Think of a Reuben sandwich, in dip form. Creamy and packed with briny pickles, smoky pastrami AND sharp gruyere, this lovely pickle dip will be the star of your next party spread. It takes less than 10 minutes to make and is PERFECT for entertaining. Serve with two-ingredient dough garlic flatbreads or crunchy baked pita chips.
I can’t believe how well this dip works. And I shouldn’t, because a creamy base, mixed with lots of pickles, pastrami, cheese, and garlic is a delicious combination and is always a good idea. I recently served this at a party with a spread of dips, and it was the one that was finished first!
This beauty of a dip is based on the viral Marks & Spencer New York Deli Pastrami Dip, but like my recreation of their iconic chicken Caesar dip, this version is even BETTER.
Much like the Caesar dip, the original consists of a cream cheese heavy base, and is topped with pickles, pastrami and Emmental cheese. But once you get past that top layer, you lose the ingredients you want the most. Here, I’ve mixed the pickles, pastrami, and cheese throughout the dip base itself, as well as scattered a generous amount on top. This way, every bite delivers all the flavor.
I’ve also lightened up the base by using protein-heavy cottage cheese as well as cream cheese. Even if you think you don’t like cottage cheese, you’ll love this. It whips up with the cream cheese into a gorgeously light and creamy consistency, a little like ricotta.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cottage cheese. I love using a mix of cottage cheese and cream cheese in the dip to lighten it up and cut through the richness. Even if you think you don’t like cottage cheese, I think you’ll like it here – when it’s blitzed up, it becomes super smooth and creamy (a little like ricotta) and works wonderfully with the other ingredients.
- Cream cheese. Regular or low-fat cream cheese is fine, just keep in mind that your dip will be a little more liquidy if you use low-fat (as it contains more water).
- Gruyere. I LOVE the strong flavor of this cheese, but you could swap it for cheddar or parmesan if you prefer.
- Chives. Swap these for scallions, flat-leaf parsley or dill if you like.
How to Make Creamy Pickle Dip
Add your cottage cheese, cream cheese, Dijon mustard, garlic, and a little salt to a food processor and blitz until super smooth and creamy. This will only take a couple of minutes – make sure you scrape down the sides so that everything is mixed well.
Transfer to a serving bowl, then mix through most of the chopped pickles, pastrami, grated gruyère, and chives. Scatter the rest on top, then serve.
Creamy Pickle Dip FAQs
Yes! It will keep well, for about four days, stored in the fridge.
You could use sour cream, mayo (or this homemade egg-free garlic aioli or egg-free Kewpie mayo), Greek yogurt or more cream cheese.
I LOVE it with fluffy two-ingredient dough flatbreads, soft garlic flatbreads, chili cheese no-knead focaccia, crunchy baked pita chips or crudites.
Watch How to Make Creamy Pickle Dip
Like this Recipe? Try these Easy Dips Next
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10 Minute Creamy Pickle Dip
Ingredients
Method
- Blitz the dip base.Add ½ cup cottage cheese, ½ cup cream cheese, garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard and ½ teaspoon of salt to the bowl of a food processor, or a blender. Blitz until super smooth and creamy – this will only take a couple of minutes.
- Add the mix-ins.Transfer the creamy base to a serving bowl, then add most of the chopped pickles, pastrami, chives and gruyere (keeping back enough to scatter over the top to serve). Mix them through the creamy base.
- Garnish and serve.Scatter the remaining pickles, pastrami, chives and gruyere on top, then finish with a sprinkling of chili flakes.
