11 Store-Bought Bread And Butter Pickles, Ranked

There is a seemingly endless selection of store-bought pickles waiting for you at your local supermarket. Not only will you find the fresh pickles (including my personal favorite brand, Grillo's), but also an array of shelf-stable varieties and flavors, including classic dills, half-sours, kosher dills, sweets, and perhaps the most unique and complex of them all: bread and butter pickles. Although the name is a bit ambiguous, just know that a proper bread and butter pickle is all about the balance between sweet and sour. Typically, the pickles are brined in a mixture of vinegar and sugar and can be seasoned with an array of different ingredients, including mustard seeds, spices, and garlic. 

Since there is no "right" — and no inherently "wrong" — way to make bread and butter pickles, it's no surprise that several different brands have developed their own version. In order to decide which bread and butter pickle brands are worth buying, I, a self-proclaimed pickle connoisseur, made a trip to a few local grocery stores and picked up as many different jars of bread and butter pickles as I could find to try. Then, I ranked them from worst to best. The cornerstone of bread and butter pickles is their meshing of sweet and vinegar flavor, so I kept this top of mind during this review. I also looked at other factors, including the balance of seasonings, texture of the cucumbers, and whether or not I would buy a jar of them again. 

Great Gherkins is Aldi's resident pickle brand — which I admittedly didn't know existed until I picked up this jar of bread and butter chips. As I uncapped it, I was able to see the plethora of yellow mustard seeds floating around in it, which made me think that I was going to be eating something that was at least somewhat spicy and well-balanced. But unfortunately, it only gets worse from here.

These bread and butter pickles made me feel like I was eating candy. They were so sickeningly sweet and sugary that when I bit in, I almost got the impression that I was biting into a candy apple. The pickle chips had turned mushy in the jar, which made them all the more rotten apple-esque. The balancing heat from the mustard seeds was nowhere to be found, and I was missing that counteracting, vinegary punch that could have restored balance and wholesomeness to their mouthfeel. 

I can't think of any instance, or any sandwich, that would be improved by adding a couple pieces to the top of it. Maybe, it could be paired with ham since the salty protein could use some sweetness. But otherwise, I wouldn't recommend buying these bread and butter pickles. Their low price is indicative of their low quality, and I had no choice but to put them at the bottom of this ranking. 

Great Value products can sometimes be great — and other times, not so great. Unfortunately, these pickles made a beeline for the latter. When I peered into the jar, I noticed that the brine was surprisingly clear — almost like it was made with water rather than some salty, vinegary concoction. However, the smell of these pickles was deeply vinegary, which didn't match up with the extremely sugary taste. It seemed like the vinegar and the sugar were in a fistfight, with one punching the other until they were both so tired of fighting that they both just gave up. 

Despite the weird interplay between these two central ingredients, I felt that Great Value's pickles still delivered more of a clean taste than the Aldi offering. While they were sweet, that sweetness never transformed into syrupiness. Instead, it felt like I was eating a spoonful of sugar and taking a shot of vinegar as a chaser. The mouthfeel was clean, just not memorable. 

If there was a little bit more spice, mustard, and perhaps a bit more salt, there's a chance I would have liked these pickles more. But I definitely won't be adding them to my cart ever again. 

The regular Great Value chips weren't great — so I can't say that I was excited to taste Great Value 2.0: the zesty edition. However, I figured that the "zesty" label would add more vinegar to the equation and help abate the sweetness of the brine. And this was partially true; there was a little more vinegary flavor, though this zestiness only came through towards the end of the bite and in the aftertaste. Before that, it tasted just like regular bread and butter chips, which was disappointing. 

Besides the slightly punchier aftertaste, I also thought that these chips had a slight undercurrent of spiciness, whereas the regular chips did not. Normally, I would welcome heat with open arms, as it can quell other flavors in foods, but I felt that the heat in these pickles was a little misplaced. I was left asking, "What are you doing here?" when I felt the tinge on the back of my taste buds at the end of the bite, rather than the beginning. If the warmth had been at the forefront, I would have been more convinced that it was an intentional addition. Instead, Great Value made a half-hearted attempt at a warm undercurrent, which made it seem more awkward than complementary. 

Sweet and heat are normally two flavors I enjoy, but I like them even more when they're together. I was hopeful that the Mt. Olive sweet heat bread and butter pickles could master this interplay, seeing as how well its other products did on this ranking. However, I was wholly disappointed by these chips. 

