Ditalini
See why tiny ditalini belongs in pasta e ceci, pasta e fagioli and brothy dishes, with small-macaroni substitutes.
- Format
- Very short narrow tubes that fit easily on a spoon.
- Surface and bite
- Small but firm, releasing useful starch into broth.
How to recognise ditalini.
Ditalini consists of tiny, smooth tubes cut roughly as long as they are wide—little pasta thimbles small enough to eat with a spoon.
It is a dried durum-wheat semolina pasta designed to cook evenly in soup, broth and legume dishes.
Ditalini means little thimbles and appears in soup and legume dishes across several Italian regions.
Small but firm, releasing useful starch into broth.
Cook directly in broth when thickening is wanted, stirring often near the end.
Why the geometry matters.
The tiny hollow pieces distribute through beans and broth instead of dominating them, and their released starch gently thickens one-pot soups.
- Pasta e fagioli
- Pasta e ceci
- Vegetable soup
Do not confuse it with…
Ditalini vs Macaroni
Elbow macaroni is curved and substantially larger; ditalini is straight and very short.
Ditalini vs Broken spaghetti
Broken spaghetti works in soup but has no hollow centre and a different bite.
See the broken spaghetti guide →Famous dishes
- Pasta e Fagioli
- Pasta e Ceci