Tuna Pasta Salad – Cooking Stylish
This refreshing Mediterranean model Tuna Pasta Salad is made with tender curly rotini pasta, an abundance of recent veggies, and a creamy lemon-dill dressing with a shiny zip. It’s a nutritious recipe with taste in each chunk!
This tuna pasta salad could be served as a cool summer time lunch, a prepare dinner out aspect dish, and even passes a dinner entree because it additionally features a filling protein of nutritious tuna.
It’s brimming with layers of taste due to the lemony dressing, its duo of herbs, the wealthy tuna in oil, and the assorted mix of veggies that are a mix of recent, roasted and marinated.
That is additionally an incredible dish to make forward of time. So when you’ve got a busy day the next day you’ll be able to prep the day earlier than and have it within the fridge able to go for serving visitors or an on the go meal prep.
Canned tuna bought a serious improve due to this recipe!
Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe Elements
- Greek yogurt: Use plain unsweetened yogurt, and ensure it’s “Greek” selection as that is thicker.
- Further virgin olive oil: That is the least refined olive oil and has probably the most taste. For those who solely have commonplace refined olive oil readily available that can work as properly, although I don’t suggest “mild olive oil” as this lacks taste for this recipe.
- Lemon: You’ll use each the juice and zest of the lemon so don’t overlook to zest it with a rasp grater earlier than slicing and juicing it.
- Dill: Contemporary or dried dill can be utilized on this recipe. If utilizing recent you’ll use a better amount than dried.
- Garlic: Contemporary minced garlic shall be finest.
- Rotini pasta: See notes under for different choices of pasta to make use of.
- Canned tuna in oil: Tuna in oil is richer and extra flavorful and really helpful right here as an alternative of tuna in water. For those who’d like you should use a few of the oil from the can instead of the additional virgin olive oil.
- Grape tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes work properly too. I like to make use of quite a lot of colours however simply purple is nice too.
- Bell pepper: Purple, orange or yellow bell pepper work properly on this recipe. It may be roasted over a flame of a fuel range, or it will also be broiled within the oven to realize that mild blackened char.
- English cucumber: A daily backyard cucumber will work as properly, simply peel it first because the peel is thicker and waxy. English cucumbers don’t must be peeled.
- Kalamata olives: These are a marinated, robustly flavored Greek number of olives that you would be able to often discover by the opposite olives on the grocery retailer in glass bottles.
- Purple onion: You may rinse the onion first to take away the tough chunk if most well-liked.
- Parsley: Contemporary parsley is finest right here, it provides plenty of recent herby taste to the pasta salad and a pleasant pop of inexperienced.
Make Tuna Pasta Salad
- Make pasta salad dressing: In a medium mixing bowl whisk collectively Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, dill, garlic and season with salt and pepper to style. Switch to fridge.
- Prepare dinner pasta: Prepare dinner pasta to al dente in response to package deal instructions in salted water. Earlier than draining reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Cool pasta: Drain and unfold out to chill on a greased baking sheet or parchment paper.
- Toss pasta salad elements and dressing: In a big salad bowl toss collectively pasta, tuna, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, olives, purple onion and parsley with the dressing.
- Skinny pasta salad: Add splashes of pasta water to skinny as wanted (notice that it’s going to thicken because it rests because the pasta will take in extra moisture). Style for extra salt and pepper as wanted.
Doable Recipe Variations
Veggies: You may swap out a few of the veggies included right here for others chances are you’ll like resembling marinated artichokes, skinny sliced carrots, black olives, arugula or spinach.
Protein: An alternative choice is to swap the tuna with salmon (I like to recommend leftover cooked salmon fairly than canned, canned salmon is horrible in my view).
Pasta: There are lots of varieties of pasta you should use right here together with bow ties, campanelle, orzo, penne, macaroni, orrechiette or fusilli to call just a few. One other sort of grain pasta will work right here as properly resembling entire wheat, farro, gluten free, or quinoa primarily based pasta.
Useful Suggestions for the Greatest Tuna Pasta Salad
Let marinate: If time permits let the pasta salad relaxation within the fridge for 1 hour for flavors to mix.
Use recent elements: This salad enormously advantages from utilizing recent lemon juice as an alternative of bottled and recent roasted bell pepper as an alternative of bottled. Additionally recent parsley is a should and it’s a cheap herb.
Don’t rinse pasta: It’s finest to unfold the pasta on parchment to chill fairly than rinsing underneath chilly water as known as for in some pasta salad recipes. If rinsed the dressing doesn’t cling as properly to the pasta.
Skinny pasta salad as wanted: As pasta salad rests within the fridge for an prolonged time frame it should take in the dressing, so add splashes of water or olive oil to skinny (or slightly of each).
retailer: Tuna pasta salad will maintain properly within the fridge for about 3 days an an hermetic container. Freezing just isn’t suggest for highest quality.
Questioning what to serve with tuna pasta salad? I like to recommend one thing mild like a simple tomato soup, or one other protein resembling grilled Greek lemon chicken.
Extra Refreshing Pasta Salad Recipes to Strive
Tuna Pasta Salad
This refreshing Mediterranean model Tuna Pasta Salad is made with tender curly rotini pasta, an abundance of recent veggies, and a creamy lemon-dill dressing with a shiny zip. It is a nutritious recipe with taste in each chunk!
Servings: 6
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In a medium mixing bowl whisk collectively Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, dill, garlic and season with salt and pepper to style. Switch to fridge.
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Prepare dinner pasta to al dente in response to package deal instructions in salted water. Earlier than draining reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain and unfold out to chill on a greased baking sheet or parchment paper.
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In a big salad bowl toss collectively pasta, tuna, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, olives, purple onion and parsley with the dressing.
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Add splashes of reserved pasta water to skinny as wanted (notice that it’s going to thicken because it rests because the pasta will take in extra moisture). Style for extra salt and pepper as wanted.
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Retailer within the fridge as much as 3 days. Skinny with slightly water or olive oil as desired.
- *Different varieties of pasta that can work right here resembling fusilli, penne, bow ties, or orecchiette.
- **To roast bell pepper char over the flame of a fuel range prime utilizing steel tongs to show. Preserve a detailed eye on it. An alternative choice is to broil on a baking sheet set underneath the broiler of an oven, turning often and holding a detailed eye on it. Let it cool barely earlier than chopping.
- If you need a cheese added to the salad you’ll be able to add 3/4 cup crumbled feta.
- Recipe makes about 11 cups.
Diet Details
Tuna Pasta Salad
Quantity Per Serving
Energy 355
Energy from Fats 144
% Every day Worth*
Fats 16g25%
Saturated Fats 2g13%
Polyunsaturated Fats 2g
Monounsaturated Fats 10g
Ldl cholesterol 14mg5%
Sodium 418mg18%
Potassium 581mg17%
Carbohydrates 37g12%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 18g36%
Vitamin A 1925IU39%
Vitamin C 48mg58%
Calcium 67mg7%
Iron 2mg11%
* P.c Every day Values are primarily based on a 2000 calorie eating regimen.
