I love this dill pickle dip and it's completely dairy-free! Usually, I'm an onion dip girly and I eat a ton of it with plain ruffled chips, but now that I've concocted a dill pickle dip my snacking has really leveled up.
This dill pickle dip is easy to whip up and only has a few ingredients. Just remember to make it a few hours before the craving or hunger pains hit, because it's best when it's chilled in the fridge to develop flavor. Put it in a tub and take it to the beach or on a sunny picnic with a party-size bag of chips and you'll be in heaven!
If you want more pickle-y recipes check out my dill pickle cheddar biscuits or cheeseburger pasta salad!
what you need
For this recipe, I highly recommend you use fresh dill and chives. Using dried dill will not be the same! You can substitute chives for finely chopped green onions if needed. Of course, the chips are not swappable. Sure add a few veggie sticks so you feel like you're eating a proper meal, but don't ask me if you can dip rice crackers into this. The answer is, hell naw! If you do that, tell no one.
- garlic dill pickles
- garlic dill pickle brine (this is the liquid in the jar of pickles!)
- plain vegan cream cheese
- vegan mayonnaise
- fresh dill
- chives
- onion powder
See the recipe card for quantities.
The salt for this recipe comes from the pickles themselves, so there's no need to add additional salt!
how to make dill pickle dip
The vegan cream cheese will need to come to room temperature so that it's easier to mix. Oftentimes, vegan cream cheese products contain coconut oil and that makes them quite hard straight out of the fridge. My favorite brand is the one from Trader Joe's; it's also the cheapest!
You can take the cream cheese out of the container and place it in a mixing bowl. While the cream cheese is softening, chop up the pickles, fresh dill, and chives. Once the cream cheese can be easily mixed, add in the fresh herbs, chopped pickles, pickle brine, vegan mayonnaise, and onion powder.
Once the dill pickle dip is made, I highly recommend you refrigerate the dip for at least a couple of hours so the flavors can meld together. It will be much more flavorful!
substitutions
In replace of vegan cream cheese you can use a vegan sour cream product too. They contain virtually the exact same ingredients and are the same texture. If you want to use a different pickle, try a sweet and spicy pickle, but I wouldn't use the only sweet ones.
If my recipe isn't your thing, I also saw PlantYou make this recipe using tahini and the remaining pickle brine in a jar blended together for a dip. It's not as thick as mine, and I haven't actually tried it, but if you don't want to use vegan dairy products than this is another option.
storage
The ingredients in this recipe don't stand up well to freezing. It should be made fresh, stored in the fridge, and consumed within 2 to 3 days.
Ingredients
- 1 C (8 oz tub) plain vegan cream cheese, softened
- ½ C finely diced garlic dill pickles
- ¼ C vegan mayonnaise
- ¼ C pickle brine
- ¼ C packed fresh dill, finely chopped
- ¼ C finely chopped chives
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- If your cream cheese is straight out of the fridge it will be harder to combine so it’s best to let it sit out in a large mixing bowl before making it.
- Combine all the ingredients with the softened cream cheese in thje mixing bowl. Ideally, let this sit in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours before serving to get the best flavor.
- Serve with regular salted potato chips, veggie sticks, pretzels or other dippers of your choice.
Lauren Toyota
Lauren is a plant-based powerhouse, a former TV host turned wildly successful food creator, best-selling cookbook author, and the woman responsible for making vegan comfort food a thing worth craving. Through her blog and YouTube channel, hot for food, she’s amassed a dedicated following by recreating all the nostalgic, indulgent dishes we love—mac & cheese, burgers, cinnamon rolls—but making them entirely plant-based. No compromise on taste, no weird ingredients, just damn good food.