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Crispy Air Fryer Pickle Chips is just the recipe you want for a crowd pleasing appetizer! A healthier variation of fried pickles with a panko crust, and dipped into a spicy buffalo ranch dressing. Pickle lovers everywhere will devour this recipe!
I absolutely adore pickle flavored anything like my dill pickle salad or my dill pickle dip. Anytime I’ve been to a restaurant in the past year that had fried pickle chips on the menu, I ordered them. I have never been disappointed. The pickle lover in me is absolutely obsessed with this snack. The nutritionist in me also realized I could be making these at home in a lighter variation with my air fryer. So here we are! This lightened up version uses pickle chips coated in flour, egg, and a panko mixture. After a spritz of olive oil or avocado oil, they will get nice and crispy in the air-fryer! Turns out, this one’s just as fun and flavorful as the restaurant version. Exactly why I love experimenting with air fryer recipes for appetizers like this.
Because we watch so many sporting events in my house, I find myself frequently making a slew of appetizer recipes. The air-fryer pickle chip recipe seemed like a fantastic addition to our football watching weekends. They’re super simple and ready in 30 minutes—perfect for last-minute snack cravings! I’ve made these multiple times per month now that football season is coming to an end, and you better believe they are most definitely on our menu for the super bowl!
How to make Air Fryer Fried Pickles
As mentioned, I have made these multiple times now to get the technique just right! It does require minimal ingredients, but the dip into the flour, egg mixture, then panko is a must in order for the coating to stick. Here are the ingredients you will need to make these fried pickles in the air fryer:
- Jar of dill pickle chips
- Panko bread crumbs: you can use GF panko or nut crumbs!
- Seasoning: paprika and garlic powder
- All purpose flour: can also use GF all purpose flour
- Egg
- Olive oil or Avocado oil spray: use a cooking spray!
Set your Air Fryer to 400 degrees F. My oven has an air fryer setting so I will pre-heat mine for about 10 minutes before putting these in.
Lay out the pickle chips on paper towels to pat them as dry as possible. This helps the coating to stick and also creates a more crispy texture.
Set up 3 separate bowls (can be pretty small). One with panko mixed with seasonings, the other with the flour, and the final one with a whisked egg. Dredge the pickles in the following order: first dip in flour, then egg, then panko. Place on a lined baking sheet or directly in the air fryer basket.
Spray the pickle chips with the avocado oil or olive oil spray and then place in the air fryer for 12- 18 minutes at 400 degrees.
A note about Air Fryer temperatures
Not all air fryers are equal, which is why I have a 6 minute discrepancy in the amount of time these will take. My oven setting for the air fryer usually cooks pretty fast! Also, if you find that your pickle chips aren’t very crispy at the 12 minute mark, bump up the temperature to 425 for 5 minutes and that should do it.
Serving with Spicy Ranch Dressing
The easiest little hack here, combine your favorite ranch dressing (mine is Trader Joe’s Buttermilk Ranch in the refrigerate section) with a splash or spoonful of Frank’s Red Hot or buffalo hot sauce. That is it! Another easy dip is using ranch dressing seasoning with whipped cottage cheese, and a splash of Frank’s Red Hot. High protein and amazingly delicious!
Crispy Air Fryer Pickle Chips with Spicy Ranch
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
For the pickle chips:
- 1 16 oz Jar of dill pickle chips
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1 large egg , + 1 tbsp water or egg whites
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- Olive oil or avocado oil spray
For the Spicy Ranch dip:
- 1/3 cup ranch dressing
- 1 tbsp buffalo hot sauce, (like Frank's Red Hot)
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Remove the pickle juice from your jar of pickles. Lay out the pickles on paper towels to drain some of the liquid.
- In one medium sized bowl, mix the panko breadcrumbs with paprika and garlic powder.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg with water or egg whites.
- In a separate small bowl, add the all purpose flour.
- Dip each of the pickles in all 3 of the bowls starting first with the flour, then the egg mixture, and finally the panko breadcrumbs. Add each pickle to the air fryer basket, or place on a lined large baking sheet. Spray with the cooking oil spray.
- Air fryer your pickles for 12 minutes and check on them. If pickles are nice and golden, remove and enjoy. If they still need more time, bump up the temperature to 425 and cook another 3 – 5 minutes. Read above blog post on differences in Air Fryers!
- Stir together the ranch dressing and buffalo sauce to serve with the pickles. Enjoy hot!
