Dill pickles, cheese, and macaroni in a delightful sauce make this a favorite summer salad at our house!
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Several years ago, I ran across this dill pickle salad while perusing Pinterest. I didn’t have the pasta shells it called for, so we used macaroni and never looked back!
Every Summer, we make this side dish multiple times! It is a great addition to potlucks, cookouts, and weekends at home.
My college-aged daughter has declared this her favorite pasta salad, and I must agree! I love the crunchy dill pickles and the creamy sauce, and chunks of cheese make any pasta salad better!
Definitely give this recipe a try! You won’t regret it, and it may become your favorite Summer salad too!
Dill Pickle Macaroni Salad
Servings 16
Ingredients
- 6 cups dry macaroni
- 1½ cups pickles, sliced (I like to use baby dills)
- 1⅓ cups cheddar cheese, diced
- 6 Tbsp onion, finely diced (optional)
- 4 Tbsp fresh dill (4 tsp. if using dried dill weed)
- 1 cup pickle juice
Dressing:
- 1⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 8 Tbsp pickle juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil macaroni al dente according to the package. Run under cold water to stop cooking.
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix well, set aside.
- Combine the macaroni and the other main ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the macaroni mixture, and toss to coat well.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. I also like to go in a couple of times and stir to combine and help the macaroni cool faster.
Kristy says
You mentioned this salad in one of your recent posts and we had a church potluck the next day so I googled recipes since I didn’t see the recipe for it on your blog. I ended up making it almost exactly like your recipe here! I did use plain yogurt in place of sour cream (we always do). It was a hit and was better after it even aged a few days. I used macaroni noodles from Azure Standard and they were great because they are “beefier” noodles and held up really well in the salad. Fresh dill from the garden and homemade canned pickles from the past year make it the best! Thanks for the idea and for sharing the recipe now.
Amy says
Wonderful! I had all intentions of getting the recipe up in time to link to it in the post, but wasn’t able to.