This post may contain affiliate links.
Dill pickle Salad is an ode to summer. Bursting with a creamy dill pickle dressing, pickles in every bite. Topped with crispy salty bacon, a pickle lovers dream dish. Best part? This comes together with 10 minutes of prep!
Table of contents
Why Make This Dill Pickle Salad
This pasta salad is a HUGE hit at barbecues and parties. My family loves it as a side dish with Pulled Chicken Burgers, Crispy Chicken Burgers and more. You can easily use this recipe to make dill pickle coleslaw, just sub the pasta or cabbage!
The dressing has an unmatched flavor you will be addicted too. The crunchy bacon really ties things together, not to mention the cheddar throughout each bite. This salad is also great for meal prep or to make ahead, it keeps really well.
Ingredients Needed
Rotini. Any pasta shape will work, I love rotini because it holds up well and it has a lot of crevasses to hold the dressing making it more tasty in every bite.
Bacon. I love bacon and pickles together so naturally, I had to add chopped bacon to this dish. It adds a salty crunch to the salad. Use turkey bacon or you can also skip it if needed for dietary reasons.
Mayonnaise. You can use any mayo of choice. You can also use plain Greek yogurt, but it won’t have the same “tang”.
Sour Cream. You can use dairy free sound cream or low fat sour cream. This levels out the mayo and gives it a great taste.
Pickles. I used about 8 spears. You can use any shape or flavor of pickles however I recommend dill pickles. You will also need pickle juice from the jar.
Seasoning. Dried dill, pepper, onion and garlic powder. This is to flavor the dressing.
Dill. Fresh dill is a must! This gives the recipe some extra color and elevates the flavor in the dressing for the salad.
Cheddar Cheese. You can cut it into cubes or use thick shreds of cheddar. I have tried both and I like the thick shreds best, it tends to spread throughout the salad and end up in every bite.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Recipe Variations
Pasta. Use any shape you love, I prefer rotini because it holds the most sauce. You can also use shredded cabbage in place of the pasta for a lower carb version.
Sour Cream. Use a dairy free replacement if needed. You can also sub plain greek yogurt.
Dill. Use dried and fresh parsley in place of the dill.
Cheese. You can use cubed cheese or shredded, you can also have this without cheese. Pepper jack is great in place of cheddar.
Bacon. You can use turkey bacon or skip the bacon if you’d like. Chopped hard boiled eggs are also a fun add in to this salad.
🔪How To Make Dill Pickle Salad
Step One. Start the bacon, cook however you prefer. I cook in the oven on 350º for about 20-25 minutes but pan fried is great too!
Step Two. Cook pasta according to package (al dente). While everything is cooking, shred your cheese, chop the dill and pickles. Set aside, and in a medium size bowl, mix together mayo, sour cream, all seasonings, pickle juice, dill. Set aside.
Step Three. Chop the cooked bacon. Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse under ice cold water to get the heat out. In a large serving bowl, add pasta, cheese, bacon and dressing (reserve 1/4 cup of dressing for serving) and toss together well. Serve and add extra dressing if needed or save for later if pasta salad soaks up all the dressing.
💭Recipe FAQs
Yes, this pasta salad keeps really well, just keep a little 1/4 cup of the dressing to the side for when you serve it again, sometimes the pasta can soak up the dressing.
Yes! Spicy dill pickles are great in this recipe if that’s your favorite pickle.
No big dill! just skip it, you can use dried parsley and fresh parsley in place.
Recipe Pairings
If you want to serve this with something special, I recommend my Pulled Chicken Burgers or Crispy Chicken Burgers (so so good) or my Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs.
Make This Recipe Healthier
You can make this recipe healthier by omitting the bacon and cheese or cutting the amount in half and sprinkling a little on top. This would cut 200 cal per serving. You can swap sour cream for plain Greek yogurt to add more protein to this dish.
Other Pasta Salads To Try
If you loved this recipe let me know! Also, follow me on Instagram & Pinterest for even more fun recipes to make you feel good from the inside out. Thanks for being here.
Dill Pickle Salad
Equipment
- frying pan
- Large pot
Ingredients
- .75 -1 lb rotini pasta, *about 4 cups
- 8 oz bacon, *see notes
- ½ cup cheddar cheese , shredded or cubed
- 2 cups dill pickles, chopped, *about 7 whole pickles
Ranch Style Dressing
- ⅓ cup Mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup pickle juice
- ⅓ cup sour cream , *see notes
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Start the bacon, cook however you prefer. I cook in the oven on 350º for about 20-25 minutes but pan fried is great too! In a large salad bowl add the cooled pasta, dill pickles, cheese, fresh dill, and dressing.
