Tuna Pasta Salad

Tuna Pasta Salad is an essential summertime dish. Perfect for get-togethers, or a quick lunch, it’s easy to make and so flavorful. Make this classic, wholesome dish ahead if you like, and easily size it up for a crowd, too!

Classic, Creamy Pasta Salad with Tuna!

Are you looking for the perfect tuna pasta salad recipe? When done right, tuna pasta salad is a perfectly chilled, refreshing, and even healthy summer dish. I like to bring this to potlucks and covered dish dinners. It goes with just about everything and is always so good!

My easy recipe uses solid white albacore tuna, plenty of crisp, crunchy celery and bell pepper, oodles of tender pasta, and a tangy, ranch-like dressing that you’ll love.

This Tuna Pasta Salad Is…

• Healthy: Skip the boxed pasta salads – making your own, with healthy ingredients that you can choose and customize to your liking, is just as easy.
• Filling: There’s lots to love in this simple tuna pasta salad, and with a base of flaked tuna and hearty pasta, it’s also a satisfying lunch or light dinner.
• Simple: No muss, no fuss – just a quick and easy recipe made from basic pantry ingredients you probably already have on hand.
• Refreshing: Cold pasta salad is a must-have for hot weather! Make dinner a picnic, literally, by bringing this cold, creamy salad outdoors and serving it with Watermelon Lemonade.

(If you are looking for my other tuna pasta salad with pickle relish and whole grain mustard, it’s right here: Creamy Tuna Macaroni Salad. Yum!)

The Ingredients You’ll Need

So what exactly will you need to whip up this tunafish pasta salad? Let’s take a look at the ingredients list. (Ingredients with amounts are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.) You will want to gather up:

• Pasta: I like to use rotini or fusilli pasta, but any shape will work! Elbows and shells are also a popular choice.
• Tuna: I like to use albacore tuna, flaked with a fork. 
• Boiled Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs are a must, in my book! Dice ‘em up and throw ‘em in. Or, if you don’t really care for them, feel free to leave them out. (I always make my favorite easy peel Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs.)
• Veggies: Celery, red bell pepper, peas, and thinly sliced green onion add a balanced veggie flavor that’s savory, sweet, fresh, and has just a little bite.
• Mayonnaise: Tuna and mayo are a match made in heaven! Use a bit of your favorite mayonnaise as the base for the creamy dressing.
• Sour Cream: To lighten the dressing and keep it from being to mayonnaise-y, you’ll be using an equal amount of sour cream – or Greek yogurt, if you prefer.
• Dried Herbs: Dill and basil, or you can substitute herbs of your choice. I highly recommend dill and basil, though – they both play well with tuna, and not all herbs do.
• Salt and Pepper: For seasoning the tuna pasta salad, along with additional salt for the pasta water.

How to Make Tuna Pasta Salad

Once you have all of your ingredients, it’s time for the easy part: putting it all together. This will only take a few minutes, so let’s get started.

• Make the Pasta. First, you’ll need to boil the pasta for your tuna pasta salad. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it well, and then cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once it’s ready, drain it and rinse it under cold water. Place the drained, rinsed pasta into a large mixing bowl.
• Flake and Add the Tuna. Open the tuna, and break it apart into small pieces with a fork. Add the tuna to the bowl of pasta.
• Add the Remaining Ingredients. Next, add your diced hard-boiled eggs, bell pepper, celery, green onion, and peas. Stir the pasta salad a bit to distribute the ingredients.

• Make the Dressing. Mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, basil, salt, and pepper. 
• Add the Dressing to the Pasta. Pour your dressing on top of the pasta salad, and stir again to coat everything well. 

• Enjoy! Taste the salad, and adjust the salt, if needed. You can then serve your tuna pasta salad at room temperature or chilled.

Should You Rinse Pasta When Making Pasta Salad?

Actually, yes! A lot of pasta experts are pretty strict about rinsing pasta, and for good reason. If you are serving hot pasta with hot pasta sauce, rinsing the pasta is a waste of time – and worse, it will cool the pasta down and remove the starch. For hot sauces, you want the starch. It helps the sauce coat the noodles.

