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 medium shells about 3 cups
- ¾ cup sliced pickles
- ⅔ cup diced cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons minced white onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ½ cup dill pickle juice
Dressing
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons dill pickle juice
- salt and black 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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Made this once before and followed to a tee! My husband and I loved it!!!
Making again tonight. Have you ever used a different cheese? I was considering pepper jack…only because it is already open…♀️
I haven’t but I do think it would work out just fine!
Made it for my granddaughters graduation party. She is a very picky person so wasnt’t sure she would eat it. She loved it and had 3 helpings ! Thank you so much! Everyone loved it.
I do have one question. How long will it keep? I do have quite a bit left {made tons} but do have a party this weekend. Do you think it would be okay?
Hi Joyce, so glad your granddaughter loved this dish! It will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, but I’m not sure if it will last all the way until the weekend. I would just eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day this week and make a new batch for the party :)
I love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times over the last three years, and the only reason I don’t make it all the time is that I tend to eat far more than a serving when it’s in my fridge. Like half. Oops.
My personal edit to the recipe is to reduce the amount of pasta a bit, and replace it with cubes of chicken breast to up the protein factor. I’ve also tried it with chicken + Banza chickpea pasta to up the protein even further, which was good, but admittedly it’s not as good as regular wheat pasta (regular pasta is chewier, and absorbs the dressing without getting soggy).
Love love love love love this recipe. <3
Thanks so much for the feedback, Monique! Your version sounds delicious!
Our whole extended family and friends love, love, love it!
Not a sweet pickle fan so landed on this recipe using dill pickle in a macaroni salad. With the exception of a tsp of minced garlic, I followed the recipe exactly and boy is it good! Completely crave-worthy and it’s going in my file of recipes that I draw from when I aim to impress family and guests. Someday we’ll be able to have guests again, don’t you think?
So glad you enjoyed it. I’m with you Anne, I sure miss summer gatherings with family and friends!!
I’ve made this twice, and had to AT LEAST double the recipe – WHY is no one mentioning the fact that this makes enough for 2 or 3 people, tops??? Potluck?!?!? Is your definition of a potluck THREE people?? Besides the annoyingly low serving size, it is a delicious recipe.
I just love this dill pickle pasta salad…have brought to functions and its always been a winner!
Yummy
Looks good
Made this for the first time last year. It is amazingly delicious and our go to pasta salad. I use gluten free ditalini but make only a half recipe because GF pastas go stale after three days. Regular stuff is good for days.
Flavor is what counts and this nails it!
A favorite for all BBQ’s and get together’s! I’m requested to bring this pasta salad to every event! So easy, so yummy!
This recipe had my guy’s name written all over it, and he loved it! Surprisingly, what I didn’t know was that I would too! Delicious!
I’m really not a fan of mayo, miracle whip or sour cream. Have you ever tried this with ranch dressing instead? Wondering if that would work as a replacement of if it would change the overall taste of this too much?
Hi Sue! I haven’t tried making this with ranch instead of mayo. If you do try it, let us know how it goes! :)
Don’t add the onions! The whole thing is delicious except the onions and my whole mouth just tastes and smells like onions. I would replace them with celery next time for the crunch. :) otherwise delicious!
I know you aren’t going to post this because you’re dishonest and deceitful. But just wanted to tell you it’s wrong for you to delete reviews of a different opinion that say how gross this recipe is. I’m sure you get a ton of them. Or maybe most aren’t as dumb as I am to even try this recipe. I wasted ingredients and money on this horrible recipe because you only keep the reviews of weirdos who like this gag inducing “food”. I thought, well it must be good, look at all the good reviews. Now I know better. Shame on you.
Hello Anne, I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. I post ALL reviews that are honest reviews of the recipe. :) As you can see from the hundreds of positive reviews, most readers have enjoyed this recipe.
I’ve been bringing this to parties for years and every single person loves it and says it’s the best thing ever. If you dont like this there is something seriously wrong with you!
This is delicious, you are just being rude and trying to start trouble.
Wow. Why get so upset over a recipe? You need to simmer down.
Everyone has different tastes but most really enjoy this recipe, including me.
Wow, you’re super rude.
This recipe is DELICIOUS. It’s my go-to cold pasta salad. It is a huge hit whenever I take it to potlucks and BBQs. I haven’t had a single person tell me they didn’t like it and I have NEVER had leftovers after making it. It’s the first side dish to get devoured. Judging by how many people I know that like it and how many reviews there are from people saying they liked it, I would say YOU’RE the “weirdo” (I’m just using your own words). You’re not the only person whose opinions count in the world. Just because other people like something you don’t, does not make them “weirdos”. It makes them PEOPLE. You seem like you’re the dishonest and deceitful one since you post this nasty review anonymously.
That is a super rude comment. If it wasn’t your favorite that is totally fine, but to call someone dishonest and deceitful over a recipe is completely uncalled for. I personally love this recipe and am glad it’s online for me to use
I had this pasta salad at a cookout and loved it! I immediately asked the host to send me the recipe so I could make it in the future.
It’s a fairly simple recipe, so you should know from reading the ingredients if it is not to your liking (i.e. “gag inducing” or “gross”). Hint: it’s probably not for you if you aren’t a pickle fan!
Its a fantastic side dish and I will continue to make in the future! I hope spiteful and unhelpful comments don’t deter you from more pickle starring recipes. :)
Wow! Someone has their pickles in a bunch!
These are FREE recipes! No one forced you to make this, not was there a guarantee that you would like it!
Get a grip on yourself!
Thanks for the laffs!
I was actually concerned that this recipe would taste too “dill pickle “, but that was not the case. It was fine but really not too flavorful. I ended up adding quite a bit of garlic pepper. Maybe it was the brand of pickles are used – – I don’t really know.
I am a huge fan of garlic, so I love to use Ultimate Garlic pickles for this recipe Pattio! Also make sure to soak the pasta the full 5 minutes in the pickle juice to really infuse it in the noodles!
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I am now required to make this for each potluck and get together a with family and friends. I use miracle whip instead of mayo, but keep everything the same. I also double it each time I make it since the first time I made a single batch and it was gone in minutes.
Looking forward to your daily emails
Do you use miracle whip or mayo?
For this recipe, we use mayo Emily :)
My husband is a huge fan of Miracle Whip. So I used it in place of the mayo. I also add real bacon bits. Everyone loved it! I’m required to bring it to all family functions.
My husband is a huge fan of Miracle Whip. So I used it in place of the mayo. I also add real bacon bits. Everyone loved it! I’m required to bring it to all family functions.
This is BOMB!! made this for a side for supper and it’s AMAZING!! 10 OUT OF 10!!! I will be making this again!!! So good!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️