Easy Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe

Cold tuna pasta salad recipe is quick and easy, making it ideal for busy days. Enjoy this light and refreshing creamy pasta salad as a meal or side dish. The combination of tender pasta, tuna, crispy vegetables, and a creamy dressing, makes this a crowd-pleaser for any occasion.

This versatile recipe is perfect for a simple lunch, picnics, or a delicious dish for that summer BBQ. Creamy tuna pasta salad is a delightful blend of flavors and textures in every bite. That is sure to be a crowd pleasing hit or a new family favorite pasta dish.

Why This Creamy And Flavorful Pasta Dish Will Win You Over

You'll love this easy tuna salad recipe for its simple ingredients and effortless preparation. Making it a go-to dish for busy days or a great take-along for picnics or summer cookouts.

The combination of tender pasta, tuna, and crispy veggies, which are all coated in creamy dressing. Perfect to serve along grilled meats or enjoyed on its own.

Customize this easy pasta recipe to your liking by adjusting the ingredients used. By adding in fresh herbs or squeezing a bit of lemon juice in for a bright and tangy note to the dressing. This tuna pasta salad will be an enjoyable addition to any meal.

Ingredients Needed

Here are all the simple ingredients and what they do for this delicious cold pasta salad recipe. And any possible substations that can be made.

• Medium Shell Pasta is what brings the surface and structure to the pasta salad, which allows the dressing to coat each piece. While the inner part of the shell hides bits of tuna and the veggies. It also adds to the texture aspect of the salad recipe. As a replacement for the medium shells, you could use macaroni noodles, bow tie, or rotini pasta.
• Canned White Tuna that's packed in water adds protein and added flavor to this pasta salad. Water-packed tuna blends well with the creamy dressing creating a balanced taste. You can opt for canned tuna fish packed in vegetable oil. Not a tuna fan, swap out the tuna for shrimp, or even use chicken instead.
• Celery adds that crunch factor and texture to the tuna pasta salad. You could replace the celery with red bell pepper, green pepper, cucumber, or fennel.
• Red Onion adds a sharp and slightly pungent flavor that goes nicely with all the other ingredients. You could substitute it with white onion, sweet onion, green onions, or leave it out.
• Thawed frozen peas introduce a sweet, fresh burst of flavor that complements the tuna. Additionally, they enhance the salad's nutritional profile. If you prefer, you can substitute the frozen peas with fresh peas, edamame, asparagus tips, or chopped green beans.
• Mayonnaise is part of what makes up the creamy dressing that coats this delicious pasta salad. You could replace the mayo with miricle whip if you like or use our homemade avocado oil mayo recipe.
• Greek Yogurt mixed with the mayo adds that creaminess to the pasta salad. The Greek yogurt can be replaced with sour cream or more mayonnaise.
• Salt and black pepper add to the overall flavor profile of the recipe which helps to bring all the ingredients together. Some great replacements or even additions to go along with the salt and pepper would be fresh dill, garlic powder, chili flakes, red pepper, or celery salt.

How To Make

Making this tuna pasta salad recipe is easy, start by cooking the pasta according to the back of the package. While the pasta is cooking mix together the mayonnaise and Greek yogurt in a small bowl, set aside.

Once the pasta has fully cooked rinse under cold water to help cool the pasta down before adding into the salad.

Into a large bowl add in the chopped celery, red onion, thawed peas, the cooked pasta, and chunk light tuna that has the water drained from it. Add in the mayo mixture, salt, and pepper then stir everything together until well combined.

Cover the large mixing bowl with plastic and place in the fridge, allow the tuna pasta salad to chill for 30 minutes. Then serve and enjoy.

Questions Answered

Answering questions about this easy recipe and providing some tips about this easy pasta salad recipe.

When it comes to cooking the pasta, I like to cook it in a large pot of lightly salted water. The salt helps to enhance the flavor of the pasta. Be careful not to overcook the pasta. We don't want it mushy, we want it al dente so it can maintain its texture. I will also add a touch of olive oil to the water to help keep the pasta from sticking together.

We also wanna make sure we cool that cooked pasta down before adding it into the tuna salad. Simply do this by rinsing the cooked pasta under cold water.

The longer cold tuna pasta salad sits in the fridge the pasta will soak up the dressing. If you want it extra creamy increase the amount of mayo and Greek yogurt used.

Remember to allow the tuna pasta salad to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow all the ingredients to blend together. Skipping this part can result in a less flavorful salad.

When it comes to the green peas you will want to make sure they are thawed before using in the salad. As the peas thaw they will add water to the salad causing the dressing to separate and become runny.

More Cold Pasta Salads

If you enjoyed this easy tuna pasta salad then you may enjoy one of these other salad recipes that are perfect as a side dish or main dish.