Ensalada de Coditos [Video+Recipe] Elbow Pasta Salad

Ensalada de Coditos (Pasta Salad) is easy to prepare, and everybody's favorite. This delicious dish is a perfect choice for BBQ or Christmas dinner.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Dominican, Latino

Keyword classic macaroni salad, dominican ensalada de coditos, dominican macaroni, macaroni salad with peas, simple macaroni salad

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Total Time 35

Servings porciones

Calories 349kcal

Author Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

1½ tablespoon salt (or more, to taste), divided
½ pound macaroni (or penne or fusilli or similar short pasta) [0.23 kg]
1 large carrot diced and boiled
1 bell pepper diced into small cubes
1 medium red onion minced
½ cup sweet peas (from a can, see notes)
1 cup sweet corn (from a can, see notes)
½ pound cooked ham like york or similar [0.23 kg] diced into small cubes (optional, see notes)

Traditional Dressing

¼ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (optional)

Vegan/light dressing

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
¼ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)

Instructions

1. Boiling pasta

Heat ½ galon [2 liters] of water over medium-high heat in a large pot till it reaches a rolling boil, add a tablespoon of salt. Cook the pasta in the salted water a minute longer than instructed in the package, so you get pasta that is slightly softer than al-dente. Stir regularly to prevent it from sticking.
Drain water, and let the pasta cool to room temperature.

2. Combining ingredients

In a large bowl, combine pasta, carrots, bell pepper, onion, peas, corn, and ham.

3. Making dressing

⚠️ Classic mayo dressing:
Add mayo and paprika and stir to combine. Season it with salt to taste if needed.
⚠️ Vegan dressing:
If you want to add vegan dressing instead, whisk the vinegar into the olive oil in a separate bowl, followed by the mustard and pepper. Then combine this with the salad and season with salt if needed.

4. Serving and storing

Serve at room temperature, or cover and chill if it will be served later. Best if served within 6 hours.

Video

Notes

Leave ham out for a vegan salad. For a tuna pasta salad, you can switch the ham with a can of tuna in water, drained. Another choice is to add shredded supermarket rotisserie chicken instead.

Nutrition