Dill pickle pasta salad
Creamy, tangy pasta salad loaded with crunchy dill pickles, cheddar and fresh dill, the one to make if you’re the person who drinks the pickle juice.
- 30 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.13 a serving
- 550 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: It’s ready in 30 minutes, start to finish.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 8 oz medium pasta shells
- 1 cup dill pickles, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- ¼ red onion, finely chopped
- 4 oz cheddar cheese, cubed
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
From your pantry
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 550 calories, 15 g protein, 46 g carbs and 34 g fat, and costs about $1.13 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No cheddar cheese? Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican blend cheese works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring a large pot of water over high heat and add the salt.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Add the shells and cook 1 minute past the package time, until tender all the way through.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Pasta firms up in the fridge, so for a cold salad cook it a little softer than you would for dinner., under cold water until cool, and shake off the water.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
the pickles and dill, the onion, and cut the cheddar into small .
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
the mayonnaise, sour cream, 3 tablespoons pickle juice from the jar, garlic powder and pepper in a large bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
the pasta, pickles, dill, onion and cheddar until everything is coated.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Divide among 4 containers and chill at least 30 minutes before eating.
Dolly’s tip: It keeps 4 days. Stir in a little more pickle juice if it thickens up overnight.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop plans your lunches along with the week’s dinners, puts what you need on the same grocery list, and walks you through each step.
