Smashed Pickle Salad

Updated June 6, 2022

Smashed Pickle Salad
Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Frances Boswell.
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(889)
Comments
Read comments

Many cucumber salads are dressed with some combination of salt, acidity (such as vinegar or lemon juice) and something tangy and creamy. (Sour cream is commonly used in Germany, Scandinavia and the Midwest; buttermilk in the South; and yogurt in the Mediterranean, Southwest Asia and South Asia.) This recipe skips the first step of salting by instead substituting pickles — cucumbers fermented in salt and vinegar — in place of raw cucumbers. They’re still crunchy, but also pack a fierce punch. Eat this salad alongside something rich, like grilled meats or schnitzel, or in a sandwich with deli meats, tinned fish or boiled eggs. While most pickles work, half-sour pickles are especially refreshing. (Avoid bread and butter pickles, which are too sweet.) Smashing the pickles opens them up to absorb dressing, and the act of doing so is just plain fun.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement


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
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, stir together the red onion and pickle brine.

  2. 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.)

  3. 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

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
889 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Although I have not tried this, it looks good, and seems to cry out for boiled red potatoes.

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!

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.

On the bland side unfortunately. Improved quite a bit with swap of full sour brine to soak onions, 1 tsp capers, kosher salt, red baby potatoes, 2 hardboiled eggs, a dash hot sauce (Valentina). Still not doing it for me and feels overdressed w suggested amounts even with addition of extra bulk. Might be really nice with a schnitzel however

I make a version of this but 50:50 pickles and cucumbers.

My husband loved this. And leftovers make a great tartar sauce. Chop fine. Drain as much as possible and add mayo and a big squeeze of lemon. Yum

Private comments are only visible to you.

or to save this recipe.