On the cusp of potluck season, with another year of mostly outdoor gatherings on the horizon, a recent viral TikTok video seems like a strong candidate for this summer's trendiest dish: pickle pasta salad. The only thing cooler than this easy pantry recipe might just be that in the five days since the video on how to make it posted, it earned about two and a half million views, and even got a comment from Lizzo, whose music plays over the directions.
It's not necessarily a groundbreaking dish — after all, midwestern moms have been stirring pickles into creamy pasta and serving it for picnics and football games for ages. But the timing just hit the crowd hard: Everybody is clearly ready to start thinking about dishes that signify the sunshine season is here, and the simplicity of the recipe helps make it that much more enticing.
To make the pickle pasta salad, as per the video and Lizzo's blessing, you cook a box of noodles, then strain and rinse the cooked pasta with cold water. Stir in pickle juice, chopped dill pickles, diced onion, and cubed cheese. Whip up a quick dressing of mayonnaise, sour cream, more pickle juice, fresh dill, and salt and pepper. Toss everything together to combine, gather your friends, and get excited for the beginning of outdoor entertaining season. Because, in the words of the video's soundtrack and most famous commenter, it's About Damn Time.
