This Tuna Pasta Salad is the perfect picnic food. It is easy to throw together with light delicious flavors everyone will love.
Sometimes at the beginning of summer, I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. There is so much to look forward to, so much to get excited about. I have swimming pools, potlucks, BBQs, and long lazy days dancing like sugar plum fairies in my head.
If you are like me, you are probably also looking forward to all the great summer food. Everything from summer salads, to great grilled recipes, to amazing simple pasta salads just scream summer to me.
This cold Tuna Pasta Salad is easy to throw together, and is always a hit with everyone. The dressing couldn’t be more simple, but it is the perfect balance of flavors. You will even love taking the leftovers to work the day after that summer picnic.
Just finished making this pasta salad – OMG! It’s delicious- thank you for sharing your recipe – to the folks who haven’t made this – you really should give it a try.
Tuna Pasta Salad Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- Medium Pasta Shells: You absolutely can use a different kind of small pasta for this salad if you like. I just find that shells works so well for this type of pasta salad.
- Canned Tuna: Be sure to grab the tuna packed in water for this salad, and skip over the tuna packed in oil.
- Frozen Peas: Your peas can be tossed right in frozen. They take very little time to thaw, and sometimes thawing them beforehand can add more moisture to the recipe than you want.
- Celery: If you aren’t a fan of celery, you could replace it with some shredded carrots.
- Red Onion: The onion can certainly be left out (or replaced with green onion) if you don’t like onions, but I do love the sweet tang they add to this salad.
Dressing Ingredients:
- Light Mayonnaise: I love using light mayo in recipes. Usually it behaves the same, brings the same flavor, and cuts out a little bit of calories and fat.
- Yogurt: Adding yogurt to a pasta salad dressing is a great way to add both zip and creaminess. It brings a different flavor than the mayo, so I love using them together.
- Lemon Juice: The little bit of lemon juice in this recipe really adds some freshness to it.
- Dill: I think that dill and seafood pair so beautifully together. If you don’t have fresh dill, we have a note about how much dry dill to use. If you choose to skip dill all together, I recommend using 1/2 a teaspoon of dry tarragon and 1/2 a teaspoon of dry parsley.
- Salt and Pepper
How to Make Tuna Pasta Salad
This is a brief overview of how to make this delicious recipe. For the full recipe, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Cook the pasta. Cooking pasta seems so simple, but my tips and tricks for cooking it for pasta salad will definitely help. Check out my post: How to Cook Pasta.
- Whisk together the dressing. Mis together all the ingredients for the dressing. Taste it and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Stir everything together and add the dressing. Stir together the noodles, tuna, peas, celery, and onion. Then mix in the dressing.
Substitutions and Variations
- Dill: If you really don’t like dill, I recommend using 1/2 a teaspoon of dry tarragon and 1/2 a teaspoon of dry parsley.
- Mayonnaise: Miracle Whip can be a replacement for mayo. It will create the same texture and consistency you are looking for, but will change the taste of the dressing quite a bit. I just recommend tasting the dressing to make sure you like it before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
- Replace the yogurt: If you don’t like yogurt, sour cream would be a great replacement.
- Replacing the tuna: If you aren’t a fan of tuna, chicken is a great substitute here.
Making Ahead
This tuna salad with pasta can be made up to 24 hours in advance of a get together. That being said, the pasta does absorb some of the dressing. You may want to consider making the salad the day before and not adding the dressing until right before serving.
Leftover Tuna Pasta Salad
Leftovers of this pasta salad tuna salad should be stored in the refrigerator. Leftovers should be eaten within four days of making the salad. As with any recipe, use your best discretion when it comes to leftovers.
Other Great Pasta Salads
I’m obsessed with pasta salad recipes. If you are too, you might like some of these:
- Crab Pasta Salad: This was my mom’s recipe, and it is absolutely delicious.
- Shrimp Pasta Salad: This is a small riff on the Crab Pasta Salad and also amazing.
- Italian Pasta Salad: This recipe is super easy and always a hit.
- Greek Pasta Salad: The secret to this recipe is the amazing dressing.
If you make this tuna pasta salad recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium shells cooked, drained, and rinsed with cold water
- 12 ounces tuna drained; please note this is the dry weight listed on the can (see note 1)
- 1 cup frozen peas see note 2
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1/2 small red onion diced
For Dressing
- 1 cup light mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill 1 teaspoon dry dill
- 1 teaspoon salt see note 3
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the shells according to package instructions, being sure not to over cook. Drain and rinse with cold water.1 pound medium shells
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper.1 cup light mayonnaise, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon fresh dill, 1 teaspoon salt , 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Add the noodles, tuna, peas, celery, and onion to a large bowl. Pour dressing over it, and toss to combine.12 ounces tuna, 1 cup frozen peas, 2 stalks celery, 1/2 small red onion
Recipe Video
Notes
- Please note that this recipe calls for tuna packed in water. If you buy tuna packed in oil, that will really change the flavor and consistency of this recipe.
- There is no need to thaw the peas for this recipe. Frozen peas thaw very quickly and can just be tossed with the other ingredients.
- I recommend making the dressing with half the salt and pepper called for, then taste the dressing, and add more to taste.
Marsha says
This was just the simple tuna pasta salad I was looking for. It was just like my mother used to make though with the addition of the dill – which added a nice, fresh taste to it. I took your advice and did not add all the salt and pepper at once. I was glad I waited to taste it first before adding more. I didn’t think it needed more.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Marsha!
Daisy says
Sooo good! I used Greek yogurt and topped with sliced boiled eggs/paprika- that was my only changes, and it was AMAZING!
I’m so glad that you liked it, Daisy!
Vikki says
One of our favorites! A suggestion for families like ours who don’t care for peas……edamame or diced raw zucchini is a great substitute! I have an herb garden that I grow each summer to replenish my dried stores for winter. The fresh or dried dill really adds to this!
This is such great advice! Thanks, Vikki!
Pauline says
How would it taste if I used regular mayo???
It would be delicious, Pauline.
Sheila Pechman says
I’ve made this twice
, Wonderfully wonderful. I put English cucumber in and more yogurt, less mayo. It’s a winner
I’m so glad you like it, Sheila!
Diana Blair says
Try adding chopped boiled eggs with capers.
Beth Martin says
I have had this recipe for years and absolutely love it! I lost it in recent move and couldn’t remember it exactly, was excited to see you had it😊
I hope you enjoy it!
Sera Clark says
This recipe is just what I’ve been looking for and craving. I used regular Mayo because it’s what I had on hand but honestly wish I’d used a little less than the recipe and tasted the dressing before adding all the salt as suggested. Will make those small taste preference adjustments next time but otherwise it’s a winner and I’ll make more times to come.
Mary says
This was amazing! I had leftover rotini pasta that I used to make this the next day. I used a mixture of Mayo and plain Greek yogurt to increase the protein. I also added a tablespoon of pesto. I used one pouch of Starkist Tuna Creations Garlic and herb and one Starkist Tuna Creations ranch flavor. I used the juice of half a lemon. My husband was skeptical as to if he would like it. He raved about it and wants to keep it in the repertoire.
Peggy says
Just finished making this pasta salad – OMG! It’s delicious- thank you for sharing your recipe – to the folks who haven’t made this – you really should give it a try.
I’m so glad that you liked it!