If you’re someone who can’t resist fishing the last pickle out of the jar, this dill pickle and mustard seed cream cheese spread is about to become your newest obsession. It’s briny, salty, and gloriously creamy, with a nice pop from its pickle juice-soaked yellow mustard seeds. Really, it’s pretty much everything you could ever wish for in a snack. Whether you slather it on a toasted bagel, tuck it into a ham or turkey sandwich, or spread it on crackers for a quick snack, you’ll want to keep this recipe close by for every snack attack, party platter, or game-day emergency that comes your way.
Pickle fans rejoice. With this recipe, you can have a super-simple appetizer on pretty much any ol’ day of the week. As long as you’ve got a block of cream cheese and a jar of dill pickles in your fridge, this cream cheese spread is just waiting to happen. And yeah, y’all, B.O.B. Bob and I did totally stand at our kitchen counter this week, scarfing down this cream cheese spread on crackers while waiting for the oven to preheat so we could actually make a “real” dinner. A “real” dinner consisting of chicken nuggets, carrot sticks, radishes, green olives, and a sliced apple. Because yes, our dishwasher is still broken, and no, I don’t feel like washing dishes by hand for the umpteenth million time this week. So until that sucker is working again, you better believe that a lot of our meals will be of the appetizer-slash-snack “real” dinner variety. Honest review of this dill pickle-and-mustard-seed cream cheese spread? While the spread was tasty on Original Wheat Thins, it was even better on Sociables Baked Savory Crackers. The Wheat Thins were a tad too salty when paired with the already salty cheese spread. My favorite, though? This spread, liberally slathered onto halved radishes. Oh, my, my; so freaking good. Next up? White bread sandwiches with thinly shaved ham and this cream cheese spread in place of mayonnaise. Yup, you can bet your bottom dollar that’s gonna be happening this week.
Ingredients:
- 2 Teaspoons Yellow Mustard Seeds
- 2 Tablespoons Dill Pickle Juice
- 1 (8-oz.) Block Cream Cheese, Softened
- 3/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Dill Weed
- 1/2 Cup Dill Pickles, Finely Diced
Directions:
- Place the yellow mustard seeds and the dill pickle juice in a tiny bowl. Allow to soak for at least 4 hours.
- After the yellow mustard seeds have soaked for at least 4 hours, in a medium glass bowl, use a hand mixer or a spatula to blend the cream cheese, pepper, garlic powder, and dried dill until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Fold in the dill pickle juice-soaked yellow mustard seeds and 3/4 of the finely diced dill pickles.
- Spoon into a small serving bowl and garnish with the remaining finely diced dill pickles.
Suggestions:
- Soaking the seeds for at least 4 hours will ensure that they absorb some of the pickle juice and plump up nicely.
- I used Claussen Kosher Dill Sandwich Slices for this recipe. I suggest using dill pickles from your store’s refrigerator section instead of shelf-stable dill pickles. They are crunchier and have a much better texture.
- Serve this cream cheese spread with crackers. Since this spread already has quite a bit of salt, you may want to pair it with low-sodium crackers.
- Use this spread on bagels or on ham or turkey sandwiches.
- For quick tea sandwiches, spread this cream cheese between slices of white bread, cut off and discard the crusts, and then cut the sandwiches into triangles.
Improvements:
- Add a 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder to the cream cheese spread.
- For a spicy kick, mix a teaspoon or two of hot sauce into the cream cheese.
- Use zesty dill pickles instead of traditional dill pickles.
- Garnish this cream cheese spread with a sprinkle of poppy or sesame seeds, or dried minced onion or garlic. You could also use everything bagel seasoning, just keep in mind that it contains a lot of salt and may make the spread too salty.
Ingredients:
- 2 Teaspoons Yellow Mustard Seeds
- 2 Tablespoons Dill Pickle Juice
- 1 (8-oz.) Block Cream Cheese, Softened
- 3/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Dill Weed
- 1/2 Cup Dill Pickles, Finely Diced
Directions:
- Place the yellow mustard seeds and the dill pickle juice in a tiny bowl. Allow to soak for at least 4 hours.
- After the yellow mustard seeds have soaked for at least 4 hours, in a medium glass bowl, use a hand mixer or a spatula to blend the cream cheese, pepper, garlic powder, and dried dill until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Fold in the dill pickle juice-soaked yellow mustard seeds and 3/4 of the finely diced dill pickles.
- Spoon into a small serving bowl and garnish with the remaining finely diced dill pickles.
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