What I will say is that both the heat and the sweet are in attendance and ready for class. The problem is that Mt. Olive focused so much on the sugar that it forgot to add the vinegar — or at least add enough to make it noticeable. The tangy vinegar is what makes a bread and butter pickle, well, a bread and butter pickle. Without it, it's way too sugary and overwhelming. 

The heat also didn't come in until the aftertaste. It wasn't a warm, soothing heat like with the other brands on this ranking. Instead, it felt like my taste buds were getting pricked and stabbed over and over again, until I swallowed and that heat all but vanished. 

This is one pickle that has potential, but needs direction. Sweet and heat are a classic combination, and if there was more warmth — via spices or some other organic, earthy means — they might have a better selling point. If you saw these in the grocery store and bought them based on the promise of "sweet heat," you would probably be disappointed by them, too. 

When I opened the Nature's Promise bread and butter pickles, I was immediately met by one and only one aroma: mustard. Mustard was a flavor that was missing from so many of these pickles, so I was excited to see it finally make an appearance. These pickles, like some of my top-ranked varieties, were super crisp rather than floppy and mushy. The ridges were as satisfying to look at as they were to eat, which earned Nature's Promise some brownie points. After I had eaten a few, I realized that the crispness was most apparent on the large chips; the small ones were softer than I would have liked. 

I also started to notice some issues with their taste. While the Nature's Promise pickles weren't initially sweet, the cloying and almost syrupy flavor lingered on my palate and hid the vinegar flavor away from my taste buds. Although the brand touts that these pickles are not made with high fructose corn syrup, that is the exact, syrupy impression that I got from them.

Their texture, for the most part, was one of the reasons why I placed them higher than some of the other brands on this list. However, their flavor could use a bit of workshopping, earning them a middling spot among the pack. 

Vlasic is a well-known name in the canned and jarred food world. My dad kept its pickled fish in the fridge all the time when I was a kid, but this was the first time I sampled its pickles. These bread and butter spears are sizable, and the number of servings you get from the jar makes it a decent buy. Its flavor was also one of the better (but not the best) ones on this list. 

The sweetness of these pickles is more honey-leaning than just raw sugar, which adds complexity and helps to contrast their vinegary punch. The sweetness is the first thing that hits your palate before it eventually diffuses into a tangy, bright bite. The vinegar flavor is by no means overpowering, and I enjoyed the fact that it remained on my palate long after I had finished eating one of the spears. Another high point was the texture. While the fleshy part of the cucumber softened in the vinegar and sugar mixture, the peel remained slightly crispy and gave way when I bit into it. It wasn't as candy-like and mushy as some of the other brands.

The only thing that I wish was more apparent were the mustard seeds. They could have played a bigger role in the honeyed sweetness of these bread and butter pickles and improved their bite significantly. While they're not half-bad, there were several more memorable brands that I preferred more. 

Sandwich slices are my favorite cut of pickle for multiple reasons. Not only can you wrap them around other foods, but they are just thin enough to fit between a sandwich and ensure optimal pickle coverage for every bite. 

Stop & Shop did an excellent job on the texture of its bread and butter slices. The pieces were crispy and had enough of a toothsome bite to be satisfying, while the centers had just enough give and softness to remind you that you were eating a pickle, rather than a blob of sugar. But, Stop & Shop did have similar issues as its in-house brand, Nature's Promise: these pickles were just too sweet for my liking. When I opened the jar, I got a strong and familiar whiff of mustard, but that warmth and spice didn't entirely come through on my palate. However, Stop & Shop's pickles were less cloying and had a slightly more audible crunch, earning them a higher spot on this list than the organic product.

If Great Value's chips were "zesty," the Vlasic version is like "zesty," but with a firework show, dancers, and an all-night afterparty included. When I unscrewed the container, I was met with a beautiful medley of colors. Not only was there a slightly red brine, but there were chunks of red pepper floating around lazily with big flecks of spice (which I presumed to be pepper) and mustard seeds. It was beautiful, to say the least. 

The flavor of these Vlasic chips, in short, was like a party in my mouth. The red pepper offered an earthy warmth to every bite, while the mustard seeds and the pepper teamed up on the spice front. All the while the sugar and the vinegar came together as one, rather than working separately, to deliver that classic bread and butter pickle flavor. But like any good party, the hangover and feeling of waking up the next morning is not great — and I can confidently say that's how my taste buds felt after I finished eating one or two chips. 

