Dill Pickle Dip should only be called Dill Pickle Dip if it’s made with both dill pickles and fresh dill, and has a base of cream cheese – any other way is not worthy of the name. This dip is prepared with all of those things and is for the serious dill lover; it’s absolutely delicious!

I believe sauces, spreads, and dips make everything better. If the world could be smothered in a rich, savoury sauce; or in a cheesy, salty dip; then the world would be a better place! Maybe I’m the only one that fantasizes like that, but I’m okay with that; more dip for me! In fact, Dear Reader, I just can’t get enough of this Dill Pickle Dip!
It’s my mother’s fault. I grew up in a house where sauces and dips were the main. Well, not literally, but most certainly the highlight of some meals. My mother could make a sweet and sour meatball sauce or a red savoury chicken sauce that could put an end to wars!
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I live about a 90-minute drive away from my mother, and whenever I talk to her, which is usually every Saturday or Sunday, she’ll make mention of something saucy that she’s made, or she’ll wish that I could drop by and cook something for her. Since she’s been diagnosed with cancer for a second time, her chemo treatments sometimes rob her of the energy it takes to get into her kitchen and bake her favoured Barbequed Chicken – she makes the sauce from scratch, of course, which is what we talk about, because what’s so great about plain baked chicken? Nothing!
My mother passed her love of sauces on to me. Even on pasta dishes, I need to have extra sauce! That is where my love of dips must have stemmed from as well. Like this Dill Pickle Dip!

DILL PICKLE DIP ADDICTION
I swear – and if you tell anyone this, I’ll deny it – when I was in college, I must have spent thousands of dollars on that Philadelphia Cream Cheese Dill Pickle Dip stuff. I was addicted to it! There were many nights when that and a bag of chips was dinner. As I got older though, I lost my desire for the taste of store-bought dips. Homemade dips are the best! They are so much healthier and you get way more dip for the amount of money you’ll spend on store-bought.
Check out my Baked Goat Cheese Dip in Marinara Sauce, or my Cheddar Cheese Green Onion Dip, if warm or hot dips are more suited to your tastes! Or just stick around here and we’ll get right back to this Dill Pickle Dip, which is thick and dilly and cheesy and creamy and everything you need in life!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE
The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.
- Onion – Finely chop the onion so there are no larger pieces of onion floating around in your dip. You can omit the onion, but it really adds to the overall flavour.
- Ground Black Pepper
- Dill Pickles – Finely chop the pickles. If you don’t care for a chunky dip, you can puree it all once it’s mixed together.
- Cream Cheese – Brick cream cheese is best. It’s thicker and makes a creamier dip.
- Sour Cream – You can use full fat or a lighter version. The same can be applied to the cream cheese.
- Fresh Dill

CHUNKY OR SMOOTH – YOU CHOOSE
If you want, you can make a smooth version of this dip by placing all of the ingredients into a food processor. That’s up to you; for me, I prefer a chunkier dip. I want to taste and feel the diced dill pickle on my tongue. I want to bite into the pickles and feel the texture combined with my favourite dipper. When eating Dill Pickle Dip, I usually enjoy the dip with kettle chips, but it doesn’t have to be just chips.
This dip is thick and hearty. You can smear it on crackers too. Or, if you love the flavour of dill with fish – and you really should! – then substitute the tartar sauce for a generous helping of this dip. It’s soooooo good on fish!
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FRESH DILL VS DRIED
If you don’t have any fresh dill on hand but still want to make this Dill Pickle Dip, you can. Let me go on record right here and right now. Substituting dried dill will give you dill flavour, but it’s just not quite as good as fresh dill. The fresh dill is what makes this dip so extraordinary.
So, if you need to substitute fresh dill for dried dill, it’s easy to do. For this particular recipe, you need to use 1/4 cup of chopped fresh dill. That would be equal to four teaspoons. Fresh dill is obvious and there’s really no substitute for it. You can use dried dill if you’re in a bind. Dried dill is more pungent though, so you need to cut back on the amount you add to the recipe.
Also, while we’re talking about ingredients, I tend to like a thicker dip, so I will use regular cream cheese and 14% sour cream. If you are thinking in terms of low calories or fat content, or if you want a dip with a thinner consistency, try using fat-free cream cheese and 1% sour cream.

