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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Thank you so very much for sharing your recipe! We absolutely love it
This pickle salad has become part of my side dish rotation. I was a little apprehensive about trying it, but so glad I did!! It’s perfect for potlucks. Fresh dill is a must, dried just isn’t the same. I have tried many different brands of dill pickle so I could find the perfect match for my family’s taste. We’ve enjoyed every step in that process. LOL
I couldn’t agree more! This pasta salad is definitely a family favorite around here too.
I am in bit of a rut, I have everything to make this except the dressing stuff. Do you think I could use hidden valley ranch for the dressing?
I haven’t tried using that dressing for this recipe, but I think it would be delicious. You will have to let us know how it turns out.
I am not personally a fan pasta salads as I find most of them to be drenched in dressing. Don’t get me started on store bought macaroni salad. That being said- this salad had the perfect amount of dressing and amazing flavour. My hubs favourite snack is cracker cheese and pickles and he called this a grown up version. Love it and plan on making it a regular feature at our table. Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed it, Jaclyn. This recipe is a summer staple in my house too!
This is so good it could be classified as addicting! I have made it many times and it never disappoints. I do not add any additional salt. For most of us, the ingredients have enough salt in them as is.
I totally agree April! So addictive I can hardly stop!
Super runny dressing, I should have cut back on the pickle juice. Tasty but needs lots of salt and pepper
Love all of these pasta salad recipes!
Amazing! As I head out to a 4th of July party, I had at least two friends text me to make sure I was bringing the salad because if I wasn’t they were going to make it. If you like pickles you will love this! I use a whole jar of pickles. You will not be disappointed.
Well that made my day for sure Kami! So happy to hear that!
I love making this recipe! My favorite pasta salad!
I have made this many times & have yet to find anyone who doesn’t like it. It is so refreshing on a hot summer evening!
Love your recipes and excited to try this one- my grand babies love pickles!!
Just finished making this and it is so good. I had to go with what I had on hand, and even with my substitutions it came out great. I used penne pasta, garlic salt, dill pickle chips and juice, dried dill weed (1 tsp.), and 2 cups of chopped, shredded extra sharp cheddar. You’ve got to love the taste of dill because it is very dilly. At least mine is. Will let it sit overnight and see if the dill flavor mellows out any. It should. This is similar to a sweet pickle potato salad that I make using sweet mixed garden vegetables/pickles and juice. Also very good. Thank you for offering a new, tasty twist on a summer pasta salad.
You’re very welcome!
Really good! I ran short on dill juice so I used bread n’butter pickle juice too. I skipped draining off the juice & amped up the seasonings. This salad was well received, talked about & recipe requested.
Added cubed ham to leftovers – All gone!
This is one of my go-to pasta salads in the summer. I love this recipe! I just thought I would suggest, as I was nibbling on a slice of Boar’s Head Dill havarti, know what this would be good in? Dill pickle pasta salad! Way to add yet another layer of Dill.
Great idea Christel!
Yes Christi, using havarti dill next go around :)
This is amazing! I used freeze dried dill and it worked very well. I’m glad I made a double batch!
Great recipe
My go to potluck salad. Everyone loves it!! I follow the recipe except I do not drain the 1/2 cup of pickle juice, most of it gets absorbed by the noodles. And I double the sauce recipe, other wise for me it is too dry.
Love this recipe. I’ve been adding a ranch packet to the dressing mix! So good!
Oh yum Jenna!
Love this recipe – I’ve made a variation for years. A suggestion – if you have an extra steak from the last bbq, slice it into thin strips and add it to the salad, extra points if it has Montreal steak spice on it. It’s a delicious addition and makes the salad a little more main dish-y.
That sounds amazing Cindy!
This was so good! Delicious pickle flavor throughout. Will definitely be making it again.