When I saw the Ditalini pasta going viral I knew I had to jump on the trend. What I love about this recipe is that it’s all done in one pot! You won’t even have to drain the pasta. The flavor profile of the sauce is similar to my fettucini alfredo: garlic, heavy whipping cream and parmesan cheese. Instead of boiling the pasta in water and draining, it gets cooked in chicken stock. Just enough chicken stock is added so it all gets absorbed by the pasta. Following the chicken stock, heavy whipping cream gets added to give creaminess and enough liquid for the parmesan cheese to melt into.
While the ingredients are the same, the taste of the ditallini comes out totally different than fettucini alfredo. Probably because so much of the flavor is soaked into the pasta itself as opposed to sitting all on top. The shape of the pasta is starkly different than fettucini as well. Ditalini literally means “little thimbles” in Italian. Tiny cylinders of pasta that can be scooped with a spoon into your mouth. That’s something else I love about it; how scoopable it is! I feel the same way about a chopped salad.
This viral Ditalini pasta can be ready in ten minutes start to finish. This is a perfect weeknight meal between carpool and kids’ practices. It can also be a perfect compliment to a protein like crispy chicken with lemon garlic cream sauce or my Italian Skillet Chicken.
Viral Ditalini Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 oz Ditalini pasta (1 box)
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 32 oz chicken stock (1 box)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
- 1 c parmesan cheese grated
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
Instructions
- Heat butter just under medium heat in a pan. Add minced garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.
- Add the pasta to the pan, stir and coat the pieces in the butter and garlic.
- Add chicken stock and 1 tsp kosher salt and turn the heat to high, once it reaches a rolling boil, lower heat to medium. Stir often to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Once most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 7 minutes, add the heavy whipping cream. Stir and cook a few minutes.
- Once most of the heavy whipping cream has been absorbed add parmesan cheese, black pepper and dried parsley. Stir and once the cheese has melted into the pasta serve immediately. Enjoy hot and fresh.