My Tuna Pasta Salad is the perfect picnic lunch or anytime meal. With tender pasta, a creamy dressing and healthy tuna, it’s the perfect meal for any time.
If you’re looking for a healthy dish to being to your next backyard barbecue, picnic or potluck, look no further than my super easy, delicious and flavorful Tuna Pasta Salad!
Did you know that tuna is full of heart healthy benefits?
Tuna is rich with:
- Omega-3 fatty acids, which help to reduce cholesterol.
- Potassium, which aids in lowering blood pressure.
- Immune system building anti-oxidants, which help fight disease.
- Protein and nutrients, while being low in fat.
Tuna is not only tasty, but it’s actually good for you!
If you’re not quite ready to jump on the tuna bandwagon, this Tuna Pasta Salad is just the right starter for to get you in the Tuna camp.
How to Make Tuna Pasta Salad
To make this easy pasta salad, start by boiling some salted water and cooking your pasta. A nice, small pasta is best; I chose the shells because they reminded me of the ocean (ha!) but Rotini, Farfalle or even macaroni are great alternatives.
Once the pasta is cooled, rinse it with cold water. Pasta salads are the only time I recommend rinsing your pasta! This stops the cooking process and cools the pasta quickly so you can assemble your pasta salad without much wait time.
Next, make the dressing. It’s fairly simple, with a mayonnaise base, a little mustard, lemon juice, dill, garlic, salt and pepper. Set this aside because dressing the Tuna Pasta Salad is the last thing you’ll do.
I like to use water-packed Albacore Tuna (aff) because it has less fat and I prefer the taste. Drain the water from the can and place the tuna into a large bowl, breaking it up with a fork. Stir this together with the pasta, and add the other ingredients. I used diced onion, celery and pickle relish. You could also use regular pickles (diced), peas or even hard boiled eggs. Once these ingredients are mixed together, fold in the dressing until the pasta salad is well coated. Garnish with some fresh minced parsley, lemon zest or freshly cracked black pepper.
This Tuna Pasta Salad makes a lot, so it’s great for a picnic or potluck side dish. I enjoy it as a lunch – it will last me several days – or it will serve our entire family for dinner, and still have a lunch ready for the next day.
For other delicious pasta salads, check these out:
And here are more delicious tuna and salmon recipes to try:
- Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps with Lemon, Dill & Black Pepper Mayo
- Easy Baked Salmon with Honey Garlic Butter
Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces uncooked small pasta like shells or farfalle
- 17- ounces canned white albacore tuna packed in water, drained** (see notes)
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup pickle relish
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt and the pasta. Cook to al dente (according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, garlic powder, lemon juice and fresh dill.
- Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. Season to your liking with salt and pepper.
- Serve at immediately or chilled. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
Hi! I’m Kristin, the creative mind behind Yellow Bliss Road where you will be inspired by tons of easy to follow recipes, lots of free printables, and a little sprinkling of life thrown in for good measure.
Purple Spanish onion makes this salad look & taste even better!
Great idea Brenda! thank you for sharing.
I have a couple of questions: Miracle Whip or Hellmann’s (real) mayonnaise? Also, the pickle relish, sweet relish, I assume?
I supposed it’s a personal preference, but I only use real mayonnaise.
I’m confused by the pasta measurements, do you mean 16oz (an absurd amount of pasta) or 2 cups (closer to 6oz for the pasta I’m intending to use)? I’ve never seen fluid ounces used for pasta before.
It’s not fluid ounces. It’s based on the dry pasta amounts that you’ll find on the packaging. 16 ounces is one box of traditional pasta that you’ll find at the grocery store.
You rock Kristin
Love this recipe! Made it today and it’s fantastic. I dislike peas so I was excited to try your recipe-first I’ve seen that didn’t include peas. I made it exactly as written, definitely will make again. Thanks for the recipe!
I am also not a fan of peas – glad you enjoyed it!
Looks really yummy, but I have a question. Is it 1 (7 oz) can of tuna or 17 oz of tuna?
17 ounces is correct. I added a note to clarify. I actually used one 5-ounce can and one 12-ounce can and that was a good amount.