- Cook pasta according to package (al dente). While everything is cooking, shred your cheese, chop the dill and pickles. Set aside, and in a medium size bowl, mix together mayo, sour cream, seasonings, pickle juice, dill. Set aside.
- Chop the cooked bacon. Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse under ice cold water to get the heat out. In a large serving bowl, add pasta, cheese, bacon and dressing (reserve 1/4 cup of dressing for serving) and toss together well. Serve and add extra dressing if needed or save for later if pasta salad soaks up all the dressing, you may need to just add a little more sour cream mixed with a Tbsp or two of extra pickle juice to re hydrate the salad. Pasta brands will vary on absorption!!!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ran to the store to grab pickles after seeing this on Instagram. Made it for Memorial Day bbq today and everyone wanted the recipe it was a huge hit. Will be making all summer.
Awesome happy to hear that. Have a great long weekend.
Made this for our party tonight ! Can’t wait to add the dressing and serve it. I tried a taste and it was SO GOOD!
Yay! Really happy to hear that.
Made without bacon (vegetarian) it was still scrumptious. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad to hear! Thanks for letting me know.
I made this exactly as indicated and it was very dry after refrigeration. I noticed on TikTok you corrected the pasta to 2 cups instead of a 16 oz box. I would respectfully suggest that you note that on here as well. If left at 16 ox of pasts this seems pretty dry and the ratio of ingredients to pasta and sauce is off. Otherwise it’s a great recipe!
Hi Christy! It should be pretty close to about 16 oz, I did update the recipe card to “.75 – 1 pound” of pasta. And added some tips on if the pasta comes out bit dry. The pasta brands can vary greatly with absorption so I made sure to note that for others! You can easily rehydrate by whisking together another 1/4 cup of sour cream with 1-2 Tbsp of pickle juice if needed, I know it can dry out if not served asap. So sorry it gave you a bit of a hard time 🙂 Glad to her you still enjoyed it. Thanks so much for the feedback as well – always needed and appreciated.
Made this yesterday and it was delicious! I added some shredded chicken and it makes a perfect yummy summer lunch! I made extra dressing since I know it can get absorbed easily. This is definitely a keeper! Thank you!
I’m so thrilled to hear this! I’ll have to try the chicken add in, sounds amazing. Happy eating!
I want to try this pasta salad, it looks delicious, but noticed that for the seasoning, it includes garlic powder, but it was not included in the ingredient list, nor an amount? Could you let me know if it is supposed to be included and how much?
Hi Lynn! yes, I am so sorry I missed that little detail. it’s 1 tsp added in with the other seasonings. I will update that now on the blog post. xoxox
This was really good! Doubled the sauce for 1 lb noodles. Used 2 cups thick shredded cheese, & used 2-3 tsp dry ranch reasoning in place of the garlic/onion/pepper. Tried it right away and I loved it. Not sure how it’ll hold up after refrigeration but it was saucy enough; I’m not too worried. Definitely try it out!!
Decidedly the best pasta salad at our neighborhood Memorial Day cook out. We didn’t make enough and were the talk of the pasta salads ! 100% recommended!
The pickle, bacon and cheddar cheese flavors in this are wonderful! I did use a full pound of medium sized shells for the pasta and doubled the mayo and sour cream (probably a little more than doubled, I just eyeballed it but kept the proportions even). I did not double the pickle juice as I think that makes the dressing too runny, just my personal opinion. I also added a teaspoon or two of Tones Dill Pickle seasoning (there are several others on the market now), dill pickle seems to be the saveur du jour, it’s everywhere. It intensifies the flavor of the dill pickle while keeping the dressing a little thicker. The dry ranch dressing seasoning mentioned in another review accomplishes the same thing, but with more of a ranch flavor. For those complaining about the pasta soaking up all the dressing and making the salad dry, there is a simple old school solution. Anytime you are going to be making pasta salad ahead of time, only add half the dressing and refrigerate the salad. 30 minutes before serving, add the other half of the dressing and toss. Great summer pasta salad, I plan to make it on a regular basis! Look forward to trying many of your other recipes!
I can’t wait to make this! How do you think it would be with Gouda instead of cheddar? (I happen to have Gouda in the fridge but no cheddar). Thanks!
Hi Megan! Excited for you to try as well! And YES gouda would be so GOODA! Enjoy my friend
This was SO GOOD beyond expectations. My new favorite recipe.