This Tuna Pasta Salad is the perfect pasta salad for summer! Hearty and filling and easy to make with canned tuna, veggies, and a simple creamy dressing!
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Summer is almost here and I don’t know about you but I can’t wait! Summer food is just the best – so fresh, flavourful and simple – and summer meals eaten in the sunshine just taste better, don’t they?
This Tuna Pasta Salad is one of our favourite summer recipes. It’s SO easy to make in under 25 minutes, it’s hearty and filling and eats like a meal (so it’s perfect for those days where you don’t feel like cooking and want a simple one-and-done recipe), and it tastes even better the next day. What’s not to love!?!?
Ingredients for Tuna Pasta Salad
- Farfalle (butterfly) pasta, or your favourite variety
- salt and pepper
- canned tuna (chunked, not flaked)
- red onion
- celery
- frozen peas
- mayonnaise
- mustard
- garlic powder
- lemon juice
- honey
- fresh or dried dill
- fresh parsley (optional)
How to Make Tuna Pasta Salad
- Make the dressing first – Making the dressing yourself is a great way to customize the flavour, and making it a little bit ahead of time and letting it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes helps add flavour!
- Cook your pasta – When making pasta salad, cook your pasta just until it reaches the al dente stage. There’s nothing worse than mushy pasta salad – don’t over-cook!
- Dice your veggies – Dice the red onion and celery.
- Use high-quality tuna – Choose canned tuna that’s packed in water and chunked, not flaked. This will add great texture to the salad.
- Toss everything together and refrigerate – pasta salad tastes the best when it’s had a bit of time for the flavours to blend together. Leave it in the fridge for about 2 hours before serving, or enjoy right away and eat the leftovers the next day!
Is Tuna Pasta Salad good the next day?
Yes! Simply place any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy for up to 3 days after making. This salad can be enjoyed as a take-to-work (or school) lunch, and is great for meal prep!
Looking for more hearty, delicious salads? You’ll LOVE this Panzanella Salad, this Bruschetta Chicken Salad, or this Italian Chopped Salad!
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I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite pasta salad recipe? I’d love to know!
Kitchen products I recommend:
Looking for more delicious healthy salads? You’ll LOVE these!
- Italian Chopped Salad Recipe
- Winter Citrus Salad Recipe
- Pomegranate Kale Quinoa Salad Recipe
- White Bean and Tomato Salad Recipe
- Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe
- Greek Chickpea Salad Recipe
- Asian Cucumber and Carrot Salad Recipe
RECIPE VIDEO
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- juice of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill (dried dill also works well)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the pasta salad:
- 1 pound Farfalle pasta or your favourite variety (Penne or Fusilli also work great)
- 1 red onion diced
- 4 ribs celery diced
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- 3 cans chunk tuna packed in water, drained
- fresh chopped parsley (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Start by placing a large pot of water to boil and add about 1 tablespoon or more of salt. This will ensure the pasta has lots of flavour.
- Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl or a mason jar and whisk together well until smooth and combined. Refrigerate the dressing until ready to use.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions to al dente, and don't over-cook.
- Add the cooked pasta to a large bowl, pour the dressing over and stir very well to coat.
- Add the diced onion and celery, the frozen peas, and the chunks of tuna and toss well.
- Add some fresh chopped parsley to the top (or more dill, if you prefer), and serve.
Terri says
Any suggestions for what I could use instead of peas? My husband hates them. Thanks
The Busy Baker Team says
You can replace the peas with corn, chickpeas or even cannellini beans.
Gertie Tischler says
Thank you for the recipe. Can I substitute the tuna with chicken or any other meat. Thanks, Gertie
The Busy Baker Team says
Yes, you can!
Lois says
I made half of this today for supper tonight. So good and I just used maple syrup instead of honey because that’s what I had on hand
Marija Spajić says
It looks delicious, I will try
The Busy Baker Team says
Let us know how it turns out!