Peas are totally underrated. They’re inexpensive, easy to cook or add to recipes, and packed with both protein and fiber. So they’re an excellent item to keep on hand in your freezer to whip up quick and easy dinners, like this Creamy Tuna Pasta with Peas. You only need a few ingredients, about 20 minutes, and you’ll have this warm, comforting dinner that will be equally as good the next day for lunch!
Want more tuna recipes? Check out my tuna recipe archives!
What Type of Canned Tuna Should I Use?
I’m going to admit that I sprung for the more expensive “solid” canned tuna for this recipe so that I could have some larger chunks of tuna meat throughout. You can use “chunk light” tuna, which tends to be more flaky and shredded, which should bring the cost of this recipe down a bit.
What Type of Parmesan is Best?
For some strange reason I couldn’t find basic grated Parmesan in the store today (seriously, where were they hiding it??) so I hand shredded a wedge of Parmesan that I had bought from Aldi a while back. Wedge Parmesan is more expensive and melts better than grated Parmesan, but grated Parmesan is totally doable in this recipe if that’s what is available to you. It may not melt as smoothly, but it will still be yuuuuumy!
Creamy Tuna Pasta with Peas
Servings 4 about 2 cups eachIngredients
- 8 oz. pasta ($0.67)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.26)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 cup frozen peas ($0.38)
- 1 cup half and half* ($0.75)
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan ($0.95)
- 12 oz. can solid Albacore tuna, drained ($2.79)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the rest of the dish. Add the butter and minced garlic to a large skillet. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for about one minute, or just until it is soft and fragrant, but not browned.
- Add the frozen peas and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for a couple minutes more, or until the peas are heated through.
- Add the half and half to the skillet and allow it to come up to a simmer, stirring frequently to keep a skin from forming on the surface or the bottom from scorching. Let the half and half simmer for about 3-5 minutes, or just until it reduces slightly.
- At this point the pasta should be finished and drained. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and stir to combine. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the pasta and stir to combine again. Allow the heat to melt the Parmesan as you stir. Once melted, turn the heat off. Taste the pasta and add a pinch of salt and pepper, if needed.
- Finally, add the drained tuna and fold it into the pasta. If you are using whole tuna chunks, break them up slightly as you stir. If you are using chunk light tuna that is already in small pieces, fold gently to avoid breaking the tuna up too much. Serve warm!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Tuna Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Begin cooking 8 oz. of pasta first, because you’ll be able to prepare the rest of the dish in the time it takes to cook the pasta. While your pasta is boiling, add 2 Tbsp butter and 2 cloves of garlic, minced, to a large skillet. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until it is soft and fragrant, but not brown.
Add one cup of frozen peas and a pinch of salt and pepper to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium for a few minutes, or just until the peas are heated through.
Add 1 cup half and half and allow it to come up to a simmer. Allow the half and half to simmer for a few minutes, stirring frequently, so that it reduces slightly. Make sure to stir as it simmers to prevent a skin from forming on top and to prevent the bottom from scorching.
At this point the pasta should be finished cooking. Once drained, add the cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine with the cream and peas.
Add the Parmesan and stir to combine. The heat from the pasta and cream will begin to melt the Parmesan. Keep stirring until it is fairly smooth, then turn the heat off. Give it a taste and add another pinch of salt and pepper, if desired.
Finally, add a drained 12 oz. can of tuna. Stir to combine. If your tuna is in whole pieces like mine, you can break it up a bit as you stir. If you’re using tuna that is closer to a shredded consistency, fold it in gently to make sure it doesn’t disintegrate and disappear into the pasta.
And that’s a wrap! You quick and easy Creamy Tuna Pasta with Peas and Parmesan is ready to eat!
Dinner doesn’t have to be difficult. :)
This is the 2nd time I made it. Fantastic. A keeper and super simple. Since there’s just 2 of is, I cut the recipe in half but keep the sauce the same. My husband, it doesn’t matter what recipe I make, always likes more sauce. The 2nd time I made it I did not have peas so instead substituted tatsoi I had just picked from the garden. Delicious!
My kids don’t eat tuna, so thought I would give this a try (verdict still out until they get home!)
