These air fryer keto fried pickles are breaded with crushed pork rinds and coconut flour and are so crunchy and addicting! Plus, they are way easier to make than deep-fried pickles and have only 4 net carbs per serving.
What Makes This Recipe Great
The first time I tried fried pickles was about 3 years ago. It was such a new concept to me that even though I was gluten-free, I tried several of them at a bar and couldn’t believe how delicious they were. I definitely didn’t feel well afterward being gluten intolerant, but I remember thinking that it was totally worth it. They were that good!
Because it was love at first bite, I definitely had gluten-free, keto fried pickles on my list to make when I bought myself an air fryer. After making these air fryer pickles a few times, I’m honestly so stoked at how delicious and crispy they are!
Making fried pickles in the air fryer is so much easier than the traditional deep-fried pickles, and the cleanup is a breeze as well. These air-fried pickles are made low-carb by using crushed up pork rinds rather than breadcrumbs, but the texture is still so crunchy and crispy. I love that they are way healthier than the original version, and I honestly couldn’t stop eating them!
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
How to Make Air Fryer Keto Fried Pickles
To make low-carb, keto fried pickles, you need super simple ingredients for the breading. Some recipes call for an almond flour mixture, but I have had the most success with coconut flour! The process is similar to regular fried pickles, however, there’s no mess since they’re made in the air fryer and not deep fried in oil!
Ingredient Notes
- dill pickle slices (or “dill pickle chips”): Check the jar to make sure there’s no added sugar in your keto pickle chips. Otherwise, they will not be low carb. “Bread and butter pickles” often contain added sugar, so stay away from those.
- coconut flour
- egg
- pork panko: These are ground-up pork rinds. You can purchase this or make your own pretty easily.
- garlic powder
- paprika
- salt & pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Remove any excess pickle juice/moisture from the pickle chips with paper towels and place in a bowl.
- In a second bowl, add the flour and the pickles and toss to coat.
- Crack and whisk the egg in a shallow bowl.
- In another bowl, stir together pork panko, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Working in batches, dredge the pickle slices in the egg wash, then shake off the excess.
- Press into the pork panko mixture to coat on all sides, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with the rest of the pickle slices.
- Arrange the prepared pickle slices in a single layer in the air fryer. You may need to work in a few batches if you have a smaller air fryer basket.
- For an extra crispy texture, spray pickles with avocado oil cooking spray or any other oil you choose.
- Air fry for 10 minutes, flip, then spray with avocado oil again halfway through. The air fried pickles should be golden brown.
- Serve immediately with ranch or your favorite dip!
Expert Tips
- Dill pickles are traditionally used to make fried pickles, but you can use any kind of pickles you like. I also find that the slices crisp up better than pickle spears. I think this is because the thin slices cook faster, and has more surface area to crisp up than pickle spears.
- Pork panko just means ground up pork rinds. You can crush them yourself in a food processor, but I love buying these ground up ones to save time.
- I highly recommend you taste the pickles before breading them to decide if you want to add salt to the pork panko mixture. Mine was plenty salty enough so I didn’t need to add any.
- You may need to work in batches to cook these air fried pickles. They taste best if they are cooked in a single layer, and depending on your air fryer, the surface area may not be big enough to fit all the pickles.
- You can get these air fryer pickles extra crispy if you use cooking spray or brush them with cooking oil before you cook each side. I use this avocado oil spray, and it works really well for this.
- The coconut flour mixture and the egg mixture help the pork panko stick, so you have deliciously crispy fried pickles in the air fryer, and you won’t be able to stop eating! It only takes 10 minutes of cook time, and you don’t have to worry about oil splattering on your skin or clothes.
- To spice up these pickles, feel free to add a little cayenne pepper or cajun seasoning to the pork panko mixture!
Serving Tips
- Serve immediatelyI love these fried pickles with ranch dressing, but you can enjoy them with any other dipping sauce you prefer! Chipotle mayo, roasted garlic aioli, sour cream, or even ketchup are all great choices.
Storage Tips
- Fried pickles will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator and stored in an airtight container.
Recipe FAQs
If you are using frozen fried pickles that already come breaded, all you have to do is cook for the same time and at the same temperature as this recipe. No need to defrost or prepare in any other way!
Make sure to pat dry the slices well in the beginning with a paper towel before coating the pickles in the flour to remove as much moisture as possible. It’s also best to eat these right away so they are crispy and delicious.
The best way to reheat these crispy keto fried pickles is to place them back in the air fryer for about 5 minutes at 400 degrees F until they crisp up again.
In one serving of this keto fried pickle recipe (about 1 cup), there are only 4 net carbs. This is such a delicious snack if you’re on the keto diet or just trying to eat a great low carb snack.
More Delicious Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Keto Popcorn Chicken
Air Fryer Tonkatsu (Japanese Fried Pork Cutlet) – Paleo, Whole30, Keto
Paleo & Keto Air Fryer Avocado Fries Recipe (with Oven Method)
Extra Crispy Air Fryer Drumsticks (Paleo, Whole30, Keto) – Oven Method Included
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Air Fryer Keto Fried Pickles Recipe (4 Net Carbs!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups dill pickle slices
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup pork panko (ground-up pork rinds)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- Sea salt, to taste see notes
- Optional: Avocado oil to spray or brush
- Optional: Ranch dressing for dipping
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Pat dry the pickle slices with a kitchen or paper towel and place in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle the pickles with coconut flour and toss gently so all sides are coated.
- In a separate bowl, crack and whisk the egg.
- In another bowl, mix together pork panko, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Working in batches, dredge the pickle slices in the egg wash.
