Dill Pickle Pasta Salad

5 from 31 votes

This Dill Pickle Pasta Salad combines tender pasta, crunchy dill pickles, cheddar cheese, and crispy bacon with a creamy dill pickle dressing. Tangy, savory, and packed with texture, it's the perfect make-ahead side dish for cookouts, BBQs, and summer gatherings.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Bailey Rhatigan

Equipment

frying pan for bacon
Large pot to boil pasta

Ingredients

.75 -1 pound rotini pasta *about 4 cups
8 ounces bacon *see notes
½ cup cheddar cheese shredded or cubed
2 cups dill pickles, chopped *about 7 whole pickles

Creamy Dill Pickle Dressing

⅓ cup Mayonnaise
⅓ cup pickle juice
⅓ cup sour cream *see notes
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoons garlic powder
½ teaspoons 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

Don't skip the pickle juice: It adds tangy flavor throughout the dressing to give the salad its signature dill pickle taste.
Use a pickle you love: Use a brand and variety of dill pickles you enjoy eating straight from the jar.
Reserve extra dressing: You can also double the dressing if you like it really saucy, I do this when I am making the salad ahead of time or expecting leftovers, the noodles will soak it up.
Make ahead: This salad can be made up to 1 day in advance and often tastes even better after the flavors have had time to meld together.
Other swaps: 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. Or use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition