It’s officially H.O.T. outside, so I’m leaning into my cold pasta salads hard these days! This Tuna Pasta Salad is an easy classic that is cool, creamy, inexpensive, and it keeps me full. This one is seriously simple and it’s the perfect salad for summer BBQs, potlucks, to pack for lunches, or to have a quick cold meal when you’re sweating it out in this heat. So bookmark it now because you’ll want to revisit it, again and again, this summer!
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
What’s In Tuna Pasta Salad
This classic recipe is really simple and most of the ingredients are fairly inexpensive. To make this tuna pasta salad you’ll need:
- Pasta – We used small shells, but you can use any small shape. Bowtie pasta is another great option.
- Tuna – Canned tuna is probably the most expensive ingredient in this pasta salad, but a little goes a long way! We used two 5oz. cans to span all six servings. If you want to reduce the price even further, drop down to one can and increase the amount of peas for more protein!
- Onion – A little onion adds depth of flavor and a lot of great crunch to this salad. We used red onion for color, but a sweet onion also works!
- Dressing – This tuna salad uses a super simple homemade dressing made with mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and dried dill. Simple but good!
what Kind of Tuna to Use
I prefer chunk light tuna for this pasta salad because it’s a good balance between affordable and having a good texture for the salad. Tuna labeled “solid” will have larger prettier pieces, but usually fetches a higher price. Albicore or white tuna will have a lighter color and a milder flavor. …but I kind of like the stronger taste of tuna for this salad!
Variations on Tuna Pasta Salad
Tuna pasta salad has been a classic for decades and everyone makes it a little different. If you want to branch out from the recipe below, here are some other ingredients you can try:
- Add diced cheddar for more richness
- Substitute half of the mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt for a slightly lighter flavor
- Substitute the onion with shallots for a milder onion flavor
- Add diced celery for more crunch
- Add diced hard-boiled egg for more inexpensive protein
- Add a couple tablespoons of dill or sweet relish for more flavor
- Try canned salmon in place of the tuna
- Add fresh herbs (dill, parsley, tarragon, green onion)
Can You Make Tuna Pasta Salad Ahead?
You can make tuna pasta salad ahead of time, which can be helpful for potlucks and BBQs, but it’s definitely best when eaten on the same day it’s prepared. I would advise against making it more than one day ahead because it will begin to dry out the longer it stays in the refrigerator. Luckily, this pasta salad is a snap to make, so it’s easy to whip up on the day of!
Tuna Pasta Salad with Peas
Servings 6 about 1 cup eachIngredients
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise ($0.92)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.12)
- 1/4 tsp dried dill ($0.03)
- ¾ tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup diced red onion ($0.11)
- 1 cup frozen peas ($0.47)
- 12 oz. mini shell pasta ($1.13)
- 2 5oz. cans chunk light tuna, drained ($1.98)
Instructions
- Make the dressing first. Combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill, salt, and pepper in a bowl, then set the dressing aside.
- Finely dice the red onion and measure out the frozen peas.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until it's almost fully tender (about 5-6 minutes), then add the frozen peas. Continue to cook the pasta and peas together for the last minute or two, or until the pasta is fully tender. Drain the pasta and peas well in a colander, allowing them to cool.
- Once the pasta and peas are well drained and mostly cooled, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the diced red onion, drained tuna, and prepared dressing. Fold the ingredients together until everything is evenly combined and coated in dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Tuna Pasta Salad – Step By Step Photos
Make the dressing first. Combine ¾ cup mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, ¾ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and ¼ tsp dried dill. Stir everything together, then set the dressing aside.
Finely dice about ½ cup of red onion. Measure 1 cup of frozen peas.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add 12 oz. small shell pasta (or any other small shape) and boil just until tender. When the pasta is almost cooked through, add the frozen peas and let them cook with the pasta for the last two minutes. Drain the pasta and peas well in a colander, allowing them to cool.
When the pasta and peas have drained well and cooled down (slightly warm is okay), add them to a large bowl with two drained 5oz. cans of tuna, the diced red onion, and the prepared dressing.
Gently fold the ingredients together until everything is evenly mixed and coated in dressing.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat!
I made this, only I doubled the tuna portion (I love tuna). It is DEEEELICIOUS…Thanks.
Hello, delicious lunch on day 5#
Threw it together the night before and packed it for mine and the hubby’s lunch today. He sent me a text to ask if there was any leftover, which i take as a thumbs up ;-)
I took your advice and waited to add the tuna till the end, it stayed in nice defined chunks. I also couldn’t get over how non-vegetal this tasted but it had a ton of peas in it, which was very nice, since I wanted the tuna to be the star, but packing veggies in is important. Only change was the grocery stores fault, I had to get tuna in oil, but frankly, i am not complaining, i am oldschool and like it that way lol.
Chicken chili verde for dinner and i can’t wait!
This is a great salad- made it today and added celery and cilantro – amazing! Added a bit of a extra crunch and spice to it. I had forgotten to put the mayo in it , and still liked it but even better with mayo! Thank you!
I grew up on tuna pasta salad (broke divorcee father LOVED making it).. we used cream of mushroom soup instead of mayo. Not sure which is more nutritionally sound, but either works just as well. I also though instead of the mayo, a balsamic vinaigrette (creole mustard, olive oil, and balsamic) would be great… much healthier than mayo (less additives as well) without losing the creaminess.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Thanks for sharing with us this awesome recipe. Not only did I get to save money, but it is also very delicious which my kids really loved! It went really well with an iced cold coffee shake I made using one of my espresso makers at home. Kudos to you!
Yum! I fiddled with the proportions a bit, and used a mix of pasta I had lying around (regular curly egg noodle, penne, and rotini). And added some diced apple (fuji and gala). I tend to like eggs in my tuna salad, but I don’t think this recipe needs any. The sweet peas work wonderfully. Sadly I didn’t have any onion to throw in, and I do miss them, but they have plenty of kick without. Thanks so much!
Wow, Aaron, that is a whole new salad and it sounds awesome! Thanks for the suggestions!
I tried this for the first time since I had an abundance of tuna and it was better than I thought it was going to be. I used a pea/carrot mix, added fresh cilantro and some chopped up capers since it pairs so well with tuna. I also added a little bit of chili oil to the mayo to spice it up and did a half mayo/yogurt mix to make it a bit healthier. I will definitely be making this again.
I like this recipe, but I normally like to make an alfredo sauce instead of the mayo.
I love this receipe but I always add chedder cheese and maybe a little ranch dressing.
After reading this post I realized how long it had been since I last had tuna noodle salad, and decided to make it. I added green peppers, and substituted lime juice for the lemon juice- it added an amazing kick. Thanks for sharing!
This is my favorite way to make a pasta/tuna salad. The red onions are key. Sometimes I add fresh tarragon or dill, and sometimes sub out the lemon juice with a bit of balsamic.
This look soo good! I can’t wait to make it!
This pasta salad looks perfect!! I’m bookmarking this recipe. Great photos!