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Dill pickle dip with a proper crunch
A thick cream-cheese pickle dip with chopped dill, sharp cheddar and enough cucumber crunch to justify another scoop.
In this guide5 sections
Make the pickles do some work
Cream cheese can easily bury a small handful of pickles. This dip uses a generous amount, chopped by hand, so you get distinct crunchy pieces through the creamy base. We prefer that rough texture to a completely smooth dip, especially when the scoop is a sturdy cracker or a vegetable stick.
Yield: 6 snack servings. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 0 minutes. Allow 20 minutes to chill if you want a firmer dip. Use ready-to-eat dill pickles, including a drained portion of our refrigerator recipe. Sweet pickles will give a noticeably different result, so check the jar before opening the cream cheese.
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) full-fat cream cheese
- 120 g (4 oz) sour cream
- 150 g (5 oz) drained dill pickles
- 40 g (1½ oz) mature cheddar, finely grated
- 10 g fresh dill, chopped
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) pickle brine
- ½ teaspoon garlic granules
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Method
- Take the cream cheese out of the fridge for about 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Put it in a mixing bowl and press it with a spoon until it spreads rather than breaking into cold lumps.
- Cut the pickles into small cubes, roughly 4 mm across. Spread them on a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and blot away surface liquid; keep the measured brine separate.
Blot the small pickle cubes; keep the measured brine separate. - Beat the sour cream into the cream cheese in two additions. Scrape the bottom of the bowl, then stir in the brine, garlic granules and black pepper until the mixture is even.
Scrape the bottom until the cream cheese and sour cream look even. - Fold in the pickles, cheddar and dill with a spatula. Stop once they are distributed. Taste a little on whatever you will use for dipping before deciding whether the dip needs any adjustment.
Fold just until the pickles, fine cheddar and dill are distributed. - Spoon into a shallow serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes if time allows; the cream cheese will firm up again. Stir once before serving and put out a small portion at a time.
Dry the pickles first
Draining means more than lifting a cucumber from its jar. Liquid clinging to a chopped pickle will run into the dip, particularly after it stands. Blotting gives you control: the tablespoon of brine is the deliberate liquid addition. If the bowl still looks loose, chill it before adding more cream cheese; warm cream cheese can look softer than the finished dip.
Fine grating matters for the cheddar. Long shreds catch on crackers and pull the dip apart, whereas short strands blend through it. The cheese already brings salt, which is why this recipe has no extra salt in its ingredient list.
For a softer dairy base, try a lighter yoghurt-based dip. You can also make the pickles yourself before making the dip.
Serving and keeping
Keep covered and cold, and make only what you expect to use within two days. Use a clean serving spoon rather than returning dipped food to the main bowl.
Keep cold during storage and serving; see the recipe library’s storage guidance.
Keep the jar open
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