Uh, What Is the Duggar Family’s Weird Obsession With Pickles About?

There are a few things the Duggars love: their faith, knee-length skirts and of course, pickles. Anyone who’s tuned into 19 Kids and Counting or Counting On knows the reality TV family can’t get enough of their favorite tasty snack. 

Where does the Duggars’ pickles obsession come from, exactly?

Isn’t it obvious? Pickles are mentioned not once, but twice in the Bible, basically earning a starring role in the Book of Isiah. More than that, Jessa Seewald speculates their love of pickles was instilled during mom Michelle‘s first pregnancy.

“The Duggars love pickles. I think it probably started that when my mom is pregnant she craves pickles, that is the one thing. Every time we see her eating pickles we say ‘Are you pregnant?'” Jessa explained in a 2016 episode of Counting On. Surprisingly, pickles ended up becoming a hot commodity amongst several other members of their brood.

“Any time a family member tries a pickle for the first time, we always go around and take videos and pictures and everyone comes around to watch their facial expression,” Joy-Anna added.

Pickles are used to help distinguish between Duggar children.

The difference between Duggar children? Some of them like pickles, some don’t. 

In any case, the Duggars tend to personalize their pickles for their favorite holiday, Christmas. “Almost all of us like pickles, but each one likes a different kind,” Michelle said while explaining their yuletide traditions. “Same with the Pringles and the beef jerky. Christmas is the one time of year when every child gets their favorite flavor of each treat.”

Pickles on pizza is “a Duggar Thing.”

Because of the size of their family, their pickle pizza recipe requires them to buy ingredients in bulk. So it’s those delicious dills, seven pounds of cheese, and eight pounds of tomato sauce. 

If you want to follow the pickle pizza recipe by the Josie Duggar method, you should bite off pieces of toppings, lick them and then stick them on top of the pizza. Bon appétit!

Their car trips involve packing pickles for the road.

When discussing the family’s favorite on-the-road snacks, Michelle revealed that pickles were a mainstay. The only problem is, Jim-Bob says no glass in the car. “So, we always drain all the juice out of the pickle jar, dump the pickles into a large Ziploc bag, and then proceed to pass around pickle spears or whole pickles throughout the van with a paper towel wrapped around each one,” Michelle explained. “Our whole van smells like dill pickles, it’s just so funny.” 

And of course, Michelle then talked about the special medicinal purposes. “And for some reason, my kids said if they feel nauseous, the pickles seem to help them,” she said. “Go figure, every family is different!”

Jason Duggar even has a recipe for pickles.

FYI: Just in case you’re interested in another homemade pickle recipe.

In closing, it would seem that a love of pickles is instilled in each child from the moment of conception and will be, in true Duggar fashion, continued down from generation to generation.

In case you wanted proof, Joy-Anna’s baby girl, Evelyn Mae, is the latest grandkid to follow in the family’s footsteps. “BIG NEWS! Evy tried her first pickle today annnddd she loved it!” the star announced in February 2021. “Look at her face in the second pic! She’s got them Duggar genes.”