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
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Recipes You’ll Love
I made it with replacements I already happened to have in the kitchen…orzo pasta, a little chopped celery instead of onion, and blue cheese dressing rather than mayo. It made a great side dish with hot wings. It was a hit with everyone in the family. Thanks!
This looks so good! I’m a huge fan of pickles, and you have some of the best recipes for them! YUM! Definitely going to make this soon.
Thank you Rhianon, I could eat pickles every day too! :)
Thank you for the Pickle Pasta salad recipe! It was great just as written however, I added a cup of cold peas & a sprinkle of bacon bits for a bit more color. Thanks again!
Delicious additions!
Would you recommend mild or sharp cheddar?
Either would work, I always choose sharp but that’s personal preference.
This looks incredible. My grandma is Polish and makes doll pickle soup (which I make now) and it’s amazing!!
I couldn’t tell which size shell pasta you are using. Is it the very small ones, or a little larger. This would certainly make a difference in the absorption of the dressing. I am anxious to try this.
They’re a little bit larger, the dry noodles are about 1″ long. Any size will work though! :)
Just made with a few slight adjustments due to what I had on hand…Pretty flippin’ good. Going to be hard to wait an hour…
I also add shrimp to this salad. Yummy
We love this one!!!!
Ive made this twice and it is sooooo yummy. Thank u for the great recipe
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe Gin!
Fantastic idea Holly! We’ll replace the sour cream with Greek yogurt (as it isn’t sold here in Greece), but your recipe is truly amazing!
Thanx so much for sharing this!
Mirella and Panos
Enjoy Mirella & Panos! :)
I’m thinking tuna would be good in this.
Definitely! Great idea!
Can I use celery instead of onion and celery salt I. Place of cayenne Linda
I think those would work well Linda. Let us know how it works for you!
Bet this would taste good with some diced ham init!
That would be a great addition.
Easily my favorite cold pasta salad BY FAR! My husband really likes ham chunks added in as a little twist to the recipe.
I love that idea! Thank you for sharing!
I make this all the time, but right before serving, I sprinkle with alter peanuts (not dry roasted). It adds an extra crunch!
Interesting addition! I’ll have to give it a try!
does the cayenne pepper make it hot my grandkids love dill pickles want to let them try this thanks in advance
It adds a little bit of a zip to the recipe but doesn’t make it really spicy. You could certainly reduce the amount.
Just made this and I LOVE it! I plan on making this for Thanksgiving, but I’m definitely going to have to double the recipe! LOL I’m also thinking of using Apple Smoked Gruyere Cheese in place of the Cheddar, and sprinkle in some bacon bits. :)
I’m so glad you loved it! I think the smoked cheese would be delicious in this!
I made this today and it was great. I added shredded chicken I had leftover.
I’m so glad you liked it. Adding chicken sounds delicious too. This is one of my favorite recipes!
OMG I so Love your stuff my wife and I are going to start trying them she has made some of them but I plan on doing more when its my turn to cook
Thank you so much Todd! :)
Hi, In the recipe of dill pickle pasta salad the ingredients mention white onion. Is it really a white onion or did you mean grrreen onions? Since you have already made and eaten this salad do you think green onions would be better? Every time I use white onions they seem to vary in taste. Some are super sharp and others have a more mild taste. White onions never seem to have a consistent taste. Maybe I just don’the know how to select them. Thank you for your time, Janet PS Are you sure about the mayonaise? Or do you mean salad dressing?
In this recipe I use white onion… you’re looking for the white onion with the white papery skin (not the white onion with the yellow/brownish paper skin). I did not use green onion in this recipe. Either mayonnaise or salad dressing would work in this recipe.