Dill Pickle Pasta Salad is literally my favorite pasta salad ever! In this creamy pasta salad recipe, dill pickles play a starring role and add tons of flavor and crunch! This recipe is even better when it’s made ahead of time making it the perfect potluck dish!
I have a thing for dill pickles. I always have. My sister and I have exchanged pickle themed gifts for about 20 years now… I’ve received everything from pickle erasers and a case of pickle pops (like freezies.. but pickle juice) and given her everything from a yodeling pickle to pickle soap and jewellery. One thing we haven’t exchanged yet is a dill pickle recipe, so of course I have to dedicate this delicious pasta salad recipe to my sister Candace.
I like pasta salads, I make a ton of them. They’re easy to make and usually better if made ahead of time. They’re the hit of every potluck meal and perfect to pack the next day for lunch. As much as I like pasta salads, this Dill Pickle Pasta salad is honestly one of the best pasta salads I’ve ever had! Pickles (or even dill pickle relish) usually play a supporting role in recipes, especially pasta salad recipes and potato salads.
But not this time… nope, this time the prized dill pickle plays the starring role, front and center.
* cheer * yay * cheer *
There is pickle flavor infused throughout this recipe (in 3 different places) yet it’s just the right amount of pickley (if pickley is even a word!?). Yup, time to get pickled people (in the dill pickle sense of course).
When buying pickles for this recipe, I love baby dills if you can find them because I love the crunch they give and I love how they look in little rounds. I’m a bit freakish about my pickles so I actually pick up all of the pickle jars at the store and try to choose jar with the the smallest pickles. I look like a person trying to choose the perfect produce, only in the pickle aisle. If you only have bigger dill pickles (or homemade pickles), they’ll still be great in this recipe too, just chop them but not too small, you want them to keep that crunch.
If you have (or love) sweet pickles you can also throw a handful of those in here too. I mean, sweet and salty, crunch creamy… perfection right?!
Oh, and when you’re scooping out your pickle juice to add to the dressing in this recipe, try to grab all of those yummy little garlicky bits floating around and put them in the dressing too, they add extra flavor. And one last tip about the white onion… be sure to grab the onions with the white papery skin, the ones with the yellow skin are much stronger and will be a little bit overpowering in this dish.
This dill pickle pasta salad is pretty much guaranteed to be the hit of your next potluck and the best part is that it is awesome made the day before! If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers (which I doubt would happen) they’ll keep several days in the fridge and make the perfect lunch!
Items You’ll Need For This Recipe
* Dill Pickles * Shell Pasta * Cayenne Pepper *
Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- ½ pound dry shell pasta about 3 cups
- ¾ cup pickles sliced
- ⅔ cup cheddar cheese diced
- 3 tablespoons white onion finely diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- ½ cup pickle juice
Dressing
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons pickle juice
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil pasta al dente according to package directions. Run under cold water to stop cooking.
- Toss cold pasta with about ½ cup of pickle juice and set aside for about 5 minutes. Drain & discard pickle juice.
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
- Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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I made the Dill pickle salad and added sweet petite pickles also. It is sooo …good!!! It’s even good for breakfast with a sausage biscuit, Yum!!!
I absolutely love the salad. It’s so delicious with your salmon croquettes. I do have one question and that is why do you add pickle juice to the cooked pasta and then drain it. Does this impart more flavor to the pasta?
Yes it does! It infuses the pasta with a little extra of that pickly flavor.
This was delicious! I did mix about 1/2 tsp of sugar into the dressing but otherwise stuck the recipe. Everyone loved it.
Love this salad. I have made it with more pickles, less pickles, more or less mayo or sour cream, added a bit of sweeter salad dressing cause I didn’t have enough of the others. Fresh or dried dill. Shredded or cubed cheese. Onions or onion powder. 1.5x the recipe, or doubled it. It never fails to to be delicious. Thanks for this go to recipe!
Is the dressing supposed to be watery? I followed the recipe and I thought it would be thicker.
It will thicken as the paSta soaks it up while it chills.
I made a double batch of this- accidentally left out the other 1/2 of the sour cream. Oops!! Fixed my mistake an hour after I had it refrigerated. I had to sample of course… LORD HAVE MERCY. I have a new favorite… I am sharing with my pickle loving pals!
Yay! So happy to hear this recipe was a hit.
Delicious recipe! I skipped the cayenne, added garlic, rinsed the onion to reduce its bite, and added fresh garden peas.
Think I’ll try bulking it up with some diced ham.I mean – if ham and dill pickle sandwiches are a match made in heaven, it’s gotta be great in this salad, too. Right? RIGHT?
I plan on giving it a try, as soon as I am allowed to get out of bed, hopefully in another 3 weeks . Already 2 weeks in, so it can’t come quickly enough! Fracturing your kneecap, at the height of summer, is definitely NOT on the recommended list of things to do!
Oooh I can’t wait to hear how it turns out Terry!
My husband & I both loved this salad. I have made it several times now. It’s one of our favorites & our go to salad!
My husband and I both love love LOVE this pasta salad recipe. I made it a few days ago and he’s already sending me back for ingredients to make it again…the 3x recipe! LOL Thank you for giving us pickle lovers something to wet our whistles with besides the regular potato or other salad with pickles in it! Will be making this at our next family get together and I think it will even be great on the table at Thanksgiving!
I am so happy to hear you love this as much as I do Rappy!
I had to make a “not your normal salad” salad for a church picnic. What little mayonnaise I had left over, I added Kraft peppercorn ranch to the sour cream dressing and I had no cayenne pepper. It was a smashing hit! I will definitely make this dill pickle pasta salad again.
This pasta salad is very tasty, especially if you like dill, with just the right amount of tang. I made it with dill havarti and added a little dry ranch seasoning.
real good will make again
So delicious! This will be on repeat all summer.
Best recipe on this site! 6 ⭐️
I am so glad you love this recipe as much as I do Cheryl!
Had this salad for the first time this weekend, nice and light with a fresh flavor it’s got a spot on the summer menu.
made this recipe today while also adding a few other veggies I had leftover like julienned carrots and a small bit of shredded purple cabbage. Along with soaking the pasta a few minutes, I also soaked the veggies and drained them. It is delicious and will be great for our cookout tomorrow. thank you for the wonderful recipe!