Dill Pickle Pasta Salad – Kath Eats Real Food

This lightened up Dill Pickle Pasta Salad is for all the pickle lovers out there! With plenty of summer veggies, fresh dill, and a yogurt-based dressing, this salad brings a satisfying crunch!  

A Double Dose of Dill!

This pasta salad is packed with both dill and dill pickles – a double dose! The pickles provide both flavor and lots of crunch throughout. It’s lightened up with lots of fresh summer veggies and a creamy dressing made with yogurt.

Imagine it lined up with cold potato salad and a fruit tray at every summer BBQ. It’s a super easy cold salad to make ahead and bring to picnics or potlucks all summer long. If you’re like me and need a pickle on your burger, this makes a great side dish for a cookout! 

Where are all my pickle lovers?!

I am a lover of dill pickles! My dad is too. He actually spent years (26 to be exact) guessing how many pickles were in the Mt. Olive jar at the North Carolina State until on his 27th try – HE WON! Read my mom’s blog post about the exciting day my dad got a pickle prize pack in the mail : ) I remember when we were little buying a GIANT pickle at the fair. Despite hot much I’m a pickle person, I’m not sure if that would be my choice of snack these days. Ha!

Please do not serve me bread and butter pickles. Never been a fan! If you dislike pickles like I don’t care for onions, you’re going to want to skip this post. But if a crunchy spear on the side of your sandwich plate makes your lunch, then this pasta salad is for you!

Dill Pickle Pasta Salad Recipe

Dill is one of my very favorite herbs!

We are growing dill in our porch herb garden this year. I love to toss handfuls of it into salads – like this chicken grain bowl or blend it into a herby salad dressing like this one. 

Back when it was tiny!

Ingredients

• Fusilli pasta – rotini works too! Choose a shape that the sauce will stick to.
• Baby dill pickles – you can also use spears or even a giant dill pickle. 
• Bell pepper – I used orange for color variety, but red, yellow, or even green work too. 
• Cherry tomatoes – a mix of red and yellow mix is pretty!
• Baby spinach – a big handful adds some greenery and great nutritional punch.
• Fresh dill – extra for sprinkling and garnish!

Dressing ingredients

• Full-fat Greek yogurt – you can use lower fat if that’s all you have, but full fat is best for flavor. 
• Duke’s Mayonnaise – I added just a quarter cup to kick up the richness a notch. Do not use Miracle Whip or anything fat-free here. If you hate mayonnaise you can leave it out, but know that your dressing will be thinner. 
• Lemon juice – just a squeeze!
• Dill pickle juice – for all that pickle flavor!!
• Fresh dill – you can use dried dill for the dressing, but this recipe really needs at least a sprinkle of fresh dill to taste like summer. 

Instructions

Cook pasta to al dente

Usually 10-12 minutes of boil time. Make sure your water is very salty to season the pasta! Return the cooked pasta back to the pot after draining and allow to cool. 

Prep veggies

Chop pickles, bell pepper, tomatoes, spinach, and dill. Add to pasta pot.

Make the dressing

Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined.

Mix together

Pour dressing over pasta salad and mix everything together.

Garnish

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with lots of extra fresh dill!

Serve!

Tips For How To Make Dill Pickle Pasta Salad

Choose whole wheat or chickpea pasta for extra nutrition

I used a classic durum pasta, but if you’re serving to a health nut crowd, feel free to use the most nutrition-packed pasta you can find!

Or make it a bit more classic ; ) 

If you’ll be bringing this dish to a crowd who isn’t so interested in saturated fat, you can adjust the ratio of yogurt and mayo to be heavier on the mayo. Sour cream would also work instead of yogurt. 

Ingredient Ideas

You can also add in some diced or shredded sharp cheddar cheese for a classic pasta salad ingredient. Fresh summer corn cut off the cob would be great. And I think a crumbled cheese like goat cheese or feta would be nice too. 

Add protein to make it an all-in-one dish

Diced grilled chicken would be fabulous added to this salad to make it more of a meal. Or for a vegetarian option, add beans, hard-boiled egg, or baked tofu. 

Make the day of

Since the veggies will be freshly cut, I recommend making this dish the day you’ll eat it or the night before. If you have a longer stretch to wait, you can leave the ingredients separate and mix them together on the day of. Before serving, be sure to mix everything back together.

More Recipes with Dill:

More posts from Kath: