Dill Pickle Pasta Salad (Gluten Free)

This gluten free Dill Pickle Pasta Salad recipe is a great easy side dish for summer. It's made with a creamy mayo dressing and fresh dill!

This Dill Pasta Salad is my attempt to hop on the pickle bandwagon. It's prepared with a creamy dressing flavored with mayo and lots of fresh dill. This recipe is made to serve alongside burgers, ribs, or anything you'd find at a BBQ.

Over the past few years dill pickles have gained in popularity. Growing up they always seemed like an afterthought - Something that was thrown onto your plate alongside the sandwich or burger you ordered at a restaurant.

The heat of the sandwich or burger inevitably heated those sad little pickle slices and rendered them unappealing. More often than not they were left uneaten on the plate and tossed into the garbage.

I am happy to report that the days of those last-minute pickle slices are over. We as a culture seem to have embraced the dill pickle. This once overlooked condiment has now become the star of so many dishes from dips to soups to pizza.

It's time for the dill pickle to shine.

Jump to:

• What Is The Best Pasta For Gluten Free Pasta Salad?
• Ingredients For Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
• How To Make The Dressing
• Does Pasta Need To Be Rinsed?
• Tips For Gluten Free Pasta Salad
• Can Pasta Salad Be Made The Day Before?
• What To Serve With Dill Pasta Salad
• How Long Does Pasta Salad Last In The Fridge?
• Can It Be Frozen?
• Dill Pickle Pasta Salad (Gluten Free)

What Is The Best Pasta For Gluten Free Pasta Salad?

I don't know about you guys but I love summer BBQ side dishes like coleslaw, potato salad, and macaroni salad. If it's tossed in a creamy mayo dressing and served alongside a plate of ribs I'm there.

Maybe it's because I live in Minnesota where summers are so short that we basically covet and celebrate everything about them.

The best type of pasta to use for pasta salads (gluten free or otherwise) are short varieties such as Rotini, Fusilli, Farfalle, and Penne. These short pasta varieties are easy to prepare and eat in addition to being effective at soaking up the dressing that is poured over them.

This recipe calls for gluten free pasta but you can simply substitute regular pasta if gluten is not an issue for you. It's important to use a quality brand of gluten free pasta that holds up once it's cooked.

My favorite brands of gluten free pasta are Jovial, Tinkyada, and Barilla.

Ingredients For Dill Pickle Pasta Salad

Here's what you'll need to make it.

• 16 oz. Gluten Free Pasta such as Rotini, Farfalle, or Penne (use regular pasta if not GF)
• 1 cup Mayo
• 2 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Pickle Juice
• ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp. Onion Powder
• ¼ tsp. each Kosher Salt and Pepper
• ¼ cup Fresh Dill plus more for garnish
• 1 cup Kosher Dill Pickles (about 5-6 baby dill pickles)
• Juice of 1 Lemon

How To Make The Dressing

The dressing for this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad couldn't be easier to make. I love this dressing because it's creamy but light at the same time.

Even though it's prepared with mayo the addition of dill and fresh lemon juice makes the whole dish kind of refreshing.

1. To make the dressing combine 1 cup mayo, 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, 2 Tbsp. pickle juice, ½ tsp. each garlic and onion powder, and ¼ tsp. each kosher salt and pepper in a small bowl. Combine all of these ingredients with a fork or small whisk.
2. Finely chop ¼ cup of fresh dill and add it to the dressing. Stir until the dill is completely incorporated.

A Few Things:

• You can use any kind of vinegar you have on hand. I love white wine vinegar because the flavor is mild but you can use distilled white vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider, or any vinegar you like. Avoid malt vinegar if gluten is an issue for you.
• Dried dill may be substituted for fresh dill if fresh isn't an option. Substitute 1-2 Tbsp. Dried Dill for the fresh (depending on how strong you like the flavor). I DO recommend fresh dill if you can find it because it adds a certain amount of freshness to the dish.
• The dressing may be prepared a few hours ahead and stored in the fridge or right before serving.

