Bacon Wrapped Pickle Dip Recipe

This is the dip for you if you want to make something that will be gone before the chips are gone! With three ingredients and twenty minutes of actual prep work, this dip recipe gets consistently requested and will always be the bowl that gets scraped at the gathering!

I’ve made this for all types of gatherings — summer backyard games, football Sundays, Christmas appetizer tables — and it never lasts long. It isn’t because it looks fancy. It’s because the salty, briny, creamy combo is really hard to stop eating once you start.

Cream cheese is the base. Kosher dill pickles add a sharp, garlicky flavor that contrasts the richness of the dip. Crispy bacon contributes crunch and smokiness to round out the flavor. Serve with crackers, bagel chips, celery sticks, or go for a spoon if no one is watching.

Why This One Gets Scraped Clean

• Three ingredients you can find anywhere. Bacon, cream cheese, kosher dills. Nothing obscure, nothing that needs a specialty store.
• The texture contrast does the work. Thick, cool cream cheese — crispy bacon bits — firm crunch of dill pickle in every scoop. It is genuinely interesting to eat.
• Better after it sits. Make it in the morning, serve it in the afternoon, and it is noticeably better. The pickle brine and bacon flavor settle into the cream cheese and the whole thing tastes more cohesive than a freshly mixed batch.
• Travels without drama. This is a bowl of cold cream cheese. It holds its shape, does not need to be kept warm, and does not fall apart after sitting out for an hour.
• No cooking required beyond the bacon. Everything else is just chop and stir.

The One Step That Keeps It from Getting Watery

Although this dip is simple, there is one thing that will turn it from great to a puddle of brine by serving time.

Be sure to dry your pickles before adding them in! After kosher dill pickles are chopped, they start to release a lot of liquid (brine). If you don’t do this step, moisture will combine with the cream cheese and the dip will be watery by the time you bring it to the table. It literally takes 5 minutes, but if you need a reason, this will actually impact the end result. Grab your baby dills, lay them on a paper towel, and pat them dry.

Another tip is to use whipped cream cheese instead of the block kind. Block cream cheese needs to be at room temperature and then is mixed until smooth to properly combine. Whipped cream cheese strirs in much easier. When you are already trying to handle a spread of party food, that makes a real difference.

Furthermore, make sure the bacon is fully crispy, not just cooked. It should snap when broken. Undercooked bacon will dissolve into the cream cheese in less than an hour, and you lose all the crunch that makes this dip worth making.

What You Need (Three Things)

This is a standard serving bowl portion and should be plenty for six to eight people. If you need more, simply scale it up directly.

Bacon

About 1/3 pound — four to five strips. Regular cut is fine. Thick cut gives you bigger pieces which is nice but adds a few minutes to the oven time. Do not use pre-cooked package bacon. The texture is wrong to begin with and it never gets crispy enough to hold up in the dip.

Whipped Cream Cheese

Two 8-ounce tubs of plain whipped cream cheese. The brand does not matter too much. Philadelphia is good, but any store brand in a tub is fine. For your first time, stick with plain. Flavored varieties can throw off the balance because everything else you need is already in the recipe.

Kosher Baby Dill Pickles

About eight baby dills. Baby dills are the best option here as they are crunchier than full-size spears and easier to cut into small, uniform pieces. If you only have full-size dill spears, use three to four. Taste as you go — the more pickles added, the more brine flavor, and people have different tolerances for that.

You want to go with kosher dill pickles. Bread and butter pickles are way too sweet and will throw off the entire flavor profile. You need the sharp and garlicky bite of a kosher dill for this to work.

How to Make Bacon Wrapped Pickle Dip

Step 1: Cook the Bacon Until Fully Crispy

You can cook the bacon in any way, but cooking it in the oven will be the easiest method. Set the oven to 400°F. Once it’s heated, place the bacon on a rimmed baking sheet and leave it for 15 to 18 minutes. Just watch it closely towards the end. Bacon can go from finished to being burnt in just a couple minutes. We are looking for a dark brown color and it should snap easily when you break a piece.

A skillet will work if that is what you want to use too. The goal in either case is to be fully crispy — not soft, not chewy.

Step 2: Let It Cool, Then Chop Small

Before chopping, let the bacon cool on the paper towel, as hot bacon will shred instead of cut. After a few minutes go ahead and chop the bacon into pieces with a sharp knife. Aim for about 1/4 inch. The smaller the pieces you chop, the better, as bigger pieces will make it hard to cleanly scoop the bacon with a cracker.

Step 3: Dry the Pickles, Then Chop Them

To begin, place your baby dills on a paper towel and then, pat them dry. After that, chop your dills to about the same size and your bacon pieces. If you have full-sized spears, you will want to cut them in half lengthwise first and then chop across. If you want uniform pieces, you’ll make sure each cracker scoop gets and both pickle and bacon, rather than one big chunk of just one or the other.

Step 4: Mix Everything Together

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the two containers of whipped cream cheese with the chopped bacon and pickles. Mix until all ingredients have been integrated and the dip is uniform in consistency.

As it starts, it will appear streaky, but don’t worry. Keep stirring it. Once the white lumps are gone, and the pieces of bacon and pickles have been evenly distributed, you can stop.

Step 5: Taste It on a Cracker

Taste everything before serving. If you want more dill flavor, chop another dill and stir it in. If it tastes a little flat, toss in a very small pinch of salt. Between the bacon and the pickle juice, it’s probably salty enough. This may vary depending on your brands.

