Zingy, tart, creamy and chock full of dill pickle flavor, this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad makes the perfect potluck side dish. Made with elbow macaroni, cubes of cheese, crunchy dill pickles, fresh dill, and plenty of dill dressing this pasta salad is perfect for dill pickle fans!
Serve this pickle pasta salad at your next picnic alongside Grilled BBQ Chicken Breasts, a juicy Sirloin Steak, or with a helping of Slow Cooker Baked Beans.
This creamy dill pickle pasta salad is perfect for dill pickle lovers!
It takes the classic pasta salad and gives it a tangy twist.
This dish features tender pasta, chopped dill pickles, sharp cheddar cheese, fresh dill, onions, and a creamy dressing all wrapped into one delicious pasta salad recipe.
It's the perfect side dish for picnics, potlucks, or a summer barbecue.
Ingredients You'll Need:
Dill Dressing Ingredients:
- Mayonnaise.
- Buttermilk.
- Dill Pickle Juice.
- Seasonings: Fresh dill, garlic powder, dried dill, onion powder, and salt.
Pasta Salad Ingredients:
- Noodles: We love elbow noodles for this pasta salad.
- Cheddar Cheese.
- Dill Pickles.
- Onion: Green and white onion.
- Dill Pickle Juice.
- Fresh Dill.
- Dill Salad Dressing.
How to Make Dill Pickle Pasta Salad:
Scroll to the recipe card below for full instructions and ingredient amounts!
- Cook the noodles to al dente (about 1 minute less than the package directions). Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to a large bowl. Make sure the noodles are fairly dry; otherwise, you’ll have a watery pasta salad.
- Add the cheddar cheese, pickles, white and green onions, fresh dill, pickle juice, and dill dressing.
- Toss to combine. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Dill Pickle Pasta Salad Tips and Variations:
- I love using elbow noodles, but any small pasta shape will work. Shells, rotini, and penne are some great options.
- This may sound obvious, but use dill pickles not sweet pickles. Any variety of dill pickles will work.
- I use a combination of white and green onion. Yellow, sweet, or even purple onions also make great options.
- Use fresh dill for this recipe. It’s not overwhelming and adds a bright flavor to the pasta salad. Dried dill works in a pinch, but it won’t take nearly as much and won’t have exactly the same flavor.
- Add some leftover rotisserie chicken to make this a full meal!
Storage Recommendations:
Refrigerator: Store leftover dill pickle pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezer: We do not recommend freezing this pasta salad.
What can you use in place of dill dressing on dill pickle pasta salad?
There are a few salad dressing options if you'd like to use another salad dressing in place of the homemade dill dressing.
Dill pickle pasta salad tastes best with a creamy dressing, so something like ranch dressing, garlic dressing or spicy ranch dressing make good alternatives.
We prefer to make these salad dressings from scratch but store bought versions also work great!
How do you keep leftover pasta salad from drying out?
To keep leftover pasta salad from drying out, make extra dressing to freshen it up the next day.
After the pasta salad gets stored in the refrigerator for several hours, the noodles soak up some of the dressing and the pasta salad may be drier than desired.
Can you use Miracle Whip in place of real mayonnaise?
No, for dill pickle pasta salad you'll want to use real mayonnaise not Miracle Whip.
Miracle Whip contains extra ingredients that don't mix well with the flavors in this dill pickle salad.
Do you have to use cheddar cheese on dill pickle pasta salad?
No, you don't have to use sharp cheddar cheese on dill pickle pasta salad.
You can omit the cheese altogether or swap it out with another type of cheese. Here are a few options:
- Colby Jack Cheese.
- Mozzarella Cheese.
- Monterey Jack Cheese.
- Pepper Jack Cheese.
Other pasta salad recipes you may love:
Recipe Card with Ingredient Amounts and Instructions
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
For the Dill Dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- Kosher salt, to taste
For the Pasta Salad:
- 8 ounces elbow noodles
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
- 1 ½ cups dill pickles, diced
- ½ cup green onion, diced
- ¼ cup white onion, diced
- ¼ cup dill pickle juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
Instructions
To Make the Dill Dressing:
- Place all the ingredients for the dressing (except the salt) into a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.1 cup mayonnaise½ cup buttermilk2 tablespoons dill pickle juice1 tablespoon fresh dill1 teaspoon dried dill½ teaspoon garlic powder¼ teaspoon onion powder
- Taste, and add salt. Refrigerate in a sealed container until ready to use.
To Make the Pasta Salad:
- Cook the noodles to al dente (about 1 minute less than the package directions). Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.8 ounces elbow noodles
- Transfer the cooked pasta to a large bowl. Make sure the noodles are fairly dry; otherwise, you’ll have a watery pasta salad.
- Add the cheddar cheese, pickles, green and white onions, dill pickle juice, fresh dill, and 1 cup of dill dressing.4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese1 ½ cups dill pickles½ cup green onion¼ cup white onion¼ cup dill pickle juice2 tablespoons fresh dill
- Toss to combine. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Scroll up and see the post for tips, FAQs, and storage recommendations.
Cheryl says
Love the flavors in this pasta salad
Kimberly says
Thanks, Cheryl! Have a great weekend!