You're going to love this easy Tuna Pasta Salad recipe. With just a handful of simple ingredients, you can make an easy, tasty, high-protein pasta salad that's perfect for lunch.
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.
Why We Love Tuna Pasta Salad
Tuna salad recipes have always been a staple in my family for years, and we've experimented quite a bit. However, this sweet and savory tuna pasta is by far our favorite. And if you enjoy this salad, check out the Tuna Salad Sandwich.
Best of all, it can last you for a few days. But, of course, this means there'll be 'no-cook-lunch-days.'
And 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 for the Tuna Pasta Salad
- 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)
- Fusilli Pasta. I use Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice & Quinoa Fusilli Pasta. You can also try Explore Cuisine. They also make a great Organic Brown Rice Fusilli.
- Apple
- hard-boiled Egg
- Red Onion
- Sweet Pickle Relish
- Dijon Mustard
- Mayonnaise. Greek yogurt works great, too.
- Fresh Dill
How To Make Tuna Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta according to package instruction.
- Once cooked, rinse the pasta and with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- Chop the apple, red onion, hard-boiled egg, and fresh dill.
- Transfer the chopped eggs and veggies into a large salad bowl. Add tuna, sweet relish, mayonnaise, and mustard to the large salad bowl. Combine everything well.
- Add the pasta to the tuna salad mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
How long does tuna pasta salad with mayo last in the fridge?
The salad lasts about 3-5 days in the fridge. The sweet spot for tuna pasta salad is 1-2 days.
How to store Tuna Pasta Salad?
I've found that airtight containers from Target or Amazon work best for storing cold pasta salad. If you're using plastic containers, make sure to look for the BPA-free signage.
And I've started to replace some of my older plastic containers with glass containers and have found that I prefer glass for food storage.
More Simple Lunch Recipes
- Kale and Blueberry Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Kale Banana Smoothie An easy lunch option that tastes like dessert!
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
What to serve with Tuna Pasta Salad?
Because this cold tuna pasta salad recipe is high in protein, you'll find it quite 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
Ingredients
- 16 ounces pasta I used gluten-free pasta for this recipe
- 4 ounces Albacore White Tuna
- 1 medium Apple
- 1 hard-boiled egg
- ½ medium red onion
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup sweet relish
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instruction.
- Once cooked, rinse the pasta and with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- Chop the apple, red onion, hard-boiled egg, and fresh dill. Transfer the chopped eggs and veggies into a large salad bowl. Add tuna, sweet relish, mayonnaise, and mustard to the large salad bowl. Combine everything well.
- Add the pasta to the tuna salad mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Volker
So good. I love the combination of sweet and savory. Simply delicious.
Maike
Thank you. Glad you liked it.