Posted | Updated Recipes
Pickle Pie with a flaky crust and smokey flavour is the perfect take on the classic American cheeseburger.
Our quick & easy Pickle Pie recipe features a creamy filling with yummy ingredients like dill pickles, minced beef, cheddar cheese, fried onions and liquid smoke.
We love serving this savoury meat pie at summer potlucks, family barbecues or birthdays. Top with a dollop of sour cream and slices of Bread & Butter pickles.
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What is Pickle Pie?
There are two kinds of American Pickle Pie. You can make sweet or savoury pie recipes that showcase the sour and crunchy fermented cucumbers we all love.
The most famous Pickle Pie recipe was developed in the kitchen of a vintage motel restaurant in Bicknell, a tiny town in Utah. Since the 1960s, road trippers driving along route 24 in south-central Utah would stop at the Sunglow Restaurant and Motel to fork through weird and wonderful slices of pie.
Sunglow Restaurant still serves their famous pies, including classics likes apple and blueberry. The menu also features outside-of-the-box creations such as avocado lime, pinto bean and pickle pie.
Cula Ekker’s Utah Pickle Pie is described as tasting like a traditional mince pie. But as you continue chewing, the spiced overtones transform into a unique tanginess. The pie filling is made of ground sweet pickles, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cream, margarine and lemon extract. It’s baked in a flaky pie crust and served topped with a dollop of whipped cream.
Our recipe is a creative take on the Cheeseburger Pie. When eating this savoury Southern pie it feels as though you’re eating a crunchy pickle-filled hamburger off your fork!
Join Dobbernationloves founder Andrew Dobson in the kitchen by signing up for a fun virtual cooking class! Classes begin with a co*cktail that you can sip while preparing 2-3 recipes that are curated around a unique culinary theme. Check out our current Cooking Class Schedule!
My Family Loves Pickle Pie
My father is obsessed with pickles.
When I was growing up, every Sunday at lunch my family would enjoy soup & salad accompanied by a plate of sliced cheese, charcuterie, crunchy apples and an assortment of Dill Pickles, Bread & Butter Pickles and Spicy Cucumber Pickles.
We’d stuff our hamburgers with Bread & Butter Pickle coins, enjoy crunchy German-style gherkins dipped in Swiss fondue and munch through fat Dill Pickles while devouring simple sandwiches.
Our Pickle Pie elevates the traditional Cheeseburger Pie by adding over twice the amount of chopped pickles as well as pickle juice. The recipe ensures each mouthful offers maximum pickle pleasure! Your family is sure to enjoy the abundance of crunch. Plenty of juicy dill pickles in each bite!
Bake The Perfect Pie Crust
Whether you’re a baking beginner or whiz with a rolling pin, it’s important your pie crust is as flaky as can be.
Our Pickle Pie recipe crust is foolproof if you follow the directions carefully. Remember the important rules when making pastry: keep the ingredients as cold as can be and handle the dough as little as possible.
The flaky texture found in a perfect pie crust is thanks to the solid fat, usually butter or vegetable shortening, that is gently rolled into the dough. You want your final dough to be shaggy, with small lobs and chunks of fat visible to the naked eye.
When solid fat in a pie crust melts at a high temperature in the oven the water evaporates quickly, leaving layers of flaky crust, just like a croissant.
Have an active sourdough starter at home? Feel free to substitute our pie crust below with this excellent sourdough discard pie crust recipe.
Best Pickles For A Pie
Our favourite pickle brands are Bick’s, Vlasik and Strub’s.
We like to add chopped dill pickles to our pie filling. We suggest topping each pie slice with a dollop of sour cream and slices of Bread & Butter pickles.
Once you’ve baked this pickle pie we suggest getting creative add taste testing other fermented vegetables in the filling. You may enjoy the crunchy texture of fermented garlic, onions, carrots, hot peppers or kimchi.
Visit Germany’s Pickle Capital
Are you the world’s biggest pickle fan? Obsessed even?
I highly suggest you add a trip to the German region of Spreewald, an easy day trip from Berlin, to your travel bucket list.
Berg, the tourist hub of Spreedwald, is the “pickle capital of Germany.” Local restaurants offer tasting platters of pickles, many of which are available for sale on popular canal cruise tours.
