Smashed Pickle Salad
- Total Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- ½medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 4whole pickles (or 16 spears), plus 1 tablespoon brine
- 2celery stalks, thinly sliced
- ¼cup sour cream
- ¼cup chopped dill fronds and stems
- 1tablespoon mayonnaise
Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, stir together the red onion and pickle brine.
- Step 2
On your cutting board, whack the pickles with a meat mallet or the back of a wooden spoon, then rip into ½-inch pieces. (If using spears, simply rip them into ½-inch pieces.)
- Step 3
Add the smashed pickles to the bowl, along with the celery, sour cream, dill and mayonnaise. Stir vigorously until creamy and combined. This salad is best eaten right away. (It can be refrigerated up to one day, but the dressing will start to get watery.)
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Bob
Although I have not tried this, it looks good, and seems to cry out for boiled red potatoes.
Christine
I ve just prepared this salad but added small cooked potatoes, unpeeled and cut and mixed the sour cream with yoghurt. We had it with matjes herring - it was wonderful and reminded me of Finland and the Baltics ( where you often add beetroot ) Thank you!
Stewart
Made strictly to order, it was delicious. Next time, I would up the dill to Alison Romanesque proportions, and I also like the idea others have proposed to add beetroot and/or wee little boiled potatoes. Also, given that the onion doesn't really have enough time to pickle in the brine, I would just mix the brine, mayo, sour cream and dill as a dressing and mix the veggies and the dressing at service This would be great with cold roast chicken.
Jerry
You had me at Pickles! I'd add some garbanzos too for some protein.
Amy
This would go great on a pulled pork sandwich in leu of coleslaw. Or a fried chicken sandwich. Gourmet chic-fil-a.
MN
Smashing the pickles is tricky--they shoot out sideways. Suggest covering with saran wrap before smashing.
Anne
I used only mayo which kept it from getting too soupy. After the initial meal, I added some boiled potatoes and enjoyed it in a different dimension. For meal three I added sliced radishes for added kick. Very versatile and delightful as an accompaniment or on its own. A definite keeper.
joseph korona
I'm glad I took the advice to add small cooked potatoes. It's a really good side that reminds me of some Polish recipes from my younger days. Substituted a plain yogurt for the sour cream and it worked very well.
Deb Martin
I have made this using a mix of pickles and fresh cukes which for me seems to be better than all pickles. In the head note it recommends half-sours and mentions salt and vinegar but half- sours are only salt-cured. So if you use halfs you will need to add vinegar to the dressing. I usually use dill pickles for that reason. Half sours are closer in texture to fresh, so adding the fresh cukes mimics that texture profile for me.
Heloise
Yum! Such a nice crunch. Added soft tofu for contrast and generously showered with black pepper. 10/10 will make again.
Spaypets
They’re newly fermented pickles—the bright green kind you get in delis.
Jennifer
My grocery keeps them in the refrigerated case with the lunch meat (in case you were looking in the pickle aisle).
Tom Hamilton
....and perhaps nicoise olives?
Augendoc
This recipe cries out for potatoes. I boil eight ounces of small (3/4” to 1”) yellow or red potatoes for about 10 minutes, then drain, cool and cut them in half. Then toss with the other ingredients and refrigerate. Make sure to drain any liquid from the sour cream before adding.
Becky
I added a bunch of boiled tiny potatoes and it was delicious. I dislike mayo so the sour cream based sauce was a wonderful change.
Spotter
Yes, added one cooked russet potato to fill it out, give it some heft. Followed the rest to the letter. My husband loved it. We don't like 'tangy' potato salad, but this is not that.
Cam in AMS
Surprisingly terrific! Made to use up an old jar of pickles but now it’s getting saved… Added potatoes per comments, along with a few radishes, and an extra TBSP of white wine vinegar with the brine to the onions to pickle them a little more. I found it needed a splash of lemon juice and a spoonful of whole grain mustard at the end and then oh my! This and a chicken thigh… I’m in summer heaven
Delicious
Made this salad a few times now and love how delicious and easy it is. I switched the red onion for a shallot for a more mild flavor and also most recently did half pickle half Persian cucumber which I also smashed just to cut down on some of the sodium, delicious both ways
Bill H
As suggested in the recipe description, this makes a great tuna fish sandwich topping. Truly better served as a condiment than a salad.
Josh K
Eaten with roast chicken and rice. The best!
Queso Jen
I was surprised at how good the salad was. I used Trader Joe’s dill pickles, which are on the small side so I use twice as many as a recipe called for. It was delicious! Great with something sweet and greasy like BBQ ribs.
Detroitmom
Sooo yummy! Crunchy, salty, tangy, refreshing, and satisfying! Definitely needs those baby potatoes though.
Cristy Sellers
I followed this recipe as written except I used only mayo and I added cubed jicama that was boiled for about 7 minutes. I loved the idea of potatoes but needed a less starchy option - it added such a refreshing crunch and everyone thought it was a hit! This recipe is certainly a keeper.
breakchef
Made this with half-sours and served it over potato schiaciatta with smoked salmon. Phenomenal.
Judy
Made this which I served over new potatoes. I will definitely make it again. This would go well with barbecue or even oven baked spareribs.
Brandon K.
Followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. It is in the summer rotation for sure.
Jane
I only had dried dill, which I did add but I also had fresh basil and tarragon on hand, which I added, along with red potatoes, which I tossed in the pickle brine after they cooked so the pickles would soak up the brine.
Sue
If you like this as much as I do you MUST also try the smashed cucumber salad with lime and honey. The combo of flavors and texture, a revelation.
Chuck
I made up a batch of this cucumber salad using your lime and honey dressing. I must say, great suggestion!
Becky
I added a bunch of boiled tiny potatoes and it was delicious. I dislike mayo so the sour cream based sauce was a wonderful change.
Augendoc
This recipe cries out for potatoes. I boil eight ounces of small (3/4” to 1”) yellow or red potatoes for about 10 minutes, then drain, cool and cut them in half. Then toss with the other ingredients and refrigerate. Make sure to drain any liquid from the sour cream before adding.
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