Ensalada de coditos (elbow pasta salad with mayo) is easy to prepare, and everybody's favorite. This delicious dish is a perfect choice for BBQ or Christmas dinner. We present you here with the classic macaroni salad, as well as tuna, ham or vegan versions for you to choose your favorite.
Why we ❤️ it
Ensalada de coditos (elbow pasta salad with mayo) was always part of our family recipe repertoire, served on special occasions, and one of the salad choices at the Christmas feast and our potato salad.
This colorful, filling, creamy Dominican macaroni salad is one of my favorite pasta recipes.
Serving suggestions
We generally serve ensalada de coditos for lunch, but it's also great for parrilladas (cookouts).
Ensalada de coditos goes better with barbecued meats, as a side dish, or even as a hearty entree or to bring to a paseo. It is also a popular option for Christmas Eve dinner.
Ensalada de coditos (elbow pasta salad with mayo
About this recipe
There isn't one ensalada de coditos in our country; instead, each home will add and take out things, depending on taste and availability, but all these ingredients --save the paprika, my personal touch-- will almost certainly be present in most salads served at home.
Is there an ingredient you love in your ensalada de coditos? Let me know in the comments.
Recipe
[Recipe + Video] Ensalada de Coditos (Elbow Pasta Salad)
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoon salt, (or more, to taste), divided
- ½ pound macaroni, (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 york ham, [0.23 kg] diced into small cubes (optional, see notes)
Traditional Dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika, (optional)
Vegan/light dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
Instructions
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.
In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, carrots, bell pepper, onion, peas, corn, and ham.
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.
Serving and storing
Serve at room temperature, or cover and chill if it will be served later. Best if served within 6 hours.
Video
Tips and Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.
Classic elbow macaroni salad
This simple macaroni salad with peas, red bell peppers, sweet corn, and carrot is combined with as many ingredients as budget and family taste allows. Though always recognizable, each home will have its preferred combination.
Feel free to adapt the salad to your taste, but we've added the most common ingredients to our recipe.
Macaroni salad with tuna
One version of this salad that pops up often has tuna in it. You can substitute ham for a can of tuna in water (discard the liquid).
Healthy macaroni salad without mayo
As is often the case, we also try to find alternatives for people on special diets. We offer a vegan lighter dressing and you have the option to leave the ham out if you do not eat meat. This is a very forgiving dish, so it will work either way.
Top tips
Usually prepared with macaroni, you can use another type of short pasta for this dish.
You can use blanched frozen veggie mix for an easy, quick pasta salad. My preferred one is flashed-frozen veggies (thawed, of course), which are more nutritional than canned.
FAQs
You can cover tightly and keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours without much change in texture or flavor. For more extended periods (2 days), refrigerate without the mayonnaise and mix in the mayo shortly before serving.
Ensalada de codito is elbow pasta or macaroni salad in Spanish, and it's a Latin-style pasta salad.
Enalada de codito is made with boiled elbow pasta and mixed with vegetables and dressing, typically mayo.
Published Dec 21, 2010, and last revised
