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Dill pickle pasta salad with cheddar and celery
A cold pasta salad with firm pasta, diced cheddar, celery and pickles, coated lightly enough to keep the individual textures.
In this guide5 sections
Small shapes make a better forkful
Short pasta holds this salad together without making it awkward to eat. Small shells or elbows catch a little dressing and sit comfortably beside the pickle and cheddar cubes. We recommend keeping the cheese pieces small; large chunks turn a useful side salad into a bowl you have to pick through.
Yield: 6 side servings. Prep time: 20 minutes. Cook time: 12 minutes. Allow 30 minutes to chill after assembly. Pasta cooking time varies, so use the packet as your starting point and taste a piece before draining. The pasta should be fully cooked but still hold its shape.
Ingredients
- 250 g (9 oz) dried small pasta shells or elbows
- 150 g (5 oz) drained dill pickles
- 100 g (3½ oz) mature cheddar
- 2 celery stalks, about 100 g, finely diced
- 100 g (3½ oz) shop-bought mayonnaise
- 100 g (3½ oz) plain Greek-style yoghurt
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) pickle brine
- 10 g fresh dill, chopped
- 10 g (2 teaspoons) Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon fine salt, for cooking water
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Method
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add the measured salt. Cook the pasta according to its packet, usually 8–12 minutes, stirring early so the small shapes do not stick together.
- Drain into a colander and rinse briefly under cold running water to stop the cooking. Shake thoroughly and leave to drain for a few minutes. Water trapped inside shells can dilute the dressing.
Rinse briefly, then shake out the water trapped inside the shells. - Dice the pickles and cheddar into roughly 5 mm pieces. Wash the celery and dill, then chop them. Blot the pickles so their surface liquid does not all end up in the mixing bowl.
Keep the cheese and pickles small enough to sit inside a spoonful of pasta. - Whisk the mayonnaise, yoghurt, brine, mustard and black pepper together in a large bowl. Add the cooled pasta and fold until the dressing reaches inside the shapes rather than staying in one patch.
- Fold in the pickles, cheddar, celery and dill. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Stir from the bottom before serving and use a broad spoon to avoid breaking the pasta.
Fold the cheese, pickles, celery and dill through without breaking the shells.
Why the salad changes in the fridge
Pasta continues to take up moisture after the salad is mixed, so it can look drier later. Start by giving it a gentle stir; dressing often sits underneath. If you prefer a looser bowl, stir a teaspoon of cold water into the portion you will eat now rather than soaking the entire batch.
The celery supplies a clean snap against the softer pasta. Slice any particularly thick stalk lengthways before dicing, and remove coarse strings if you notice them while chopping. This is a small preparation job that makes the salad easier to eat.
For a pasta-free side, make potato salad with a mustard dressing. Find other pickle sides and salads when planning the rest of the meal.
At the table
Use within three refrigerated days of cooking the pasta. Keep chilled in transit.
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