- Shake off the excess and press into the pork panko mixture. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the rest of the pickle slices.
- Arrange the dill pickle slices in a single layer in the air fryer. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- For extra crispy pickles, spray or brush the pickles with avocado oil.
- Air fry for 10 minutes, flipping then spraying (or brunshing) with avocado oil again halfway through.
- Serve immediately with ranch dressing, or your favorite dip!
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
- Dill pickles are traditionally used to make fried pickles, but you can use any kind of pickles you like. I also find that the slices crisp up better than pickle spears. I think this is because the thin slices cook faster and has more surface area to crisp up than pickle spears.
- Pork panko just means ground-up pork rinds. You can crush them yourself in a food processor, but I love buying these ground up ones to save time.
- I highly recommend you taste the pickles before breading them to decide if you want to add salt to the pork panko mixture. Mine was plenty salty enough, so I didn’t need to add any.
- You may need to work in batches to cook these air-fried pickles. They taste best if they are cooked in a single layer, and depending on your air fryer, the surface area may not be big enough to fit all the pickles.
- You can get these air fryer pickles extra crispy if you use cooking spray or brush them with cooking oil before you cook each side. I use this avocado oil spray, and it works really well for this.
- The coconut flour mixture and the egg mixture help the pork panko stick, so you have deliciously crispy fried pickles in the air fryer, and you won’t be able to stop eating! It only takes 10 minutes of cook time, and you don’t have to worry about oil splattering on your skin or clothes.
- To spice up these pickles, feel free to add a little cayenne pepper or cajun seasoning to the pork panko mixture!
- The pickles that I used were plenty salty on their own, so I didn’t add any more salt. I would taste the pickles first before determining if you want to add more salt or not.
Serving Tips
- Serve immediately. I love these fried pickles with ranch dressing, but you can enjoy them with any other dipping sauce you prefer! Chipotle mayo, roasted garlic aioli, sour cream, or even ketchup are all great choices.
Storage Tips
- Fried pickles will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator and stored in an airtight container.
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Whaaaa?!? My kids are going to be all over these. Pickles + fried stuff = sure win. Haha.
OMG, it’s like you read my mind! I was out at this bar and we ordered fried jalapenos and they were so good, I really wanted to learn to make them at home. And here we are! They were not pickles but done in the same way as these, so I imagine I can just do the same. Thanks so much for these!
So delicious! You’d need a plate of these by yourself – too good to share!
I didn’t know pork panko was a thing! How neat. And so is this recipe! Amazing.
Oh Em Gee!! Pinned this recipe because I HVAE to make this for football Sunday!! Or is is Sunday football? I never know haha, but I do know that there are some crispy fried pickles in my near future!
What a neat idea! I’ve never tried fried pickles, so I guess I’ve been missing out! I hear the air fryer is the way to go.
Wow, these are so impressive and exciting!! Years ago in Houston I missed the chance to have deep fried sauerkraut (my mouth waters just thinking about it) and I’ve always regretted it. I can’t wait to make these, so similar yet healthier! Such FUN food. 😉
This serves one, right? Because I’m going to eat all of them. 🙂
I have just got my Air Fryer and had no idea you can do pickles like this as well. My next dinner. Love, that those are Keto as well.
I can’t get enough of these crisp and salty delicious kinds of snacks! Can’t wait to try this in the air-fryer.
Wow, these look and sound so fun! The crunchy sour would go so good in a creamy dip
I love fried pickles! Younger me would never have thought that but here I am…loving them!
So, I’m assuming a TOTAL of 10 minutes and flip at 5:00. Also, I don’t see a ‘pre-heat’ for my Mealthy CrispLid for my InstaPot, so I’m assuming that’s for a traditional air fryer. :). Thanks!!! Can’t wait to taste these!!!!
Looking at the net carbs is 4 net carbs for the whole Batch or is there a serving size ?
There are 2 servings in this recipe.
These were delicious. I used a combination of the hot & spicy pork rhinds & regular. I actually didn’t need to flip halfway through. Will definitely make again.
Air fryers are the best thing since sliced bread! I have some SERIOUS pickle lovers in my house so we will be giving these a go.
These were great! They didn’t last long hahah my husband and I are them quick!!
Haha that’s the best review! Thank you!!
I just made these and I loved them … I have shared the recipe with 5 people in the last 30 mins… Sooo tasty!!
So glad you loved them!! Thank you SO much for sharing. 🙂
Can I use pork rinds?
Or is that the same thing without the dirty work of crushing them?
Yes! Exactly. If you only have pork rinds, just run it through the food processor to get them to be panko texture.
Can you use almond flour for this recipe instead of coconut flour?
You want something finely ground like coconut flour but almond flour will work in a pinch!
Messy because I tried to make fried pickles spears but I’m telling you what! Fried pickles are something I have missed! Thank you for this recipe. I tried to just smash the pork rinds… must use a blender or food processor for sure! 💞😎
I don’t have an air fryer at the moment. Can I fry these in oil and achieve the same result?
Yes!
I added in a little corn meal with the almond flour and omitted the yeast. To. Die. For! The sauce truly made them scrumptious!
Yay! So glad it worked out. 🙂
I subbed with almond flour and southern bbq pork rinds, I didn’t add any seasoning and preheated my air fryer it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe
So glad the subs worked out!!
These were delicious and easy to make! Loved them!
Yay! I’m so glad!!
My mouth is watering! Sounds incredibly delicious 🙂 Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the airfryer fried pickles recipe.
http://food.co.rw
What a great idea! I will give it a try.
my favourite