Red Robin Pickle Nickels Recipe (Crispy Fried Pickles with Cornmeal)

This spot-on copycat recipe brings the legendary crunch of Red Robin’s famous Pickle Nickels to your kitchen. These aren’t your average crispy pickle slices! Red Robin’s secret lies in their cornmeal-based breading, creating an incredibly crispy coating that stays crunchy and never gets soggy. Perfect as an appetizer, game day snack, or anytime you’re craving that addictive combination of tangy pickles and golden, crunchy coating that made Red Robin’s version a cult favorite.

Homemade copycat Red Robin Pickle Nickels (fried pickles) with dipping sauce on a serving platter.

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Ingredients

For the Breading Station:

  • All-purpose flour – Creates the initial coating that helps other layers adhere properly
  • Salt – Enhances the pickle flavor and seasons each layer of breading
  • Ground black pepper – Adds subtle heat and aromatic complexity
  • Buttermilk – Provides tangy flavor and creates the perfect base for final coating adhesion
  • Louisiana Fish Fry Breading Mix – Contains cornmeal for signature crunch and seasoning blend

For Frying:

  • Vegetable oil – Neutral flavor oil with high smoke point perfect for deep frying
  • Dill pickle chips – Choose thick-cut chips for best texture and easier handling

Be sure to serve these fried pickles with Red Robin’s Campfire dipping sauce.

Ingredients to make Red Robin Pickle Nickels.

How to Make Fried Pickles

  1. Drain pickles.
  2. Set up a breading station with three shallow containers.
  3. Add the flour, salt, and pepper to the first container and stir to combine.
  4. Add the buttermilk to the second container.
  5. Add the fish fry breading mix to the third container.
  6. Heat oil to 350 degrees.
  7. Place pickle chips in the flour and toss to coat the pickles with flour.
  8. Shake off excess flour and lay the floured pickles on a wire rack.
  9. Quickly dip the pickles in buttermilk.
  10. Place the pickles into the fish fry breading mix and toss to coat the pickles with the breading.
  11. Shake off the excess fish fry mix and place them on a wire rack for 2 minutes before cooking.
  12. Fry the breaded pickles in the hot oil for about 1 to 1½ minutes.
  13. Drain the fried pickles on a wire rack.
Homemade fried pickles on a serving platter.

Chef’s Notes

Temperature control is critical for perfect Pickle Nickels. Oil that’s too cool will result in greasy, soggy coating, while oil that’s too hot will burn the exterior before the coating sets properly. The fish fry breading mix is essential; regular cornmeal won’t provide the same seasoning balance or texture. Don’t skip the resting periods, as they allow each coating layer to set properly.

Homemade Red Robin Pickle Nickels and dipping sauce on a platter.
Homemade copycat Red Robin Pickle Nickels (fried pickles) and dipping sauce on a serving platter.

Red Robin Pickle Nickels – Crispy Fried Pickles

Recreate Red Robin's famous crispy fried pickles at home! These cornmeal-crusted pickle chips stay perfectly crunchy and never get soggy.
5 from 7 votes
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Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Fried Pickles, Red Robin Fried Pickles, Red Robin Pickle Nickels
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 minutes
Total Time: 14 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 630kcal

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces dill pickle chips
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 package Louisiana Fish Fry Breading Mix (8 ounces)
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Drain pickles.
  • Set up a breading station with 3 shallow containers.
  • To the first container, add the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine all ingredients together.
  • In the second container, add the buttermilk.
  • In the third container add the fish fry mix.
  • Heat oil to 350 degrees. You will need to add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot or cooking vessel to a depth of 3 inches.
  • First bread the drained pickle chips with flour, then, shake off excess flour and lay on a wire rack.
  • Quickly dip the pickles in buttermilk.
  • Dip the pickles in the fish fry mix. After they have been coated with the fish fry mix, shake off the excess fish fry mix,
  • Place the breaded pickle chips on a wire rack for 2 minutes before cooking. This will help keep the coating on the pickle. 
  • Fry pickles for about 1 to 1½ minutes in the hot oil. Remove when they start to turn a darker color.
  • Drain the fried pickles on a wire rack.

Nutrition

Calories: 630kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 1348mg | Potassium: 401mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 305IU | Vitamin C: 0.9mg | Calcium: 125mg | Iron: 3.6mg

Love Red Robin? Try these copycat recipes!

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About Stephanie Manley

Stephanie Manley is the creator of CopyKat.com. She has been recreating copycat recipes since 1995. Learn more about Stephanie Manley.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emily

    5 stars
    I’ve had fried pickles from several restaurants, but never Red Robins so I can’t speak to how this recipe compares to them. But regardless, these were delicious and will be making again in the future. My family loved them and we could eat them everyday, but that’s probably not a wise health move. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  2. Celeste Goodin

    Although I cannot remember the name of the restaurant, it was in Memphis, Tennessee. I was traveling on business in the mid 1980’s and my colleagues took me to a classic Memphis steakhouse restaurant. It was not fancy, the tables were formica and the chairs were red naugahyde. The water glasses were plastic red juice glasses. But the steaks were magnificent and the baked potatoes were perfection. But before our entree we ordered the deep fried pickles. They were batter dipped medium sized whole dill pickles and they were great. They had been serving them since 1942. The reason I remember it so vividly, is because the folks I was with were so delightful, I was there to integrate them as a recent acquisition to our company. About 5 months after that trip, I read an article in our Clevleand paper about the Annual Chicago Food and Restaurant show–and the hit of the show was this new pub food–‘deep fried pickles’! I could be very wrong, but I kind of smiled because I’d thought I had them from their original source. Maybe, maybe not. Nonetheless, for the uninitiated, they are a delightful first time treat

    • Stephanie

      Hey, that is awesome. I wished we knew the name of the steakhouse. I have no doubt these were made sooner, documenting it can be difficult. I will do further research.

  3. Lee T Ward

    Oh I love pickles like this, drats, I am not frying things now, only oven or air fryer. Will keep recipe to play with, thank you

    • Stephanie

      This recipe may work in an air fryer since these are breaded. I find anything that is battered works poorly, but breaded works very well.

      I would make this recipe as prepared and then cook at 390 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes.

5 from 7 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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