Ditalini Pasta Salad Recipe

Ditalini Pastai Salad is a very refreshing, delicious, and awesome salad.  My family loves this Ditalini Pasta Salad!

Fantastic pasta salad to take to a barbecue or pot luck to share with your family and friends.  Please give it a try!  With the fresh lemon juice and zest, it has a light and slightly tangy taste.  The addition of sweet basil gives a nice summer twist.   Also try it with fresh grilled corn kernels added or get creative with your favorite salad ingredients!

Ditalini pasta is also know as macaroni pasta.  It is an Italian pasta with a smooth or ridged tube that are bout as long as they are wide.  The name in Italian means, “Little Thimbles.”  If you can not find ditalini pasta, you can substitute elbow macaroni.  This pasta is normally used in soup, but it works extremely well in this type of salt.  By the way, children love this pasta and will ask for seconds.

This delicious Ditalini Pasta Salad recipe and photo were shared with my by Karen Calanchini, Food Stylist and Photographer, of Redding, CA.

Ditalini Pastai Salad in a glass bowl garnished with slices of hard boiled eggs

Pasta Hints and Tips, Pasta Recipes, and more delicious Salad and Salad Dressing Recipes.

Ditalini Pasta Salad Recipe:
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Ditalini Pasta Salad Recipe
Servings: 2 to 3 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Ditalini pasta, dried
  • 2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
  • 1 rib celery with leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup peas, frozen
  • 4 to 5 sweet basil leaves
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice and zest from 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • Red pepper flakes to taste
  • 1/8 to 1/4 cup mayonnaise, as preferred
  • Coarse salt or sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 hard boiled egg, sliced (for garnish)
  • Basil sprigs (for garnish)
Instructions
  1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.  In a colander, rinse the cooked macaroni with cold water, drain briefly so that the macaroni remains moist, and place in a large bowl.  Learn How To Cook Pasta Properly.

  2. Add the red onion, celery, and peas; mixing well.  Gently fold in basil leaves.

  3. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, Dijon mustard, garlic, paprika, red pepper, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.  Adjust seasonings to your preference.  I prefer to dress my salads lightly, taste, and then adjust the amount of dressing needed.

  4. Add the dressing to the salad ingredients, gently mix to combine.  Taste and adjust salt and pepper (if needed) to your taste.

  5. Place the prepared salad in a pretty serving dish, garnish with egg slices and a sweet basil sprig, if you desire.

  6. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

  7. Makes 2 to 3 servings.

Comments and Reviews

One Response to “Ditalini Pasta Salad Recipe”

  1. Madeline

    Hi,
    I made your recipe published here, with only a few changes not because I wanted to but because I didnt have the ingrentients (I used miracle whip instead of mayo and no garlic) – I got to say, I loved your recipe. I am bookmarking it to save it and make it at a future date.
    Thanks for sharing.

    P.s. Next time I will make sure to have mayo, I am sure it will be a lot better.

    Thank you

    Reply

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