Dill Pickle Dressing, the Most Versatile Dressing for Summer

Dill Pickle Dressing is the bright, tangy herbaceous answer to "what can I put on this salad or bowl to make me want to shovel it with a spoon?" With only a few ingredients, it's also super fast and easy to make. Shall we?

Dill Pickle Dressing is in the class of dressings we call Drinkable Dressings™, the kind that are so good, you just want to drink it straight from the bottle or jar. They have to have the perfect pourable texture not too gloopy, and not be too sticky sweet. Dill Pickle Dressing is exactly all of that.

The main recipe for Dill Pickle Dressing as presented is:

• dairy-free
• gluten-free
• refined sugar-free
• plant-based/vegan

If you make some of the suggested variations like adding yogurt to make Creamy Dill Pickle Dressing, the recipe will have dairy and will not be vegan unless the yogurt is plant-based.

What Ingredients You Need for Dill Pickle Dressing

Dill Pickle Dressing has only seven ingredients, and the recipe pretty flexible in terms of customizing. For this recipe, you will need:

• dill pickle and pickle juice, ¼ cup chopped
• garlic, 1 clove minced
• fresh dill, 1 tablespoon chopped
• lemon juice from half a lemon, 2 tablespoons
• dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon
• avocado oil or other neutral flavored oil, ½ cup
• salt (and pepper if you like)

As with most dressings and sauces, the recipe is totally flexible! Adjust amounts according to your personal taste preference.

What Kind of Pickles Should I Use for Dill Pickle Dressing?

Obviously, you want DILL pickles, the salty, savory, pickles, and not some other sort of pickled cucumber, especially not one that is sweet like Bread-and-Butter Pickles which I can't even legitimately consider pickles. The shape—whole pickles, halves, spears, sliced—doesn't matter since they are getting blended into the dressing. Get the ones you like.

Pickles have such a wide range and pickle people have very strong opinions and preferences when it comes to sweet vs salty, how sour, crunch level, and flavorings. My personal preference for a pickle straight out the jar is always for salty pickles because sweet dill and bread and butter pickles can gtfo, in the middle range for sour, high crunch, and strong dill and garlic flavors. There is a small vendor in my local farmers' market who makes AMAZING pickles, and I highly encourage you to seek out small local pickle-makers. But at the grocery store, I have been hyperfixated on Grillo's Pickles for the last three or four years.

Additional Ingredients Resources and Substitutions

Avocado Oil. Has the mildest, most neutral flavor of the non-seed oils. This is the brand I prefer. This brand is good, too. Just look for an avocado oil that is cold-pressed, steam-refined, or expeller-pressed. If you want to use olive oil, try to use one that is "light," meaning flavor, not calories or fat.

Dijon Mustard. This Dijon mustard brand has never failed me. Because the amount is fairly small, use whatever mustard you have. The mustard is obviously one of the predominant flavors, but more importantly, emulsifies the rest of the ingredients into one homogenous mixture.

Salt. Salt is an obvious and ubiquitous ingredient. I use this Kosher salt. Black pepper, on the other hand, is absent from this dressing recipe—see below.

Quick Note on Black Pepper

Black pepper is absent from this dressing recipe and most other dressing recipes on this site. Unlike salt, which has no flavor itself but greatly enhances the flavor of other ingredients, black pepper has its own distinct flavor. It is a spice that should be thoughtfully added to recipes when needed. Treat black pepper as an optional table condiment that people can add to their final dish if they want, rather than an automatic, somewhat mindless, addition during cooking to a recipe.

Ingredient Substitutions

Here are a few subs to fill in any gaps you might inadvertently have in your pantry, or fit into any dietary restrictions:

• Vinegar for the Lemon Juice. If you don't have lemon juice, which adds slight sweetness, you can use apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar. Vinegar is definitely more tart than lemon juice, so start with about 25% less, and add more if needed after tasting.
• Other Oil for Avocado Oil - Avocado oil is a fairly mild, neutral flavored oil so it works great in dressings. Normally, olive oil isn't a perfect substitute because it has a distinct, sometimes intense flavor and fragrance. However, because Dill Pickle Dressing has other fairly strong flavors already going for it, olive oil will be fine.
• Garlic. If you are sensitive to garlic, substitute with half a shallot, or omit the garlic completely. Note that there might be garlic in the dill pickles depending on the brand. Read the label.
• Dried Garlic Powder. If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use garlic powder, about ½ teaspoon for the recipe as is. You can also use pickled garlic if there are any cloves or slices in the pickle jar! Just fish them out and use them.
• Dried Dill. Fresh dill is WAY WAY better for this dressing not only because it adds dill flavor, but ALSO a fresh herbal vibe AND the bright green color. However, if you have no other option, then dried dillweed can work. Use about 1½ teaspoons dried dill.

