Easy Chopped Dill Pickle Salad

This dill pickle salad has it all! Perfectly chopped crisp vegetables and crushed tortillas all tossed in a creamy dill pickle dressing. This is sure to be your new go-to salad!

I LOVE pickles. I'm that person who will always ask you if your eating your extra pickles at a restaurant. I will add them to whatever I can... tuna salad, burgers, bowls, sandwiches, wraps. You name it and I will 99.9% have a pickle on it. Now you might be thinking 'Ya okay Nicole we all love pickles but on a SALAD?' To which I say you HAVE to try it! If you've tried this dill pickle salad from costco you know what I'm talking about!

I discovered my love of pickles on salads when I ordered a salad at Subway. For those of you that don't know they have such good chopped salads. I didn't know what to put on the salad so I just put all of my regular sandwich toppings. I hesitated when I got to the pickles but decided to go for it and WOW. I never turned back... dill pickle salad is my new thing and it will be yours yours too.

I've always loved a good chopped salad. There's just something about all the vegetables being perfectly bite sized pieces that makes a chopped salad better than a regular old boring salad. The problem is I'm lazy and HATE chopping veggies. BUT I have finally found the secret to making the perfect restaurant quality chopped salad.... THE MEZZALUNA (or as I like to call it... the secret salad chopper)

What is a Mezzaluna and why do I need it?

A mezzaluna is the SECRET to the absolutely perfect chopped salad. You know those salads you spend way too much money on at your daily lunch spot? The ones with the veggies chopped up super small, with the perfect amount of dressing that convince you salads can actually taste good. Well the mezzaluna is secret to helping you say goodbye to $15 salads.

A mezzaluna is a knife consisting of one or more curved blades with a handle on each end. By rocking the blade back and forth it's a super simple way to chop up veggies into small pieces without all the hassle. This means that it can help create the perfectly chopped salad in the comfort of your own home. So say goodbye to overpriced salads and hello to the mezzaluna. PS. this is similar to the one I have and love it!

What Ingredients do I need for Crunchy Chopped Dill Pickle Salad?

This recipe is really just for the dressing so the base and toppings are completely up to you! Here's a little run down of how I create my perfect salad:

Salad base- Kale, romaine, iceberg, cabbage, spinach- the choice is yours! I love iceberg or kale in a chopped salad but this is totally personal preference.

Chopped veggies of choice- Choose your go-to toppings. I like to add lots of cucumbers, red peppers, broccoli, onions and tomatoes if I have them!

Crushed tortillas- For a little crunch! I don't know what it is but I love having some sort of crunchy topping on my salads. It just makes them seem less bland? You can use any sort of crackers, seasoned toasted bread or tortillas (or even chopped almonds!) you have on hand just crush them a little with your hands before adding them to the salad. I also LOVE these salad toppers so much!

PICKLES- You can't have a dill pickle salad without pickles! The dressing of this salad has chopped pickles and pickle brine but I also like to add a few chopped pickles directly into the salad as well!

Spices- For this dressing you will need dried dill, onion powder and garlic powder!

Nutritional Yeast- For a little touch of cheesiness. For those of you who may not know nutritional yeast is a nutritional super food. Not only is it one of the only plant-based sources of vitamin B12 it also provides a rich cheesy flavour to dishes! Note that if you are not following a dairy-free diet you can substitute this with parmesan cheese for the same results!

Yogurt- The key ingredient to a creamy salad dressing. I personally love the tang of plain greek yogurt with the saltiness of the pickles. I have never tried to make this with any substitution as I find greek yogurt has the perfect thickness, I'm sure any yogurt would work but if you try please let me know how it goes!

Water- Add as much water as you want! Everyone prefers a different dressing thickness so I'd recommend adding the water by the teaspoon, stirring and assessing the thickness.

PS. if you like this salad you'll love my air fryer crispy brussel sprouts!!

I always love seeing my recipes in action! If you make this dill pickle salad don't forget to tag my on Instagram- @nourishedbynic or a leave a comment below letting me know how they turned out!

📖 Recipe