If you love dill be sure to check out this Lemon Dill Egg Salad and Fresh Dill Tartar Sauce!

Does Pasta Need To Be Rinsed?

The next step is to prepare the pasta.

1. Prepare 1 16 oz. box of gluten free short pasta (or regular short pasta if not gluten free) according to package instructions, cooking the pasta just until al dente.
2. Once the pasta is al dente, pour it into a strainer and rinse under cold water.
3. After the pasta is rinsed, allow it to sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. This helps the pasta to retain its springy texture and prevents it from becoming mushy. (This step is not necessary if making regular pasta).

Tips For Gluten Free Pasta Salad

There are a few tricks to employ that help to achieve the best taste and texture when making gluten free pasta salad.

• Cook the gluten free pasta until just under al dente. It's very important not to overcook gluten free pasta, or it will become mushy and fall apart.
• Once the pasta is cooked until just under al dente, drain it in a strainer and run it under cold water. This will stop the cooking process.
• Allow the pasta to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. This helps the pasta to retain it's springy texture.
• When adding the dressing and the rest of the ingredients, fold them into the pasta carefully using a large spoon and mix only until combined. The less gluten free pasta is disturbed, the better it stays together.

Can Pasta Salad Be Made The Day Before?

You cannot have Dill Pickle Pasta Salad without the star ingredient - Dill Pickles!

Once the pasta is cooked and rinsed and the dressing is prepared it's time to assemble the salad.

1. Simply place the cooked pasta in a large serving bowl and pour the dressing over the top. Toss the pasta until it is completely coated in the dressing. You can add as much or as little of the dressing as you like.
2. Roughly chop 1 cup of baby kosher dill pickles (about 5-6 pickles) and add them to the salad. Toss until the pickles are combined.
3. To liven up the flavors even more cut a lemon in half and squeeze it over the salad (careful to remove any seeds that may fall in there) and garnish with more minced dill.

The great thing about this pasta salad is that it can be made the day before serving. There are no veggies in there that are going to get soggy so feel free to prepare it a day early.

Be sure to cover it with plastic wrap and store in the fridge if you are making it the day before.

Keep in mind that gluten free pasta dries out a bit the longer it sits in the refrigerator. It's often made with rice or brown rice, which has a higher starch content and causes the rice to dry out more quickly than regular pasta.

What To Serve With Dill Pasta Salad

I love this recipe because it's truly a versatile dish. It goes with anything that tastes great with dill pickles.

It's perfect served alongside grilled burgers like these grilled blue cheese burgers, juicy lucy burgers, BBQ ribs, grilled chuck steak or grilled chicken or grilled chicken wings. You can keep it vegetarian and serve it with something like BBQ sweet potatoes as well.

Pasta salads are always nice with summer veggie dishes like grilled corn, zucchini, asparagus, or something like this Southwest black bean and corn salad.

A pasta salad goes great with coleslaw like this blue cheese coleslaw, Asian cabbage slaw, or kohlrabi slaw.

The tangy and vibrant flavors pair well with shredded BBQ chicken or Pulled Pork.

How Long Does Pasta Salad Last In The Fridge?

If you've got leftovers this dish can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Can It Be Frozen?

This pasta salad is made with mayo so I would not recommend freezing it. This dish is best enjoyed fresh, or within a few days.

Summer is all about fresh recipes and this one is full of vibrant flavors. The combination of the lemon and dill make this dish pop and the chopped dill pickles provide a great crunch.

Love summer salads? Check out these recipes!

• Summer Pesto Pasta Salad
• Marinated Tomato Salad
• Minty Pea and Almond Salad
• Southwest Potato Salad
• Spanish Style Potato Salad
• Pickled Beet Salad
• Southwest Chipotle Coleslaw
• Mediterranean Potato Salad
• Roasted Vegetable Salad

Love Dill Pickles? Don't Miss These Awesome Recipes!

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