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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I am in LOVE with this pasta salad..everyone that has tried it felt the same and I find myself writing down the recipe for them! Thank you for this yummy twist on pasta salad!!
This salad looks absolutely delicious! I just started putting bread and butter pickles on my salads and it has been the best decision I’ve made in a while! I love cold pasta salads as well, so having a recipe like this in my repertoire would be fantastic. I also like to make my own bread and butter pickles so having my own homemade touch on the salad is something I would take pride in. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome! :) So glad you enjoyed!
this is a fabulous recipe. Made it yesterday and again today with a few changes. Love pickles so I added more and I added pickled onions today. I also grated the cheese instead of cubes. This is definitely a recipe I will recommend to friends and family. Thank you.
Sounds great! So glad you loved it!
How far ahead can yoh make this and have it sit? I need it for an evening potluck and hope to make it the day before. Thanks!!
Making it the day before should be fine!
This was very good! Would make over & over again.
I am a pickle freak!!!! I can’t get enough. My favorite is the Vlasik zesty dill. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Where did your sister find the pickle pops??? Must have.
It was so beautiful in our area for Easter that we decided to grill. This was a perfect side for our grilled chicken and vegetables. I have yet to meet a recipe of yours that my family and I don’t like! You have a great blog!
Awesome!! :) Glad to hear it!
Would making this the night before make the taste any different?
It’s delicious the next day so you’d be fine making it the night before.
Looks delicious
Is this receipe still good if made 2 days in advance and refrigerated of course?
I love it even more after the first day, so I think it will be great if stored and served after 2 days.
Do you have to use shell noodles
You can use whatever noodles you prefer!
Plenty of salads choices for the next two weeks!!
Sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it!
Holly,
The dill pickle pasta salad is awesome! It’s definitely a keeper to be used over and over again.
I would like to try this with sweet pickles. Besides the pickles, what adjustments would you make to the recipe to do this? What would you substitute for fresh dill? Would you use a different kind of cheese? I’m needing some help. Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved it! I would leave the dill in, it adds a little bit of freshness.
As for cheese, I always love the combination of sweet pickles with swiss.
Sounds delicious!! Thank you for the hint about the white onion. I love learning new tips on what to look for in fresh foods.
This is my new, most favorite pasta salad! We have made two huge batches in two weeks :D We actually leave the dill and onions out for people to add on their own since we have those that like them and those that don’t. I can’t recommend enough!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Dill pickles are my favourite food; the rest of my household likes them well enough but doesn’t love them the way I do, and my husband hates onion, so I wasn’t sure how this would go over. I made it pretty much just like the recipe says, except that I chopped the pickles more, shredded the cheese, and as I had no fresh dill but plenty of dried, I mixed 2 tsp dried dill in with the sauce rather than 2 tbsp fresh in with the other salad ingredients. Anyway, it went over very well! My husband has even asked me to make it in a larger quantity for a big family gathering. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
I’m so glad your family loved this recipe Jessica… maybe we’ll convert them into pickle lovers yet! :)
I have made this recipe 5 times, every one asks for the recipe. It is my favorite salad.
We are very happy to hear that! It’s one of our favorites too!
Is there a substitute for cayenne? I am not a fan and we do not have any in the house.
You can leave the cayenne out.
I always have it for holidays and I love it. It’s my favorite pasta.
That is awesome to hear! It’s one of our favorites too!