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    Pasta Salad

    Home > Recipes > Salad > Pasta Salad > Tuna Pasta Salad

    Tuna Pasta Salad

    By Maike | Published: February 14, 2019 | Modified: July 8, 2022

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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    Tuna Pasta Salad - Perfect lunch salad that you can prep the day before. Sweet and savory and full of protein! #cheerfulcook #tuna #tunapastasalad #easyrecipe #lunch @sidedish ā™” cheerfulcook.com via @cheerfulcook

    You'll love this easy sweet, savory Tuna Pasta Salad recipe. With just a handful of simple ingredients, you can make an easy, tasty, high-protein pasta salad perfect for lunch, parties, picnics, and potlucks.  

    High Protein Tuna Pasta Salad in a white bowl.

    My family thinks this is the best tuna salad recipe, and I bet yours will, too! I like to make quick and easy lunches to prep and don't require a lot of hard-to-find ingredients.

    This tuna pasta salad fits that bill! In about 20 minutes, you can make this simple cold salad. 

    Table of Contents show
    1 Why We Love Tuna Pasta Salad
    2 Ingredients
    3 Variations
    4 How To Make Tuna Pasta Salad
    5 More German Recipes
    6 Leftovers
    7 What to serve with Tuna Pasta Salad?
    8 Simple Salad Recipe Ideas Perfect For Lunch
    9 Best Tuna Pasta Salad

    Why We Love Tuna Pasta Salad

    MAKE AHEAD - Are you planning a party or need an easy recipe for a picnic or potluck? This recipe is for you. You can prepare a day in advance.

    Tip: If you're making this pasta salad in advance, give it a quick taste test before serving. You might find that adding a dash of salt will do wonders to brighten the flavors. A little goes a long way when it comes to salt.

    LEFTOVERS - Best of all, this salad can last you for several days.

    LUNCH FOOD - You'll find that eating an easy salad with tuna is perfect for lunch. And it's going to keep you satiated for hours. 

    Ingredients

    You can find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the printable recipe card below. 

    Ingredients needed to make a Tuna Pasta Salad.

    TUNA - Can of White Tuna. I use Trader Joe's Solid White Albacore Tuna in Water. But Bumble Bee’s Solid White Albacore is great, too.

    PASTA - I like fusilli pasta, but any other short pasta will work, too.

    APPLE - I like red apple because it adds extra sweetness and a bit of crunchiness, too. If you like to add a hint of tartness to your salad, choose a Granny Smith apple instead.

    EGG - Adding hard-boiled eggs adds a healthy dose of protein.

    ONION - Red onion adds crunch and color. If you're serving this recipe at a party, you might want to omit it, as some people do not enjoy eating onions at a party.

    RELISH - Like in our classic Tuna Salad, we're using sweet pickle relish as the base for our creamy dressing.

    MUSTARD - A little dijon mustard adds another layer of flavor that helps tie all of the flavors together.

    MAYONNAISE - Adds creaminess to our dressing.

    PARSLEY - This is an optional ingredient. If you have fresh parsley on hand, make sure to do it; if you don't, you can still make this recipe. I prefer curly parsley over flatleaf parsley for this recipe, but use whichever one you have.

    Variations

    GREEK YOGURT - If you're looking for a healthier version of this pasta salad, you can substitute mayonnaise with Greek Yogurt. You can also use 50% mayonnaise and 50% Greek Yogurt.

    PEAS - Adding some defrosted frozen peas is a quick trick to sneak some color and extra veggies into this pasta dish.

    BELL PEPPERS - are another optional ingredients you could add to this salad.

    Sweet and savory Tuna Pasta Salad in a white bowl.

    How To Make Tuna Pasta Salad

    1. COOK pasta according to the package instructions. Rinse with cold water, drain and set aside. BOIL eggs until hard and shock in ice water. Coarsely chop eggs.
    2. DICE apple and red onion.
    3. COMBINE all ingredients in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy.

    More German Recipes

    Dill pickle pasta salad (close up).

