I Asked 4 Chefs To Name the Best Store-Bought Pickles—They All Said the Same Thing

I don’t know about you, but personally, I love all kinds of pickles, any way I can eat them. A pickle spear on the side of the plate? I’m crunching my way through it pronto. That jar of bread and butter pickles in my fridge? A perfect afternoon snack. Layered on a sandwich, chopped up in a dip, tossed into a salad. Few meals do not benefit from the addition of pickles, in my humble opinion.

However, not all pickles are created equal, and with so many local, regional, and national pickle brands all claiming to be the best, it can be hard to decide which to buy. So, in search of the pickles at the top of the heap, I reached out to a few professional chefs to see what brand they purchase themselves. To my surprise, after interviewing four chefs, I found out that they all have the same favorite brand!

The Panel of Pickle-Loving Chefs

• Brian Burns: Executive Chef of Osteria Lupo and Costera in New Orleans
• Ashley Lonsdale: Chef, recipe developer, and Substack author
• Cesar Zapata: Owner and Chef of Phuc Yea and Pho Sho in Miami
• Joe Schafer: Executive Chef of Earth at Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, Maine
  

The Best Pickles, According to the Experts

All four chefs I spoke with told me their hands-down favorite was Grillo’s Pickles, a brand found packaged in plastic deli containers in the refrigerated section at stores including Walmart, Target, Hannaford, and Aldi. “These perfectly executed pickles find the ultimate balance between salty and sour,” says Chef Schafer. “They also maintain tremendous crispness and preserved ‘freshness.’ You really feel like you are eating a fresh cucumber.”

That texture, explains Chef Burns, is on account of Grillo’s cold fermentation. The fresh, preservative-free brine gives the pickles “a more satisfying crunch than the other cooked pickles you’ll find at the grocery store,” he says. His go-to variety, Grillo’s Pickles Classic Dill Chips, are great in all sorts of recipes." They have a pleasant acidity that doesn’t get in the way of other subtle flavors and is easily combined with other ingredients.”

Chef Lonsdale echoes his praise. She has one word for her pick: the bread and butter chips. “Versatile!” The “solid crunch and balanced brine” of these “snappy” pickles makes them “a perfect, simple snack,” in her estimation. “But they’re lovely on a burger as well, and I use them in a relish or a tartare sauce for a fish sandwich or a dip.”

Chef Zapata prefers Grillo’s pickle spears. “With a clean, bright flavor, they’re perfect for charcuterie boards or just on their own,” he says. “What sets them apart is the quality of the ingredients and the fact that they taste incredibly fresh and homemade, even though they are store-bought.”

Chef Schafer sums up the collective feeling about Grillo’s with an argument for munching on them right out of the tub: “These pickles have nothing to hide. They are simply perfect.”