Every now and then when I’m researching regional recipes for my American Eats series, I come across an idea so wild that I just have to try it even if I have my doubts about how my family will feel about the end result. The tomato pie from Alabama was one such recipe that we were initially suspicious of but has turned out to be one of our family favorites that we make over and over. We’re a bit of of a house divided when it comes to pickles. I am a pickle lover (including fried pickles, another southern specialty) but my husband only likes bread-and-butter pickles. So when I learned about Kool Aid pickles from the Mississippi Delta region, I just had to try them. I took our jar of tropical punch pickles to a holiday party where we cut the red pickles into pieces and put them on the appetizer table with toothpicks for skewering along with the cheese platters and crackers. At first everybody thought they were beets, but after explaining the origins of this American culinary delicacy almost everyone just had to try them. The consensus? Most folks said they liked them! There were a couple people who made a face and said the tart flavor of the Kool-Aid pickles just wasn’t for them but there were just as many who went back for more and more.
Where are Kool-Aid pickles from?
No one is quite sure who first came up with the idea to add a packet of the childhood favorite fruity drink mix to a jar of dill pickles, but it’s pretty well-accepted that these shocking-hued Kool-Aid pickles started out in Mississippi, specifically in the Mississippi Delta region of the state. They are easy to make at home, but they are also a local favorite snack that you can pick up from the gas station convenience stores if you are in the area.
What do Kool-Aid pickles taste like?
Kool-Aid pickles taste a lot like bread and butter pickles but with a fruity taste. It’s a wild experience as your taste buds cycle through tasting dill pickle, then cherry Kool-Aid, then pickle again. They are a lip-puckering sweet and sour pickles snack and you can eat them plain as spears or make them with dill hamburger chips and use them to top sandwiches like pulled pork, tuna, or any other sandwich that you might enjoy with sweet pickles. While this didn’t end up being my favorite food experiment ever, they definitely weren’t bad! If you like sweet pickle relish, chances are you are going to enjoy a crunchy, fruity Kool Aid pickle.
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Dill pickles – You can use whole pickles, a jar of dill spears, or dill hamburger chips. Kool-Aid – Cherry is one of the most popular flavors to use, but Tropical Punch Kool-Aid is another common flavor of kool aid to use in this recipe. Really any Kool-Aid mix flavor like grape, blue raspberry, black cherry, lime, or orange will work to make this fun snack. So use your favorite flavor of Kool-Aid! Sugar – The Kool-Aid packets are unsweetened, so you will need granulated sugar to add to the pickle brine for the sweet and sour taste.
How to Make Kool-Aid Pickles
It takes just three ingredients and less than ten minutes to make this Kool-Aid pickles recipe, but then you need to wait a week for the pickles to absorb the Kool-Aid flavor.
Storage Instructions
Like any pickles, these Kool-Aid pickles will keep for about 2 months in the refrigerator so you can enjoy a tasty snack any time you want one. I don’t recommend freezing pickles.
More Snack Recipes
Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers Grape Jelly Meatballs Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries 7 Layer Dip
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Pickles
Best Hush Puppy Recipe
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