil spray that you prefer. If you don’t have oil spray, you can brush oil onto the front and back of the pickles after coating.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 – 15 minutes
Category: Snack
Method: Oven or Air Fryer
Cuisine: American