Variations

• Add Sweetener. I don't usually add any sweeteners to my dressings and vinaigrettes, but if you like a dressing that has just the slightest bit of sweetness, add up to 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey (or whatever non-nutritive sweetener you normally use).
• Make it SPICY. Spicy dill pickles are a new obsession, so yes, a SPICY Dill Pickle Dressing seems only natural. Add 1 teaspoon of any kind of hot chili powder like Italian-style crushed red pepper, Korean gochugaru or any other hot red chile pepper with the other ingredients to make the dressing spicy.

Make Creamy Dill Pickle Dressing

This Dill Pickle Dressing is essentially a vinaigrette, meaning

Tools and Equipment

You don't need any special equipment to make Dill Pickle Dressing. You can simply use a knife and cutting board to mince the garlic, fresh dill, and pickles, and a bowl to mix the ingredients. However, that doesn't mean there are a couple of gadgets and tools that might make it even easier than it already is.

• BlendJet cordless personal blender - I don't know how I survived without this
• 2-ounce (4 tablespoons) liquid measuring cup
• Garlic press
• Mini whisk
• Wide-mouth mason jars and air-tight screw-on lids
• Cutting board

Advance Prep, Leftovers, and Storage

Dill Pickle Dressing is absolutely a dressing you can and should prepare in advance. In fact, make double the amount in the recipe—which will be about the same as what you get in a store-bought bottle—and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. As if you won't drink it all up before the week is up. Shake or whisk the dressing each time before you use it, since it will separate into its oil and vinegar components.

If you have a hyper-fixation problem when it comes to foods like I do, then once you make this Dill Pickle Dressing, you will use it on everything. I believe in you.

How to Use Dill Pickle Dressing

Dill Pickle Chopped Salad. I originally made Dill Pickle Dressing to go with Dill Pickle Chopped Salad, a recipe dupe for the pre-packaged Taylor Farms/Costco salad kit that is, dare I say it yes I dare "better," but the dressing is so good on its own i.e. "highly drinkable," it kiiind of deserves to have its own moment, especially since it works so well across dishes.

On ANY Salad. Use Dill Pickle Dressing as a go-to dressing for any other salad other than from lettuces to sturdier greens and vegetables like kale and roasted vegetables.

On Pasta Salad. Stir about ¼ cup of plain Greek yogurt into the dressing to make a creamy version and then stir into cooked pasta, chopped pickles, chopped parsley and dill and green onions for the best Dill Pickle Pasta Salad your Backyard BBQ has ever seen.

On Potato Salad. Same as above, stir plain Greek yogurt into the dressing and then use it on roasted potatoes.

Drizzle over grain bowls. I make a special effort to prep Dill Pickle Dressing weekly in the Spring and Summer because, well, the fresh dill just matches the season. I do, of course, say this about every season. More importantly though, once Summer vacation travel, and the lazy days of heatwaves set it, Dill Pickle Dressing is a MUST-HAVE in your refrigerator. It will make it easier to throw together a filling salad or grain bowl for a quick meal.

As a marinade or side sauce. Dill Pickle Dressing is the perfect flavor combination for salmon. Spoon it over grilled or pan-seared salmon on the plate, or serve alongside. You can also brush salmon before cooking with Dill Pickle Dressing, let it marinate in the refrigerator up to a couple of hours, then grill or roast in the oven.

Best Dressings for Summer Salads

If you're here looking for any and all manner of tart tangy sweet salty umami dressings, here are a few more that are on heavy rotation in this kitchen:

• Apple Cider Vinaigrette
• LEMONIEST Lemon Vinaigrette
• Ginger Lime Vinaigrette
• Cilantro Lime Dressing

Print Recipe

5 from 13 votes

Dill Pickle Dressing Recipe

The dressing that works for a chopped salad, pasta salad, and even potato salad! Bright, herbal, and delicious!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Total Time5 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chopped salad, pickle, salad

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 dill pickle about ¼ cup chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons pickle juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from half a lemon
• ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
• ½ cup light olive oil or other neutral flavored oil
• ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste

Instructions

• Place all Dill Pickle Dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Run machine until all ingredients are puréed. The dressing will be a light bright green from the fresh dill. Use a piece of lettuce or kale to taste the dressing. Add salt if needed.

when you make this recipe, let us know!Mention @TheDelicious or tag #thedeliciousmademedoit!

Notes

Store leftover dressed salad in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to one day. Leftover dressed salad will take on a softer, marinated texture. Store leftover undressed prepped (i.e. washed, dried, and chopped) salad greens in the refrigerator for three days. 

Leftover Dill Pickle Dressing will keep for three days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Dr. Andersen served this Salad with our Christmas Eve dinner, right after the Oyster Stew and perfectly timed just before the Barefoot Contessa Lamb that was slow-roasted until the meat fell apart into the gorgeous, gamey equivalent of cotton candy. The salad is something like the spinach salad with warm bacon dressing you always have, but really, nothing like it at all.