Tuna Pasta Salad. Creamy pasta salad with tuna, broccoli, red and green onions. This is such a quick and easy side dish ready in 25 minutes with canned tuna!
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This creamy tuna pasta salad is so delicious and packed with fibre and flavor thanks to the onions! I love making this easy pasta salad as it contains simple everyday ingredients. My tuna pasta salad can be served as a side dish or as complete meal for lunch or dinner. It would be great as picnic food, at a barbecue or for lunch since it can remain cold and doesn't need to be reheated.
I was inspired to make this pasta salad as I often ate it at my office cafeteria. Do you know what took it to the next level? Garlic chili sauce! You can find a homemade version of my own garlic chili sauce here. But feel free to use any hot sauce you enjoy.
Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients for my tuna pasta salad recipe:
- Sea shell pasta: medium size or regular size
- Canned tuna
- Broccoli florets
- Red onion
- Green onion
- Mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
- Garlic Chili Hot sauce: this really takes any tuna pasta salad to the next level. You can also use sriracha sauce.
How to make Tuna Pasta Salad
- In a large pot filled with enough water, bring it to a boil. Add about 2 teaspoon of salt to the boiling water. Boil your pasta according to package instructions and add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time. We want the pasta to be a little bit softer than Al-dente. Trust me on this.
- Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl, combine raw broccoli florets, strained tuna, green onions, mayonnaise until well combined.
- Strain cooked pasta in a colander and rinse with cold running water until pasta is cold. Shake off as much excess water as possible.
- Add pasta to the large mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula until pasta is combined with other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Optional: Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge to let the flavors soak in or enjoy immediately.
Storage & Reheating
Leftover tuna pasta salad will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Expert Tips
- Over cook the pasta a bit. I find softer pasta to taste better than al-dente.
- Finely dice and chop the onions so you're not eating huge chunks of onion.
Other pasta recipes you may enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Creamy Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 250 grams pasta medium sized seashell kind
- 150 grams canned tuna strained of liquids
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup red onion finely diced
- 2 green onion finely chopped
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot filled with enough water, bring it to a boil. Add about 2 teaspoon of salt to the boiling water. Boil your pasta according to package instructions and add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time. We want the pasta to be a little bit softer than Al-dente. Trust me on this.
- Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl, combine raw broccoli florets, strained tuna, green onions, mayonnaise until well combined.
- Strain cooked pasta in a colander and rinse with cold running water until pasta is cold. Shake off as much excess water as possible.
- Add pasta to the large mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula until pasta is combined with other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Optional: Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge to let the flavors soak in or enjoy immediately.
Molly
This tuna pasta salad was such so easy to make and so yummy! Thanks for sharing this recipe!