Step 6: Refrigerate If You Have Time

While you can serve it right away, if this is for a party, please refrigerate it for an hour or two first. Refrigerating it helps the flavors meld. It creates the whole dish to taste like a single dip instead of just a bowl of ingredients.

If this is for a get together, put this together in the morning, and pull it out when you’re ready to set the table.

Small Things That Actually Change the Result

• Reserve some bacon for the top. Sprinkle a few pieces on the surface before serving. It looks better and signals to people what is in the dip before they pick up a cracker.
• Chop consistently. Big uneven pickle chunks make this hard to scoop with a thin cracker. Aim for pieces small enough to stay on the cracker without rolling off.
• Stir before you set it out. Even well-drained pickles release a little liquid over time. A quick stir before it goes on the table brings it back together.
• Pull it out of the fridge 15 minutes early. Cold cream cheese is dense and harder to scoop. A short rest at room temperature softens it just enough to make a difference.

What to Scoop This With

Crackers

My usual picks for crackers include Ritz, Club Crackers, and Wheat Thins. I like thinner crackers because they scoop cleaner and don’t break off and drop everything. For that reason, Ritz are my favorite.

Bagel Chips

Rugged and durable, they can carry a generous portion of cream cheese without breaking. An excellent choice if you’re looking for something more filling per bite.

Pretzel Crisps

The salt and seasoning on pretzel crisps complement the dill and bacon perfectly. If you prefer more flavor contrast in every bite, this is the one to try.

Celery Sticks

It’s great to have these crackers as a lighter option on the table. The crunch complements the dip’s texture. Plus, it gives guests more variety.

As a Sandwich Spread

My favorite way to use leftovers is to spread it on one side of a turkey or ham sandwich instead of using mayo. When my husband discovered this on day two, he monopolized the entire container. I deem that a success.

Four Ways to Change It Up

Chive and Onion Cream Cheese

Replace one of the original tubs with the chive-and-onion whipped cream cheese. The delicate cream cheese’s onion flavor works well with the kosher dills, and adds complexity without altering the essence of the dip.

Ranch Seasoning

Adding a teaspoon of dry ranch seasoning brings some herby depth without overpowering the dish. That’s why it is a common addition — it works every time!

Shredded Sharp Cheddar

A half-cup of shredded sharp cheddar will give the dish added bulk and some tang that compliments the pickle nicely. Good option if you are serving this as the primary snack and not one of many dishes on the table.

Spicy Version

Incorporate small amounts of hot sauce or some minced pickled jalapeños. Make sure to start with less because the spiciness will increase. You are able to add more but cannot remove it.

Making It Ahead — Which Is Actually the Better Move

Make It the Day Before

Prepare the dip and then cover it securely – it needs to chill in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, the pickle brine, along with the bacon flavors, will have seeped into the cream cheese and the dip will taste more integrated. Some of these recipes improve with age, and this one is genuinely better after a day.

How Long It Keeps

Bacon can be kept in the refrigerator for 4 days., but will become less crunchy with time. If crunch is important, save some fresh bacon and add it just before serving.

Can You Freeze It

Cream cheese doesn’t freeze well it separates and turns grainy when it thaws so make it fresh or refrigerate it for up to four days This is a recipe that is not meant for the freezer

What to Do With Leftovers

Spread it on a bagel in the morning. Use it as a sandwich spread with turkey or ham. I have also stirred a spoonful into scrambled eggs — sounds strange, but my teenagers finished the entire pan without a complaint. The teenagers were skeptical until it was gone.

Bacon Wrapped Pickle Dip FAQ

Can I use regular block cream cheese instead of whipped?

Yes, but let it sit out first. When the block cream cheese is cold it is also stiff which makes it difficult to mix until it is smooth. Give it about 30 to 45 minutes to sit out, then you should be able to mix it smooth with a hand mixer before you add anything else. Whipped cream cheese does do all of that — which is why I use it.

Why does my dip get watery?

Pickles: When you chop kosher dill pickles, they start releasing brine. To prevent this, dry them on paper towels before chopping. If your dip is watery when you take it out of the fridge, drain the liquid that has pooled, and stir vigorously; it will come back together.

How much pickle is the right amount?

Eight baby dills adds a nice pickle presence with out overpowering the cream cheese. If you’re a pickle fan, feel free to add two or three more. If you want to be on the safe side, start with six and then taste before adding more.

Can I make this without bacon?

You can, but that’s now pickle cream cheese dip. For a meatless option, smoked paprika adds a nice smokiness, and chopped green onion adds a little bite. It’s still good. It’s just not this.

How long before serving should I take it out?

This will take about 15 minutes. Cold cream cheese is thicker and harder to scoop, so it will take longer for you to get it out of the container. Please do not let it sit out at room temperature for more than two hours.

Can I double the recipe?

Correct it scales directly. For a large batch, set some of the bacon aside and stir it in right before serving so it remains crispier for a longer time.

Other Things That Get Scraped Clean at a Party

• Easy Refrigerator Pickles — If you want to make the pickles that go into this dip yourself, this is the recipe. Ready in 24 hours, no canning required.
• Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies — Another bacon-forward appetizer that disappears fast. Sweet, smoky, and easy to make ahead.
• Crab Dip with Cream Cheese — Same scoop-it-with-a-cracker energy, different flavor. A good option if you want two dips on the table.

Give me a shout-out in the comments if you paired the dip with something other than bagel chips or crackers!