But when you are making pasta salad, rinsing the pasta is very helpful. For one thing, it stops the cooking process and helps the pasta stay un-mushy. Rinsing also helps keep the pasta from turning gummy or mushy, which is perfect for pasta salad! So rinse it well under cool water, and you’re good to go.

More Helpful Tips for Success

What else should you know about making tuna pasta salad? Glad you asked! I have a whole bunch of tips to share for making this recipe the best it can be. Here we go:

• Pasta Options: While I usually go with ordinary wheat pasta, you could substitute whole-wheat, quinoa, lentil, black bean, or any other type of specialty pasta you prefer. Just cook it according to the package directions. (Keep in mind that different pastas have different textures and storage instructions!)
• Tuna Options: Solid white albacore is my favorite, but you could use other types of tuna here as well. I do not recommend tuna packed in oil, though, as it can make the salad too oily. Make sure to purchase the large, 12 ounce can, or substitute several small cans.
• Veggies: Feel free to throw in extra vegetables, whatever you like! Carrot matchsticks, blanched and cut green beans, thoroughly-washed broccoli florets, thinly sliced radish… use what you love!
• Add Cheese: For a cheesy variation, add some cheddar cheese. You can add shredded cheddar cheese or cubed cheddar cheese – both are amazing.
• Make Ahead: If you’re making this ahead of time, store the dressing separately and toss the salad in the dressing right before serving. That will keep the salad from becoming dry.

What to Serve with Tuna Pasta Salad

While this tuna pasta salad is great as an all-in-one lunch or light dinner, it also works really well for a side dish or potluck dish. In that case, you might wonder what to serve along with it. The answer? Anything! Barbecue or cookout recipes are a favorite, like these:

• Burgers: Tuna pasta salad often appears at cookouts, as I mentioned before, alongside the hamburgers and hot dogs. For a different take on regular hamburgers, try these Greek Turkey Burgers! So zesty and light.
• Pulled Pork: Another barbecue favorite? BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders. These savory sandwiches are a crowd-pleasing favorite that you really have to make at least once each summer!
• Corn: No matter your main dish, you’ve got to have great sides. The pasta salad is one of them, of course, but if you need another, reach for Grilled Corn. No one can resist a fresh ear of grilled corn, served with melting butter.

How to Store the Leftovers

Leftover tuna pasta salad can be stored in your refrigerator for up to three days. Make sure to store it properly, which means tightly covered – ideally in airtight containers or food storage bags, but you could also use a big bowl with plastic wrap over the top. Serve it right from the refrigerator for a chilled, refreshing meal or snack.

Does Tuna Pasta Salad Freeze Well?

Sometimes pasta salads are freezer-friendly, and technically you can freeze this one if you want to. However, it is a little bit fussy, so I don’t really recommend it. For one thing, you don’t really want to freeze the fresh, raw veggies or the eggs – they can turn mushy after thawing out. So you would need to chop those just before serving and add them to the thawed pasta salad afterward. For another thing, the creamy dressing will need to be made fresh just before serving, too! It tends to separate if frozen and thawed, which is not what you want.

However, if you do decide to freeze your tuna pasta salad, these would be the steps.

• Make the Pasta and Tuna. Boil the pasta and rinse it as directed. Add the tuna to the pasta, and stir it through. 
• Freeze the Pasta and Tuna. Cool the tuna-pasta mixture, and then package it in freezer containers or bags.
• Thaw the Pasta and Tuna. The day or morning before you’re ready to serve, take the frozen packages out of the freezer and place them in the refrigerator to thaw.
• Prepare the Dressing and Veggies. Before serving, prep the veggies and mix the dressing. 
• Finish the Salad and Serve. Add the veggies and dressing to the pasta salad, stir it through, and enjoy.

More Easy Pasta Salad Recipes

• Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
• Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad
• Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
• Macaroni Salad with Ham
• Easy Spaghetti Salad
• Warm Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad
• Puerto Rican Macaroni Salad
• Easy Greek Pasta Salad

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