Keto Dill Pickle Salad

published July 14, 2021 — last updated November 14, 2021

Keto dill pickle salad has all the flavor of the traditional pasta salad without the carbs. This pickle salad is the perfect make ahead side dish for a summer BBQ or potluck.

Traditionally, this recipe is made with pasta. Obviously pasta is not keto friendly at all.

But pickles are. So we took this delicious base recipe and subbed out the pasta for marinated cauliflower just like we did for our Keto Antipasto Salad. A marinade is a great way to get flavor into cauliflower (pickled cauliflower anyone?) In this recipe we used the dill pickle juice to marinate the cauliflower and WOW, it was amazing!

This delicious salad makes a great side dish that is a great potluck or summer BBQ recipe. Or you could add cooked chicken or tuna to transform it into a complete meal. The choice is yours!

You know we love using cauliflower in our keto recipes. Make sure you try out keto chicken alfredo casserole, and keto pizza casserole too!

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Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand to make this recipe:

Cauliflower – You can use pre-cut florets or a full head that you chop up yourself.
Dill pickle juice – You should be able to get this straight from the jar the pickles came in.
Dill pickles – We use whole dill pickles, but you can use halved or spears since you are going to dice them up.
Cheddar cheese – You can use a block of cheddar and shred it yourself or save some time and pick up a bag of shredded cheese at the grocery store.
Dressings – For the creamy dressing, we use both mayonnaise and sour cream.
Seasonings – You’ll need dried dill, onion powder, dried parsley, and black pepper.

Instructions

Follow these steps to make the salad.

Step 1 – Prep the cauliflower. Start by cutting the cauliflower into bite-size florets and placing them in a pot with approximately 1 inch of water. Place a lid on the pot and bring to a boil. You will need to steam the cauliflower for about 3 to 5 minutes or until it is slightly tender.

Step 2 – Marinade the cauliflower. Remove the cauliflower from the heat, drain it, and pat dry. Next, place the cauliflower in a gallon sized, resealable bag or an air tight container and pour ½ a cup of dill pickle juice over it. Place the bag in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Step 3 – Make the dressing. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, dried dill, onion powder, dried parsley, and black pepper. You will need to whisk it together until well combined.

Step 4 – Bring it altogether. In a large bowl, combine the marinated cauliflower, diced dill pickles, and cheddar cheese. Next, pour the mayonnaise dressing over the ingredients in the bowl and toss everything together.

Finally, wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The recipe can last about 5 days.

holding a bowl of Keto Dill Pickle Salad

Are Pickles Keto?

Yes, dill pickles are keto. In fact, they are a great keto snack.

But not all pickles are keto. Sweet pickles and bread and butter pickles are not keto friendly since they have added sugar in their pickling juice. Stick to dill or sour pickles, since they do not use any added sugar.

How to Make it Ahead of Time

If you have a get together or picnic your preparing for, you can take some pressure off an make this recipe ahead of time. If you do, make sure to cover the bowl with plastic wrap or store in a sealed container and place in the fridge. You can store it for up to 5 days, which means you can get this ready to go when you have the time and have one less thing to worry about.

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Servings: 7.5

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 3

Total Time: 18