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This Tuna Pasta Salad is about to become a new family favourite! From start to finish, it takes less than 15 minutes. It is incredibly healthy – full of tuna and fresh vegetables and great for bbqs.
Recipe Difficulty – Very Easy
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
Tuna pasta salad with mayo is the perfect meal or side dish for warm weather. Bring this easy tuna pasta salad to your next barbecue or potluck and impress all of your neighbours and friends with it’s flavor.
Healthy tuna pasta salad may seem like quite the contradiction, but this recipe truly is! Despite having some mayonnaise in it, the tuna and veggies make for quite a healthy dish! Tuna is incredibly good for you, boasting many health benefits.
Another great thing about this tuna sweetcorn pasta salad is how easy it is! Basically, it is just a matter of cooking up the noodles and combining the rest of the ingredients. This was inspired by my Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad recipe and pairs well with this amazing Easy Grilled Salmon Burgers recipe.
Ingredients to make Тuna Pasta Salad
- Pasta – I used gluten-free Conchiglie noodles, but any small or medium noodles will be great. For another 15 minute pasta try my Sun Dried Tomato Pasta.
- Mayo – makes for a deliciously creamy sauce. I have opted for a vegan one but if you can tolerate eggs then go for normal mayo.
- Lemon – is used for the fresh lemon juice.
- Celery Stalks – are a great low calorie addition that give a great crunch.
- Cucumber – brings a great fresh taste to this salad.
- Red Bell Pepper – brings a bright colour with a sweet taste.
- Fresh Parsley – gives a nice clean and peppery taste.
- Sweetcorn – Corn gives a great sweetness to this salad.
- Canned Tuna – is the star of this dish and adds protein.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Pasta – you could use any pasta shape such as rotini or farfalle.
- Mayo – You could use Greek yogurt in place of mayo. If you want more of a Mediterranean tuna salad, you could use olive oil to make a lighter dressing.
- Vegetables – You can substitute or add the vegetables per your preferences and what you have on hand. Some other good options are spinach, sun dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or frozen peas.
Variations
- Spicy – Add some sriracha to the dressing for a nice kick or even a spoon of dijon mustard into the mayo sauce.
- Deluxe – Bring this pasta tuna salad up a notch by adding some more toppings. You could try tomato, red onion, broccoli, apple, or grapes. You could also add some feta cheese on top or fresh herbs such as dill or basil.
- Kid friendly – One way to make this more appetizing to kids is to use a pasta shape they’re familiar with. Whether that is macaroni, shells, or another pasta. You can also cater the vegetables to their tastes.
See this warm version of this Tuna Pasta recipe on my website!
How to make Тuna Pasta Salad
Step 1: Firstly, add the pasta to a large pot of salted boiling water. Cook until al dente per package instructions.
Step 2: While the pasta boils, roughly chop the celery, cucumber, and pepper into similar size pieces. Finely dice the fresh parsley.
Step 3: Prepare the dressing in a small bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 4: Drain the pasta and run under a cold tap to make the pasta cold. Transfer to an extra large bowl.
Step 5: Add the chopped celery, pepper, cucumber, chopped parsley, tinned sweetcorn (drained), tinned tuna (drained), pour in the mayonnaise dressing along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss well to combine.
Hint: Feel free to enjoy straight away or allow the flavours to mix together and refrigerate until the next day.
Leftovers
Leftover tuna salad with pasta will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container. Just give it a good stir before eating.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can, though the quality of it depends on a few things. Oil-based pastas freeze much better than creamy or mayo based pastas. Al dente pasta will also hold together better.
Yes. Rinsing the pasta helps to cool it down and allow the noodles to stay separated rather than clumping together while it slowly cools. It also helps to rinse the starch off the pasta.
It’s up to you! Pasta salad can be enjoyed right away, but some people prefer to wait up to a day to enjoy it so the dressing can soak into the pasta better.
There could be a few reasons for this. For pasta salad, it is important to cook pasta al dente. If you cook it too much, it can become mushy more easily. It is also important to rinse the pasta after draining. This will cool it down and rinse off the starch, both of which help to prevent it from being mushy.
More Easy Salad Recipes
- Tofu Salad
- Courgette Salad
- Prawn Salad
- Chicken Satay Salad
- Aubergine Salad
- Three Bean Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Rocket Salad
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Тuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 400 g pasta, (I used gluten-free Conchiglie)
- 150 g mayonaise, I used vegan)
- ½ juice lemon
- 3 celery stalks
- ½ cucumber
- 1 red bell pepper
- Handfull fresh parsley
- 1 165g can sweetcorn
- 2 225g canned tuna, (in water, brine or oil)
Instructions
- Add the pasta to salted boiling water and cook until al dente (roughly 8 minutes, depending on pasta shape).
- Roughly chop the celery, cucumber, pepper into similar size pieced and finely dice the fresh parsley.
- Prepare the dressing in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Drain the pasta and run under a cold tap to help cool the pasta faster and transfer to an extra large bowl.
- Finally, add the chopped celery, pepper, cucumber, chopped parsley, tinned sweetcorn (drained), tinned tuna (drained) and the mayonnaise dressing along with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well to combine.
It was gorgeous – will definitely make this at the next bbq (I think I might add mustard next time too)
Thanks so much Jo 🙂
I haven’t tried this yet but, it looks and sounds delicious! Will be making it tomorrow
Enjoy 🙂 let me know what you think!
Hi is this ok to make with quinoa instead of pasta to reduce the carbs. Thanks
Hey Sandra, yeah sure go for it!