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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While this looks like a really good salad… I can’t help but think that something is lacking in the presentation. Maybe something red would help ie’ tomatoes, red bell peppers or sundried tomatoes. I don’t know… just something to wake up the appearance.
What about using pene pasta instead? All I have in the house right now wasn’t sure if it would taste ok or turn out.
That should work just fine!
Great recipe! It has been a huge hit at summer bbq’s! For those wondering about using different types of pickles – just try it! You can’t go wrong. I did mix of dill and my mom’s homemade Russian dills – DELISH! Thanks!
I loooove pasta salad. I loooooove pickles (even more now with a bun in the oven!). This pasta salad is THE BEST I have ever had!!
I grew up in the US, but live in Europe now…sad lack of garlicky dill pickles! I added a decent dose of garlic to the dressing to make up for the lack of garlic in pickle and juice. I also added diced ham, corn, and frozen peas to make it into a meal.
This is the only pasta salad I will be making from now on. Absolutely a favorite with everyone in my home!!!
I’m so glad you loved it Kari! I agree, garlic is a must in pickles!
Followed recipe exact…so very good!!! Then added celery, peas, and shrimp…LOVE THIS!! Gonna be a summer time regular at the table!!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Regular dill pickles or kosher?
Either will work in this recipe. I used regular dill pickles.
OMG! One of my (new) favorites! I used a jar of Mt. Olive Dill Pickle relish (my fav) saves chopping up all of the pickles!! I didn’t understand the white onion but do after making it. YUM!!
I’m so glad you loved it Tina!
This is amazing! Definitely for the dill pickle lover! I substituted Fage 0% greek yogurt and light mayo to keep calories down a bit. Other than that, followed the recipe as written. Making it the night before allows the flavors to meld great! Brought to a potluck and had NO leftovers…love it!!!
I’m so glad everyone loved it! Thank you for the tips on your changes!
Made this last weekend and we loved it! Just made another bowl and put it in fridge to blend. Having it with crabcakes tonight. I added more pickles, onions, & cheese. (Cooper cheese is best!) My husband suggested adding some baby shrimp..ok! .
So glad your family loves this recipe as much as we do!!
I had bought a big pack of string cheese. Then the college student moved out. Cut up my string cheese for this recipe. It was awesome!
I love salads I wanta try some thing different for my family we ars so tired of the some thimgs.
for the dill pickle pasta salad, is it better to use real mayo or miracle whip ?
I’ve made this recipe using both and either will work perfectly. (I prefer the flavor of real mayo).
I made this for our Fourth of July BBQ. It was a HUGE hit and will be my new go to for pot lucks. Some things I’m going to try different for next time. (I quadrupled the recipe-used two boxes of pasta and adjusted everything else accordingly) I will just double the recipe using one box of pasta. I will use half cubed cheese and half shredded, half baby dills and half dill relish -one small jar each. I found the recipe as written to be a bit too separated for my taste and hope that adding the relish and shredded cheese will combine it all a bit more without losing out on the crunch. I will also add more onion. We all love onion! I might use a red onion just to add more color. Now, I’m off to check out more of your recipes!
So glad you (and your guests) loved this recipe! :)
Is the pasta 3 cups cooked?
The pasta is measured uncooked.
Is there anything you have to do differently if you mix it up the night before?
I don’t change anything when I prepare it 24 hours ahead of time.
Dill pickles and pasta? How could you possibly go wrong? This is my new go to salad. It’s simply amazing!
I’m so glad you loved it Kathy! :)
I made this tonight for a pool party tomorrow-WOW, the wonderful flavor! I substituted cheddar goat cheese for regular cheddar cheese & vegan sour cream along with brown rice pasta. My sample dish for my husband & myself was AMAZING! Thank you
We just found this recipe posted by a friend on Facebook. I immediately told my husband about it and he said “let’s go to the store so we can make it tonight!” Off we went to get the ingredients we didn’t have on hand. He is making it as we speak and I will for sure let you know how we loved I mean liked it!! We already know we are going to love it. I also thought about for a meal adding some cooked chicken to it but we are making it by your recipe first!! We can’t wait!!
Ok we ate it….well I knew we would love it and we did!!!!! I can’t wait to make it for summer bbqs and as a meal with chicken in it. This salad is amazing!!! Our tummies are very happy
So glad you loved it!
I just made this and for real could not stop eating it. No one else in my family even got to try it (it’s just as well, they’re picky, they probably wouldn’t have liked it anyway. Pro tip: fight the urge, and let it sit. It greatly improves when the flavors have had the chance to meld together. :)
So glad you enjoyed it! I agree, letting it sit makes a huge difference!
I just might have to make this for a family gathering next weekend.
There is a small community near me that has a pickle festival every August. They even have a pickle pageant where they crown a pickle princess (and Queen, etc). Linwoodpicklefestival.org