USE THE BEST DILL PICKLES
Pickles. The pickles are so important. Do not tempt yourself or persuade yourself to use knockoff brands of pickles. I’m not a pickle expert, by no means, but I know a good pickle when I taste one. Try to find Bick’s brand pickles. They are inexpensive and always yield a good flavour and result. We prefer Polski Ogorki and only ever buy that particular flavour of Bick’s dill pickles. Please, Dear Reader, trust me on this!
Some dills are too dilly, but if that floats your boat, get that kind! For us, there’s only one brand of dills that we buy and have never bought any other brand for the past 7 years. They’re the Bick’s Polskie Ogorki. They have just the right amount of dill-salt-garlic ratio and they’re always crunchy.
That’s about it. Dill Pickle Dip is absolutely delicious and I’m sure you’ll eat it all up. But, in case you don’t, you can easily store your leftovers in the fridge for up to three days. But, between now and then, with a few midnight jaunts to the fridge for a quick bite, I’m sure you’ll use it up way before then. Enjoy!

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Dill Pickle Dip
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons onion, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 whole jarred dill pickles, finely chopped
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sour cream, 14%
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
Instructions
- Add the cream cheese to a mixing bowl, and using a hand-held mixer, blend until cream and free of lumps.
- Add the sour cream and incorporate into the cream cheese.
- Set aside the hand-held mixer and use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Transfer the dip to a food-safe container with a lid and refrigerate for at least two hours to allow the flavours to fully marry together.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
Nutrition
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Michele @ Queenbeebaker says
This looks and sounds delicious!! We love dips in my house. Pinning it!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Michele. 🙂
Joan says
This is such a great dip and so very easy to make!! I took my cream cheese out of the fridge and while waiting for it to soften, I went over to your (Byron’s) Christmas recipes. I must have looked at over 40 dessert recipes. Oh my gosh! All of them are so worthy of trying. Your photography is outstanding…as if I was in a professional food-shoot studio for magazines or for publications. After 2 hours of reading delicious butter-filled recipes, I had to laugh at myself saying, “Am I really gonna go back to a dill pickle recipe after seeing all those desserts?” Well, I did and I’m glad I did. This dip is really good. Besides chips and crackers, I certainly can see this on a ham or roast beef sandwich. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you for sharing!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you so much, Joan. You really made my day! 🙂 That dill pickle dip is certainly worth going back to, right!?
Robin says
Love Philly Dill Pickle Dip, I miss it so much now I am in the US. I make a version of this as well, very similar except I add some garlic powder and a splash of Worcestershire. Yum!!
Elizabeth says
This dip is amazing! Made it as an app today and plan on using the leftovers tomorrow on homemade gyros. It is very similar to Tsatsiki sauce, except better bc PICKLES!!!
Thank you.
Dennis Cramer says
Oh boy…sorry, but what length of dill pickle? That for me is important to know!
By the way, you are a handsome bear!
Deanna says
I’m generally a skim the blog scroll down to the recipe kind of gal. You wooed me in. I was captured by your description. As I read, I started craving this dip; I swear I could taste it. While it was just barely 8 a.m. I was already room temping my cream cheese.
This dip is fabulous! I tried it on a cracker, then another cracker, and another cracker… I had to quickly get it into the refrigerator. The temptation is REAL with this dip.
My husband works from home, and we he came to the kitchen at 9:30 to refill his water I invited him to taste it. He’s a traditional guy, so the time frame for Dill Pickle Dip is a tad off, but yep, he loves it too!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Ha! I’m so happy to hear that, Deanna! Anytime is a good time for good food, right!? 🙂