This creamy Dill Pickle Pasta Salad is infused with the bright and tangy flavor of crunchy pickles and fresh dill. Pickle lovers, this pasta salad is your dream come true!
I can be a tad obsessive at times. When I discover something I am interested in I dive into it head first, researching every possible angle to learn everything I can about it. I guess I am a bit of a control freak because I don't trust any one person to just give me all of the info, I insist on researching everything for myself to form my own conclusions.
Well, I spent this weekend totally consumed by my next big adventure. I decided to plan a solo backpacking hunt in Wyoming for antelope this fall. Any dedicated readers may recall last fall I completed a 30-mile backpacking trek through Death Valley. I wanted to do another similar trip in 2017, so when I came up with the idea to combine my love for hiking with my passion for hunting, I was instantly stoked!
Unfortunately, this meant I did practically nothing for the past three days other than pouring over maps of Wyoming and soaking up every last bit of info on Wyoming's Game and Fish Department's website. Seriously hours. I even woke up at 4 a.m. Sunday morning to do more research.
So if any of you lovely readers just so happen to own a large ranch in Wyoming... I'll bring the Dill Pickle Pasta Salad!
Luckily, despite the hours I spent drooling over my computer screen this weekend, I did find time to make a couple of batches of this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, and HOLY COW where has this been my whole life?!?
I would love to claim credit for this recipe, but I found this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad on Pinterest from SpendwithPennies.com. Seriously though, it is one of the best pasta salad's I've ever eaten. If you love dill pickles, you need to try this recipe.
This Dill Pickle Pasta Salad is perfect to bring to summer potlucks. However, any mayo-based pasta salad needs to be kept cool to prevent food poisoning. Anytime it is unrefrigerated for 4+ hours you are playing Russian roulette with everyone's safety. For this reason, I love these On-Ice Serving Bowls which will keep your Dill Pickle Pasta Salad at a safe serving temperature for hours!
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Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- ½ lb dry shell pasta
- ¾ cup dill pickles chopped
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoon diced white onion
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- ½ cup pickle juice
Dressing
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 4 tablespoon pickle juice
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking add chopped pickles, cheese, onion, and dill to a large bowl and set aside.
- Drain the cooked pasta from water and rinse under cold water. Add ½ cup pickle juice to the pasta and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Prepare the dressing by combining mayo, sour cream, pickle juice, and cayenne pepper in a separate dish. Whisk to combine.
- Drain pickle juice from the pasta and add pasta to the large bowl along with dressing. Toss to combine all ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate to allow flavors to meld.
Notes
Nutritional Information
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Barbara Wussow
Love this recipe and have altered it to our liking. I use cavatappi pasta as this does not become soggy; it stays firm until the salad is gone. Soaking the cooked pasta in pickle juice overnight brings even more pickle flavor. I skip adding the pickle juice to the dressing so it is creamier. Because we like more spice, I add 1/2 tsp of cayenne (a bit more if I know the crowd is up for hot). Best salad ever!
Tina
A unique and refreshing dish for all who love dill pickles! Taken back a bit with the fist bite then knew I had to have the recipe by the second bite. It's a delightful change to the mayo based cold pasta salads.
Tim H
I just doubled this recipe and made it for a work pot luck today. It was a big hit.
The only difference I made is that I *forgot* to drain the pickle juice after soaking the pasta in it.
Guess what? It tasted great and everyone loved it. I won't be draining the juice from now on.
Britney
I've made this a few times but I change a few things. I use purple onion, add two cans of tuna, and sometimes replace the pickles with pickles okra. And of course, tonnnnns of dill!! Love this! We make a big batch for lunches throughout the week!
Miranda
Yum!! Thanks for sharing! if I wanted to make this spicy, what would you recommend?
Fox Valley Foodie
I would probably keep it simple and just add cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.
VegasDude
YES.... This IS... THEE Best Pasta salad I've ever encountered... and I'm not even a pickle freak..
First time I made it, I wasn't expecting all that much.. but WOW..... exact recipe, except the cheese
is cubed... I'm actually making this RIGHT NOW.... It's all together now.. I just need to prep the cheese ...
and THIS time I'm going to SHRED IT.. !!!
Stacey H
Dill pickles! Amazing!