There was a lot of concentrated flavor milling about at the same time, and I felt as though I lost the essence of what I was eating: a pickle. While I'm all for zhuzhing up a rather rudimentary food, I want to still have some sort of grounding and flavor familiarity. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to take some Pedialyte — and antacid, while I'm at it. 

I had a really good feeling about Mt. Olive — especially when I looked into the jar and saw the beautiful ridges on each chip and the plentiful mustard seeds. While these pickles are nowhere near the cheapest item on my list, I do think that their flavor warrants a purchase. I for one, don't really love bread and butter pickles, but I would consider buying these again. 

When I bit into one of these chips, I was met with the most incredible crispiness. When pickles sit in the jar too long — compounded by a poor ratio of sugar to acid — they turn candy-like. These Mt. Olive pickles retained their beautiful crunch and their shape, thereby exuding freshness. The bite was almost an even 50/50 split of sweetness and vinegar, which could not be said for some of the lower-ranked brands on this list. When I picked up a chip and held it between my fingers, it retained its shape and did not flop over. 

The flavor of these chips would make them a great match for almost any sandwich. The sugar only serves to complement the vinegar, rather than overpower it. I could foresee someone upgrading their fast food chicken sandwich with them, or even chopping them up and adding them to egg salad. They would be my top pick for a basic model bread and butter pickle — but other brands just took the pickle to a new level. 

Don't let the fancy label and reflective price tag fool you; these are Mt. Olive pickles masquerading as a premium brand. The only thing that appears to be different between these chips and the other basic model chips on this list is that they're made with red wine vinegar rather than plain ol' white vinegar. I was curious to see how this swap would affect the flavor of the pickles, and whether or not this simple substitution was worth a higher price tag. 

In short, I can pick up what Mt. Olive is putting down. The issue with many of the other brands on this list is that the sugar and vinegar was mixed in a way that was unharmonious — like the sugar and vinegar didn't want to be together, but were forced to pair up, group-project style. But, when I tasted the red wine vinegar pickles, I could immediately see how the sweetness seamlessly flowed into the vinegar flavor. Neither of the flavors were particularly abrasive, and I appreciated how Mt. Olive was able to create a slightly salty pickle that had so many layers of complexity and flavor nuances.

I could eat these pickles straight from the jar and not complain about them. While they weren't my favorite on the list, seeing as how I still thought that their flavor was a little basic, it is a testament to what can happen when a brand goes back to the basics and is intentional with its recipe. 

The Boar's Head pickles were the only brand on this list that needed to be refrigerated before opening. These hand-packed, cold-cured pickles certainly weren't cheap, but they are truly one of the best that you can get from your grocery store. 

The overall sentiment I got from these pickles are that they are meant to upgrade your sandwich. They're not the topping you use begrudgingly or just because you have an open jar of them in the fridge, as their flavor is too punchy and unique to be used lightly. When I cracked the container, I was immediately hit with a sensorial sucker-punch. What I thought was cumin and coriander met my nose in a warm embrace, while the smell of fresh (not stale) mustard was almost coaxed out of the container by the spices.

Don't let these spices fool you; though they are a predominant fixture of the tasting notes for these pickles, so are the two fundamental elements that make a bread and butter pickle a bread and butter pickle. There's a perfect dance between the sugar, which is not cloying or harsh, and the light tang of vinegar on your palate. Once I had a couple chips, I sat back and let the mouthfeel of the spices play with the sweetness and the vinegar, like a bustling playground of flavors on my tongue. Granted, since they're so unique, I don't know if folks who love the classic sweet-and-tangy taste of bread and butter pickles will like this new-age version — but I sure do. 

The bare minimum that a bread and butter pickle has to have is a balance of sweetness and vinegary bite, which is why it was the focal point of this ranking. If a pickle brand had too much sugar in its recipe — to the point that it eclipsed the vinegar — I ranked it towards the bottom. I also ranked pickles that had a better textured bite, meaning they weren't too floppy or mushy, over the brands that tasted candy-like and gummy. 

An important thing to note is that I did not inherently rank any brands higher if they added extra flavors to the equation, like spice or heat. If these flavors were added, they had to be well-executed and make sense within the context of the sweetness and tanginess. The highest ranked pickles on this list are ones that I would buy again, either to eat straight from the jar or enjoy on a sandwich.