Cold pasta salads are a summer tradition. I serve this creamy salad with pasta for Memorial Day, graduation parties, and it’s part of our 4th of July menu. You’ll love the fresh combination of pickles and dill in an easy summer salad. I’ve included tips on how to make this salad in advance for a party or dinner.
HOW TO SERVE PASTA SALAD
Summertime in the Midwest is my favorite season. It’s finally warm enough outside to get together with friends and family and host a barbecue party. Of course, everyone I’ve ever known continues to grill outside in the winter snow, but hey, that’s Wisconsin! The summer is a busy time of year because it’s packed with graduation parties, birthday parties, summer holidays like July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day. Plus, everyone heads “up north” or to the lakehouse to their summer cottage to enjoy life on the lake.
If you’re searching for summer 4th of July sides such as a quick recipe to share with family, then you’ll love this creamy cucumber cheddar pickle salad. The fresh garden flavors with a touch of acidic vinegar flavor are outrageous together and make so much sense.
WHAT IS DILL PICKLE PASTA SALAD
Dill Pickle Pasta Salad is a delicious summer side dish. It has all the classic pasta salad ingredients like mayonnaise, sour cream, dijon mustard, and fresh dill herb. The pasta is cooked on the stove top and rinsed under cold water. It’s tossed together in a mixing bowl with added cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, dill pickles, and dill pickle juice.
Pasta salad is a quick potluck recipe to prepare on short notice and it serves as a side dish to grilled chicken, steak, burgers, Crock Pot Glazed Ham, brats, and ribs. I’ll make this salad and serve it with this fresh berry Glazed Fruit Salad, Cherry Fluff Salad, Strawberry Pretzel Salad, and Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
MAKING PASTA SALAD IN ADVANCE
How do you make pickle salad in advance? In general, pasta salad can be made in advance. However, I like to cook the pasta, rinse it under cold water, then drain it and store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator separated from the other pasta salad ingredients. This is because pasta continues to soak up liquid like a sponge that it’s sitting in.
If you’ve ever had leftover pasta salad from a party, then you know that the texture is different the second day. To prevent the pasta salad from getting dry, simply toss everything together except the pasta noodles. Before serving it, toss the noodles in and give it a good stir. If you’re eating leftover pasta or if you accidentally mixed the pasta salad together and notice that it’s dry, simply stir in more milk or pickle juice. This will moisten the salad back to its original consistency. The same concept is applied to my Italian Pasta Salad, and Blt Pasta Salad.
If you’re looking to put a twist on classic pasta salad, serve this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad. It’s delicious served cold as a summer side dish. The fresh dill and pickle flavors do not compete with the traditional pasta salad ingredients and they complement each other well together.
Serve this cold noodle salad with this fresh berry Glazed Fruit Salad, Cherry Fluff Salad, Strawberry Pretzel Salad, and Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow pasta noodles
- 24 ounces (2+ cups) dill pickles, sliced
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 7 green onion stalks, diced
- 4 tablespoons dill pickle juice
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup milk or half & half
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Fill large pot with water and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil then place on stove top over medium-high heat. Cook pasta according to directions ( I cooked mine for 9-11 minutes ) then rinse under cold water and allow water to drain.Meanwhile, add the diced cucumber, green onions, cheddar cheese, and grated parmesan cheese to a large bowl.Slice dill pickles and add to the bowl.Stir in 1 cup mayonnaise, 3/4 cup sour cream, 4 tbsp pickle juice, 1/2 tbsp mustard, 1/2 cup milk/cream, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Once pasta has drained, add it to the bowl.Toss dill pickle pasta salad together until combined well.*SEE NOTES IF MAKING IN ADVANCE.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate and it’s accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.
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2 Responses
WOW this looks incredible. Thanks so much for sharing. Do you think this kind of recipe would be okay in the fridge for a few days?
Hi Miranda. I’d wait to add in the sauce ingredients. That said, if you do make this ahead, you’ll need to add more milk when ready to serve. The pasta will absorb most of the sauce liquid by day 2.