Sometimes you just can’t beat simple. And a creamy, light Tuna Pasta Salad is so delicious, healthy and is ready in 10 minutes… BONUS that everyone always loves it too!
There’s very rarely a recipe that is perfect for either a quick dinner, a packed lunch or a picnic. Eat it hot or cold, add your favourite additions, and you have the most budget-friendly and delicious classic. Beware though – it’s moreish!
I LOVE throwing this one together when I haven’t planned much for dinner and everyone is starving and needs a good feed. Mainly because, as well as the fact I usually have most ingredients in for this Tuna Pasta Salad recipe at any one time, it’s just SO delicious.
Let’s be honest, it’s not exactly the fanciest of meals, but it works. Quick, light, healthy and is perfect for leftover lunches the next day.
I also think tuna is such an underrated seafood offering. Its flavouring is not overly fishy but is unique enough to carry a whole dish. It’s inexpensive and has a long shelf life in the cupboard, meaning you can always whip up a sandwich, pasta, jacket potato filling, salad or wrap if you have it in stock.
If you love this, you might also enjoy my Tuna Pasta Bake as a hot dish too.
Why you’ll love this recipe
⭐️ Ready in 10 minutes
⭐️ Summery, light and delicious
⭐️ Inexpensive and ultra easy
Tuna Pasta Salad Variations
- Avocado Tuna Salad – Add a large peeled and cubed avocado.
- Very Healthy Tuna Salad – Replace the mayonnaise or creme fraiche (or both) with low fat Greek yoghurt.
- Tuna Salad Sandwich – Leave the pasta out, mix everything together well and spread between two slices of bread.
- Tuna Pasta Salad without Mayo – Add more creme fraiche or/and Greek yoghurt instead
- Tuna Salad Wrap – Leave the pasta out, mix everything together well and roll into a tortilla wrap.
- Tuna Pasta Salad with Cheese – Either sprinkle grated cheese over the top or mix small cubes of cheese in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Tuna Salad with Egg – Add a hard boiled egg or two to the ingredients.
Creamy Tuna Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Tuna – I use basic but good quality canned tuna fish. You can get premium tuna in jars of olive oil if you want to push the boat out, which is delicious, but regular tinned tuna is totally fine too.
- Pasta – I often use farfalle (pasta bows) for this recipe, but you can use whichever shape you have in or prefer.
- Sweetcorn – I use no added sugar, canned and drained corn. You can use frozen (and defrosted) if you prefer.
- Peppers – I use orange or red bell peppers for sweetness, but use whichever you like.
- Cucumber – You can peel and deseed if you’re that way inclined, but I just chop it up.
For the dressing:
- Mayonnaise
- Creme fraiche
- Dijon mustard
- Lemon – Juice only
- Fresh chives
How to make Tuna Pasta Salad
1. Put your pasta on to cook, and in the meantime mix the dressing ingredients until smooth. Drain the pasta and add everything into a large mixing bowl.
2. Pour over your dressing and mix everything together well before serving.
Substitutions
- Vegetables – Use any other vegetables you prefer. Frozen peas are a nice alternative to sweetcorn. Red onion is also a nice addition.
Leftover Tuna Pasta Salad
How long will Tuna Pasta Salad keep in the fridge? This is perfect for cold leftovers. It travels well so is also fantastic for picnics or packed lunches too.
If you are planning to store this, you can keep the dressing separate and then mix it just before serving. It will stay fresher/crispier this way. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
In the freezer I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe as it’ll end up soggy when you defrost it.
Top tips
What to serve with Tuna Pasta Salad
This is a full meal on its own, but if you want to you could double carb with dough balls or garlic bread to make your dish go further.
Other great quick pasta recipes
My Tortellini ‘Lasagne’ is also ready in about 10 minutes, as is my Prawn Pasta with Creamy Garlic Sauce, my Smoked Salmon Pasta and my Cream Cheese Pasta.
FAQ
Yes, this is a really healthy, filling and nutritious meal. You can make it lower fat with a yoghurt dressing instead, but it’s really not too bad at all as it is.
Yes! Just omit the step where you run the pasta under cold water and mix the pasta straight in with the other ingredients after you’ve drained it. It’s delicious either way.
Classic Tuna Pasta Salad {10 Minutes Meal}
Ingredients
- 200 g Pasta
- 220 g Tuna Drained.
- 520 g Sweetcorn Drained (x2 tins).
- Cucumber Chopped into small chunks.
- 2 Red peppers Deseeded and chopped into cubes.
For the dressing:
- 4 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 4 tbsp Creme fraiche
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Lemon Juice only.
- 15 g Fresh chives Finely chopped.
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions.
- Meanwhile, mix the dressing ingredients until smooth.
- Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water.
- Mix all of the other ingredients together with the dressing.
Kate says
V easy to make, everyone enjoyed it. This works really well for lunch boxes.
Helen says
This was lovely. Easy to make and enjoyed by everyone!…so much so that my daughter requested it for her school packed lunch 🙂
Nicky says
Had this last night, so quick and easy to make and really delicious!!
Took leftovers to work for lunch and still had some left, so saving it until tomorrow to have with quiche!
Xxx