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If you are needing to bring a pasta salad to your next potluck, make Dill Pickle Pasta Salad. It is creamy, crunchy and easy to make with simple ingredients.
Pasta salad with dill pickles is one of my favorite pasta salads to make. The ingredients are simple and the perfect salad to make ahead of time. The homemade dressing combined with the pasta and dill pickles makes this a crowd favorite.
Easy Summer salads and Potato Salads are always a hit anytime I bring them. I like making them because they usually only require a few ingredients which saves me time and money.
You may also love this Cucumber Tomato Salad Recipe.
Table of Contents
What is Dill Pickle Pasta Salad?
Dill Pickle Pasta Salad is loaded with dill pickle flavor. Not only are you adding in fresh but you are adding in dill pickle juice and chopped dill pickles. My love for dill pickles runs deep, so this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad is a family favorite.
As you can see Dill Pickle is the main ingredient in this pasta salad recipe. It is the perfect side dish potluck salad as it stores easily and can be made ahead of time.
If you love dill pickle recipes as much as we do, try this Dill Pickle Dip Recipe or Dill Pickle Deviled Eggs.
Ingredients
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and ingredients in the recipe card.
Variations Ideas
- Change the Type of Pasta Noodles – We used rotini in this recipe. But you can easily use bowtie pasta, penne pasta or elbow macaroni noodles.
- Cheese Variations – We love using the cubed cheese, but you can dice the cheese if you prefer. Change the cheese to pepper jack cheese or sharp cheddar cheese to change the flavor.
- White Onion – If you love onion, you can add in chopped fresh onion or red onion for added flavor.
- Add Meat – For added flavor and to make your pasta more hearty, add in diced meat. We recommend ham, chicken, tuna, or bacon.
- Vegetables – This pasta salad would be delicious with added fresh veggies. We recommend adding in chopped cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, or cucumbers.
- Dill – You can use fresh or dried dill depending on how intense you want the flavor. Fresh dill is what we prefer since dill is the main ingredient in this recipe.
How to Make Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- Step 1 – Boil Pasta – Boil the pasta based on the package directions to al dente in a large pot. Then run cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking process.
Step 2 – Toss Pasta with Pickle Juice – Toss the cooled pasta with ½ cup of dill pickle juice. Then set it aside while you prepare the other ingredients (approximately 5 minutes).
Step 3 – Stir in Pickles & Cheese – Then drain off any excess pickle juice from the pasta. Then gently stir in the diced baby dill pickles and cheese. Make sure that the pasta is cooled before mixing in the cheese or it will melt.
Step 4 – Mix the Dressing Ingredients – Stir together the mayo dressing ingredients in a separate small bowl. Make this Chicken Pickle Juice Marinade with your leftover pickle juice.
Step 5 – Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and gently toss to coat all the ingredients with the dressing.
- Step 6 – Serve – Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and then the macaroni salad is ready to serve and enjoy! Season with black pepper and salt for added flavor.
Recipe Tips
- Mixing Bowl – We recommend using a large mixing bowl to combine the pasta with the creamy dressing. This allows for the sauce to full cover the cooked pasta.
- Make Ahead – We really like to make this pasta ahead of time so the ingredients marinate together. It gives it so much flavor and perfect for any gathering.
- Cooking Pasta – Another way to save time is preparing your pasta ahead of time. It is best combine the ingredients when the pasta is cool. This prevents the cheese from melting when mixing in with the other ingredients. Make sure to cook pasta according to pasta package.
- Pickle Juice – To get the strong pickle juice flavor, we recommend tossing the pasta with the pickle juice. Toss for about 5 minutes. This allows for the pickle juice to really soak into the pasta for added flavor.
- Refrigerate Pasta – If you make the pasta salad on serving day, make sure to allow the pasta to refrigerate. We recommend placing in the fridge for at least an hour. This helps the ingredients to combine and gives it the best flavor.
- Mayonnaise – Since mayonnaise is the main ingredient in the dressing recipe, we recommend using the Real mayonnaise. It will give you better flavor than whipped mayonnaise.
- Pickles – To save time, you can buy the diced pickles. But I usually just find the smallest pickles and chop them up. It doesn’t take long.
What to Serve with Dill Pasta Salad?
This pasta salad is the perfect side to many dishes. We have served it with grilled meats or oven baked dishes. These are some of our favorites.
- Grilled Steak Kabobs – Our entire family loves this grilled steak kabobs recipe. It has the best marinade and even the veggies take on the best flavor. I love that everything is on the grill and my kitchen stays cool.
- Grilled Buffalo Chicken – This grilled chicken recipe only requires 3 ingredients and taste amazing on the grill. Serve with a side of this pasta salad for a delicious meal idea.
- Baked Chicken Thighs – Not only are chicken thighs frugal but they are so moist and make a great dinner option. The outside is crispy and all of the seasonings give it such amazing flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can prepare this Dill Pickle Salad the night before. We actually prefer to make this ahead of time as the ingredients marinate together for a delicious pasta salad.
Yes, after cooking the pasta make sure to rinse the pasta. This allows the pasta to stop cooking and prevents the pasta from sticking.
Dill pickle salad does not freeze well. The mayonnaise and sour cream will separate when freezing which changes the taste and texture of the pasta salad. We recommend making the pasta salad fresh and serving within 3 days.
Refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
More Pasta Salad Recipes
- Greek Pasta Salad Recipe
- Classic Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
- BLT Pasta Salad Recipe
We love to hear from you. If you make this dill pickle pasta salad recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review.
Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Pasta Salad:
- 1 box Rotini Pasta 16 oz
- 1/2 cup Dill Pickle Juice from a pickle jar
- 2 cups Baby Dill Pickles chopped
- 8 ounces Colby Jack Cheese cubed into small bite size pieces
For the Dressing:
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1/4 cup Pickle Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Dill chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
Instructions
- Boil the pasta based on the package instructions to al dente. Then run cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking process.
- Toss the cooled pasta with ½ cup of dill pickle juice and set it aside while you prepare the other ingredients (approximately 5 minutes). Then drain off any excess pickle juice from the pasta. Then gently stir in the diced pickles and cheese (make sure that the pasta is cooled before mixing in the cheese or it will melt).
- Stir together the dressing ingredients in a separate small mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and gently toss to coat all the ingredients with the dressing.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and then the pasta is ready to serve and enjoy!
Made this, day of, for a potluck. Had great flavor but by time we ate the pasta had absorbed the dressing so it was dry. Next day I made another full batch of just the dressing and added it to it. Game changer! It was just enough to make it creamy but not swimming in dressing. I will definitely be making this again (many times!) but I will make it the night before and add a second batch of dressing day of. Thanks for the recipe??