The scenic holiday destination is famous for playing home to one of Germany’s most famous thermal spas and an inspiring open-air folk museum Freilandmuseum Lehde.
Pickle Pie Tips
Ready to bake our homemade Pickle Pie? We suggest reading the recipe directions in detail to ensure you understand the step by step process.
In order to make the most delicious pie you must take the time (and pleasure) in mixing, rolling and baking a flaky crust. If you don’t have the ingredients or time feel free to purchase a frozen pie crust. You can prepare the filling at home from scratch.
Our recipe mimics the flavours and textures of a moist cheeseburger. You could substitute the minced beef for ground chicken, turkey or pork if those are your preferred meats to cook in the kitchen.
We’ve used cheddar cheese in the pie filling but you could substitute with other aged cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Gruyere, Manchego, Beemster or Mimolette.
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What To Serve with Pickle Pie
We suggest serving your pie with fresh salads or a healthy bowl of soup.
Pickle Pie has a high fat and carb content so it’s nice to contrast the flavours with fresh, juicy and acidic ingredients.
Some of our favourite soup and salad recipes include Spicy Tikka Masala Turkey Barley Soup, Piri Piri Carrot and Sweet Pepper Soup with Bulgar, Kale, Leek, Bean, Orzo and Pumpkin Soup with Pecan Pesto, Vegan Chinese Cucumber Salad, Cajun Spicy Chorizo Corn Salad, Cherry Pecan Kale Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette, Carrot and Tahini Salad with Crispy Cumin Chickpeas and Pistachios and Fennel, Apple, Celery and Roasted Hazelnut Salad.
Storing Pickle Pie
If you’re planning on making extra Pickle Pie to enjoy later we suggest double the recipe. Pre-bake each crust and scoop the filling into each pie. Store pies in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake straight out of the freezer for a quick and easy last minute meal.
If you’ve got leftovers, store pickle pie slices in Ziplock bags or Tupperware and enjoy within a week.
Best Pickle Pie Recipe
Print Recipe
3.87 from 22 votes
Homemade Pickle Pie
Looking to learn how to make the best homemade pickle pie? This flaky & savoury American pie features dill pickles, minced beef, cheese and fried onions.
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time40 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: beef pie, cheeseburger pie, Pickle Pie
Servings: 6
Calories: 602kcal
Equipment
Pie plate
Rolling pin
Frying pan
spatula
French knife
cheese grater
oven
Ingredients
Pickle Pie Crust
- 1 1/4 cups All purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp White sugar
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup Water
Pickle Pie Filling
- 1 lb Ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Dill pickle juice
- 3/4 cup Dill pickles chopped
- 2 tsp Liquid smoke
- 1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup Milk
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese grated
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 F.
In the bottom of a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal and the largest bits of butter are the size of tiny peas.
Add 1/4 cup cold water and stir with a spoon or flexible spatula until large clumps form. Use your hands to knead the dough together, right in the bottom of the bowl. If necessary to bring the dough together, you can add another tablespoon of water.
Wrap dough in a sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 48 hours, or you can quick-firm this in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
On a floured counter, roll the dough out into a 12 to 13-inch circle shape. Fold dough gently in quarters without creasing and transfer to a 9 1/2-inch standard pie plate. Unfold dough and trim overhang to about 1/2-inch. Fold overhang under edge of pie crust and crimp decoratively.
Freeze for 15 minutes, until solid. Dock all over with a fork. Coat a piece of foil with butter or nonstick spray and press tightly against frozen pie shell, covering the dough and rim and molding it to fit the shape of the edges. Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully, gently remove foil. If any parts have puffed, just press them gently back into place. Patch any tears or cracks with reserved dough scraps.
In a large non-stick pan add ground beef, onion, garlic, salt and flour. Sauté on medium heat for 3-5 minutes until beef is browned.
Stir in pickle juice, liquid smoke, milk, chopped pickles, and shredded cheese. Spoon mixture into the prepared pie crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Let rest for 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve topped with sliced pickles and dollop of sour cream.
Nutrition
Calories: 602kcal | Carbohydrates: 36.6g | Protein: 37.5g | Fat: 33.3g | Saturated Fat: 19.7g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 959mg | Potassium: 435mg | Fiber: 1.7g | Sugar: 3g | Calcium: 307mg | Iron: 17mg
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