Creamy Tuna Pasta Salad is a perfect light meal in summer or for a barbeque potluck. Loaded with protein-rich Tuna, egg, tiny macaroni Pasta, peas tossed in a light yet creamy Mayonnaise, and greek yogurt dressing.
When the temperature rises, I always look forward to making meals that need very less or no cooking, with some veggies or herbs for a burst of freshness. This Tuna pasta salad is one such meal that is tasty, filling, and very easy to make. You can either make it creamy or a lightened-up vinaigrette version like this Cold Tuna Salad.
You can easily make a big batch for bbq parties or picnics, without much effort. It makes great leftovers too, so it's ideal for meal prep.
Classic Tuna Pasta Salad
Tuna Pasta Salad is a classic summer salad that is delicious and healthy at the same time. It is Loaded with tuna chunks ( protein powerhouse), eggs, peas, and fresh herbs.
Instead of complete Mayo-based dressing which could be quite heavy, I like to use half greek yogurt. Chopped boiled egg also adds to the creaminess of the salad.
Ingredients
Pasta- Bite-sized pasta of any shape like shell pasta or elbow pasta. Bite-sized pasta with other chopped veggies makes it easier to eat.
Tuna - Choose good-quality canned tuna that is packed in water. Avoid Tuna in oil, as it will make the salad too heavy on the palate.
Onion - Red onion chopped.
Celery - Chopped celery.
Fresh Herb - Fresh dill leaves pair very well with this salad and screams summer all the way. You can use parsley along with dill or substitute dill entirely with Parsely.
Peas - Peas for a burst of color and freshness. If using fresh peas, then quickly blanch them in boiling water and then plunge them in ice-cold water. If using frozen peas, then add them to warm water and bring it to room temperature.
To Make Tuna Pasta salad
Almost a no-cook recipe perfect for quick summer brunch or barbeque parties. You can easily plan it ahead.
Start making the Creamy mayonnaise yogurt dressing. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing. You can refrigerate the dressing for a day or two. If using homemade Mayonnaise, don't keep the dressing for more than one day.
The next step is to cook the pasta. Just cook it al dente in well-salted water. Drain and run under cold water to bring the pasta to room temperature and stop the cooking.
Tips - It is good to bring pasta to room temperature before adding any raw veggies to it. Else the heat from the pasta will cook the veggies and will leave a weird taste.
Drain Tuna well, using a fork break big chunks into small pieces.
Too cooked pasta add diced onion, celery, chopped eggs, peas, chopped dill leaves.
How to Store the leftovers
Keep your tuna pasta salad in a sealed container so it doesn’t absorb the flavors of the other things in the refrigerator. And if taking it to a potluck, put ice packs in a cooler around it to keep it chilled!
If Planning to make it ahead, mix everything and refrigerate. When mixed with the dressing, the veggies tend to lose water and become soggy.
More Summer Salad Recipe
Creamy Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 450 grams Dried elbow pasta (16 oz)
- 3 can Tuna 4 oz can , in brine
- 4 Hard boiled egg
- 1 cup Frozen Peas
- ½ cup Chopped Onion
- 1 stalk Celery chopped
- ⅓ cup Chopped dill leaves
Dressing
- ¾ cup Mayo
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Cook dried pasta in salted water. Drain and run the pasta under the tap to stop it from cooking further.
- To make the dressing, mix mayo, greek yogurt, mustard, sugar, lemon juice, and garlic powder. You can keep the dressing in the refrigerator for a couple of hours for the flavors to develop.
- Drain tuna. Shred big tuna chunks using a fork or with hands.
- If peas are frozen, then add peas to room temperature water to thaw them. Drain it.
- In a big salad bowl, add cooled-down pasta, tuna, peas, chopped celery, onion roughly chopped hard-boiled eggs, and dill leaves.
- Add ¾th of the dressing to the bowl. Mix everything well. Add the reserved dressing if required.
- If you wish you can refrigerate the salad for 2 hours for the flavours to develop and serve.
Video
Notes
- It is important to bring the cooked pasta to room temperature or lukewarm before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- You can also add chopped red pepper, and chopped parsley.
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