    Dill Pickle Pasta Salad

    a large salad bowl filled with all the ingredients needed to make Italian Pasta Salad

    Italian Pasta Salad

    Amish Macaroni salad in a white bowl

    Amish Macaroni Salad

    Leftovers

    STORE - This Tuna Pasta Salad lasts up to 3 days in the fridge. The sweet spot for tuna pasta salad is 1-2 days. Simply store any leftovers in an airtight container.

    FREEZE - This salad does not freeze well.

    TIP - If you don't enjoy cold tuna pasta salad leftovers, remove the salad from the fridge and allow it to rise to room temperature before serving. About 15 minutes.

    A closeup of a forkful of Tuna Pasta Salad.

    What to serve with Tuna Pasta Salad?

    Because this cold Tuna Pasta Salad recipe is high in protein, you'll find it filling. You can jazz up the tuna pasta salad for a quick lunch with some of these ideas... 

    • Vegetables: baby carrots, broccoli, celery
    • Pretzels
    • Bread
    • Side of fruit
    • Bed of Lettuce - serving the salad over a bed of lettuce is my favorite way to enjoy this pasta salad.

    Simple Salad Recipe Ideas Perfect For Lunch

    5-Ingredient Cold German Potato Salad - There are so many German Potato Salads. This is the one I grew up with. It's simple and delicious and has just 5 ingredients.

    Warm Potato Salad (Swabian Potato Salad) - If you're looking for a classic warm German Potato Salad with a smoky, sweet, and tangy dressing, this recipe is for you.

    Watermelon and Feta Salad - Refreshing summer salad with juicy watermelon, feta cheese, and fresh mint. Chef's kiss.

    Waldorf Salad - An easy version of an iconic New York Salad that took the world by storm.

    Egg Salad - Another high-protein salad will keep you satisfied for hours.

    Did you try our recipe?
    Please take a moment to rate the recipe below!

    Click stars to rate now

    Best Tuna Pasta Salad

    Easy, high-protein tuna pasta salad. Perfect for lunch!
    Servings: 8
    Tuna Pasta Salad in a white bowl.
    PREP TIME: 20 minutes
    TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
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    Ingredients

    • 16 ounces pasta

    Dressing

    • ¼ cup dijon mustard
    • 1 cup mayonnaise
    • ¾ cup sweet relish

    Salad Ingredients

    • 8 ounces tuna in water 2 x 4 oz cans, drained
    • 4 large eggs hard-boiled, diced
    • 1 medium red apple diced
    • ½ medium red onion diced
    • 3 tablespoon parlsey fresh, chopped

    Instructions

    • Cook pasta according to package instructions. Rinse and drain the pasta with cold water. Set aside.
    • At the same time cook eggs for 10 minutes in boiling water. Transfer eggs into a bowl of cold water. Peel and coarsely dice the eggs.
    • Whisk mustard, relish, and mayonnaise in a large bowl until well combined. Add tuna, diced apple, red onion, eggs, parsley, and pasta. Stir to combine.
      If desired season to taste with salt and pepper. 
    Click stars to rate now
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    Nutrition
    Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 300mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 287IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg
    Author: Maike
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    July 08, 2022
    Hi, friends. My name is Maike. Nice to meet you. I am the blogger behind the Cheerful Cook. A Comfort Food blog where we celebrate easy German American recipes all year long
    About the AuthorMaike
    Hi There, I’m Maike! A German girl turned American sharing hundreds of easy, homemade comfort food recipes perfect for everyday cooking.
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      Recipe Rating




    1. Volker

      March 17, 2019 at 11:36 pm

      5 stars
      So good. I love the combination of sweet and savory. Simply delicious.

      Reply
      • Maike

        March 23, 2019 at 11:21 am

        Thank you. Glad you liked it.

        Reply

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    Hi, friends. My name is Maike. Nice to meet you. I am the blogger behind the Cheerful Cook. A Comfort Food blog where we celebrate easy German American recipes all year long

    Hi there, I’m Maike!

    A German girl turned American who loves to share my favorite comfort food recipes. Browse through hundreds of easy, homemade recipes perfect for everyday cooking. LEARN MORE… 

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