Tuna Pasta Salad

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This creamy Tuna Pasta Salad is tangy, crunchy, oniony, and delightful! Perfect for a healthy lunch, light dinner, or snack to store in the fridge. The same goes for my Macaroni Salad! Great to bring to a potluck to share or keep it to yourself at home, anytime of the year!

Perfect Anytime!

Let’s talk easy dinners and Tuna Pasta Salad, shall we?

Pasta and tuna together are amazing with dill pickles, peas, and a few other yummy things. This is perfect for snacking, perfect for lunch, perfect for a picnic, basically perfect for any occasion. I thoroughly enjoyed eating this entire bowl.

Helpful Ingredient Tips

Sometimes a particular form of an ingredient is better than another when used in a recipe. Here are a few that I have found with this Tuna Pasta Salad.

• Mini Bowtie Pasta – I love using mini bowtie pasta for this recipe because with every bite you get the perfect balance of ingredients. No huge chunks of pickle, pasta, or red onion. However, you can use whatever pasta you have on hand (probably not spaghetti, fettuccine, or lasagna noodles though).
• Frozen Peas – if you don’t have frozen peas, you can use canned peas. Just be sure to drain them well. If fresh peas are in season, that would be the BEST choice of course.
• Red Onion – or white onion. Although I love the taste of raw red onion, you can replace it with white onion, if desired.
• Dill Pickle – please please please use dill pickles and not sweet pickles. This makes a huge difference.
• Tuna – I used albacore packed in water but feel free to use what you have. And don’t forget to drain it!

Variations – Make This Salad Your Own

Feel free to change up this recipe to make it your own! Here are a couple of ideas from some of my readers who adapted their Tuna Pasta Salads:

• Cut Out the Mayonnaise – to cut out some of the mayo, go half and half with unsweetened plain greek yogurt. This makes this recipe a little more healthy.
• Replace Dill Pickles – don’t like dill pickles? One of my reader’s replaced them with green olives and capers and another replaced it with artichoke hearts! However, if you’re just looking for the crunch without the pickle flavor, try celery.
• More Protein – looking to add more protein to your dish? Consider adding a can of cannellini beans or garbanzo beans.
• Replace Tuna – this might be a little sacrilege, but if you happen not to like tuna, you can still enjoy this recipe by replacing it with shredded chicken.

How to Make Tuna Pasta Salad

For full details on how to make Tuna Pasta Salad, see the recipe card down below. Here is what you can expect while making this salad.

Prep Ingredients

Prepare ingredients by dicing red onion and dill pickles.

Cook Pasta + Peas

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water and cook pasta until al dente. Stir in frozen peas and cook for 30 seconds.

Drain pasta and peas. If you want room-temperature pasta salad, don’t rinse. If you want cold pasta salad, rinse with cold water.

Mix Remaining Ingredients

In a large bowl, stir cooked pasta and peas together with remaining ingredients until everything is evenly coated in sauce {made from mayonnaise and lemon juice}.

Serve or Refrigerate

Serve or refrigerate covered until ready to serve.

Storing Tuna Pasta Salad

Store any leftover Tuna Pasta Salad in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days! The longer it sits the better it tastes. Perfect as lunch, as a snack, or as a side dish!

Freezing or Make Ahead – I don’t recommend freezing this salad because of the mayo- it doesn’t thaw and remix very well. You can make this salad ahead of time (the day before) before you need it and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Love Tuna? Check Out These Other Recipes:

• The Best Tuna Salad Sandwich
• Tuna Club Sandwich
• Tuna Casserole
• Tuna Patties with Homemade Tartar Sauce
• Tuna Noodle Casserole
• Lemon Pepper Tuna Sliders

More Pasta Salad Recipes to Try!

• Italian Pasta Salad
• Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
• Chicken Pasta Salad
• Sesame Noodle Salad
• Macaroni Salad

If you liked this Tuna Pasta Salad you’re going to love my other pasta salad recipes!

The printable recipe card is down below, have a great day, friends! 🙂

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Tuna Pasta Salad

This creamy Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe is tangy, crunchy, oniony, and delightful! Perfect for a healthy lunch, light dinner, or snack to store in the fridge. 

servings 6 servings

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb mini bowtie pasta
• ▢ 1 cup frozen peas
• ▢ 1/2 cup red onion diced, or white onion
• ▢ 3/4 cup dill pickle diced
• ▢ 10 oz tuna (two 5 oz cans) drained, I used albacore tuna packed in water
• ▢ 1/2 lemon juiced
• ▢ 1 cup real mayonnaise
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried dill
• ▢ salt & pepper to taste

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Prepare ingredients by dicing red onion and dill pickles.
  
• Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water and cook pasta until al dente. Stir in frozen peas and cook for 30 seconds.
  
• Drain pasta and peas. If you want room-temperature pasta salad, don't rinse. If you want cold pasta salad, rinse with cold water.
  
• In a large bowl, stir cooked pasta and peas together with remaining ingredients until everything is evenly coated in sauce {made from mayonnaise and lemon juice}. Serve or refrigerate covered until ready to serve.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 618kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 630mg | Potassium: 272mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 405IU | Vitamin C: 23.8mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2.9mg

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Tuna Pasta Salad