I’m in Australia so we don’t have half/half – I used just standard single cream but I think next time I would use milk and some corn-starch as it would have the same texture and I always have those ingredients to hand!
I added chopped (defrosted) frozen spinach whilst sautéing the peas (it’s so cheap here to buy and my kids can’t taste it so I figure it’s an extra veggie), and also added a couple of handful’s of grated cheese once the cream had heated up and stirred that through along with the tuna to hide the fishy-ness a little.
I’ve tasted it and think it is really delicious, hopefully the kids do too! :)
For anyone else that forgot to pick up half n half at the grocery store like me, I used 1 C of milk and thickened it with some cornstarch and it was just as tasty! I made this with half n half the last time I made this and I couldn’t tell the difference :)
Tasted good but my dish turned out a little dry and it needed more savory flavor. I added some basil pesto as another commenter suggested and that helped. I think adding some lemon juice or vinegar would help as well. It’s a good base recipe to expand on but it needs just a little extra in my opinion.
Pasta water works pretty good to make it add moisture.
I didn’t have a cup of half and half but was able to successfully replace it with half a can of Campbells Cheddar Cheese mixed with about a half cup of milk. I’m pretty sure this doesn’t taste as the author intended but it was really good!
One can also cook the tuna with the butter and garlic if you don’t wish for such a strong fishy taste.
Hey there, wondering if this is ok to be frozen?
Unfortunately, creamy sauces generally don’t do well with freezing. They tend to separate. :(
This was an amazing recipe! I kist started learni g to cook the recipe was simple to follow and came out so delicious i savored every bite. What would be a good way to reheat this dish?
I just use the microwave. With pasta dishes like this the pasta will absorb some of the sauce as it reheats so it will be a little more dry the second time around, but still delicious, IMHO! :)
Put together your easy to cook recipe and it came out just like you said delicious I love it thank you
So this looks absolutely incredible, I was wondering if/how long we could store it in the fridge? I’m trying to make enough for just about two days worth of dinner :)
For dishes like this I usually get about four days in the refrigerator, but it can depend on so many different factors, so your mileage may vary. :)
Super easy and delicious. I slightly modified this by doubling the recipe, making the sauce in a saucepan (everything cooked just fine), and adding 1/4 a cup of freshly chopped parsley to the sauce after cooking, but before adding to the pasta to make sure it blended well. The sauce seems very runny at first, but as you fold it into the pasta it thickens to the perfect consistency, so don’t be scared!
The great thing about this sauce is if you sub the half-and-half for heavy whipping cream, you have a perfect alfredo sauce for fettuccine.
Awesome recipe and a great base for a tuna pasta dinner. I made it as written first and it was absolutely delicious and very affordable. After I got a feel for the recipe I made some alterations to make it fit my tastes even more.
I’m not a huge fan of peas so I substituted chopped kale as I always have kale growing in the garden. Then I added about a tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes as I really like spice. Then, taking a note from one of the other recipes from Budgetbytes (creamy pesto pasta) I added a tablespoon or two of pesto for an extra oomph of flavor and color. I also did a penne pasta instead of the corkscrew, just as a preference (I always have penne pasta for the creamy pesto pasta). Put in a bowl, squeeze some fresh lime juice on top and it’s delicious! …. Alright, I know those are a lot of alterations but that just proves what a versatile base recipe this is!
Can I use canned peas
Yes :)
I used google to see if you had a tuna noodle casserole, and there are several pinterest/other site links to a Tuna Noodle Casserole with olives and spinach, but it seems to have gone 404. Is this intentional? Any chance you would restore it?
Yes, that was intentional (I occasionally remove recipes that I don’t think are high quality), but I will email you a pdf of the recipe to the email address you used to register this comment. :)
The tuna casserole recipe with the olives and spinach is what my older daughter refers to as the “good” tuna casserole. I have a printout of this one, but I wanted to let you know that this is a family favorite for us.
Can lite coconut milk be substituted for half & half?
Unfortunately, I haven’t tried that so I’m not sure how much it will affect the outcome.
I used the regular cheap cans of tuna in water from Aldi but it still stayed kind of chunky. I forgot to add the parmesan at first but think this dish would be fine without it as well.