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Refreshing and flavorful, this Pasta Tuna Salad is creamy, filling, and packed with flavors you know and love. This will be a huge hit at parties, picnics, barbecues, and more.
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Perfect for the spring and summer, this creamy tuna pasta salad includes hard-boiled eggs and fresh veggies for the ultimate side dish. It’s quickly become one of my favorite cold pasta salads!
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Why This Recipe Works
With very little prep involved, this cold tuna pasta salad is the perfect medley of fresh and vibrant flavors. It uses canned tuna for an affordable protein and comes with a homemade creamy dressing.
The end result is the perfect balance of flavors that work well as a side dish, a main course, or even meal prep! Adding this pasta salad on the side will make any meal the perfect meal.
And if you can’t get enough of delicious pasta salads like this one, try my Tuna Casserole for a classic recipe or this Southwestern Chicken Pasta Salad for something fun and exciting!
Ingredients Needed
- Small Shell Pasta: You can use any short-cut pasta for this dish, but I like shells for a fun twist.
- Mayonnaise: Choose light mayo for a slightly healthier option.
- Yellow Mustard: Adds the perfect punch of flavor.
- Relish: I used sweet, but you can also use dill if you prefer.
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Feel free to use bottled if it’s easier, but I prefer the flavor of fresh lemon juice.
- Seasonings: Celery salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, salt and black pepper infuse this dish with lots of flavor.
- Veggies: I use a simple combo of fresh celery, fresh red onion, and frozen peas.
- Fresh Dill Weed: Fresh herbs like dill are great to add a pop of flavor that helps bring everything together.
- Hard Boiled Eggs: Makes the salad more filling.
How to Make this Pasta Tuna Salad
- Step 1: Cook your pasta al dente according to the package directions, then add cooked pasta to a large mixing bowl with mayo, mustard, relish, lemon juice, and seasonings. Give it a good stir to combine.
- Step 2: Add the tuna, peas, celery, and red onions and mix again.
- Step 3: Chop the hard-boiled eggs into smaller chunks.
- Step 4: Mix the eggs into the pasta salad. Chill for at least 2 hours and serve!
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to taste the pasta salad before you serve it and adjust the seasonings to taste.
- Instead of shells, use elbow macaroni, penne, farfalle (bow ties), rotini, or cavatappi.
- Don’t skip the chilling phase! All of the flavors develop and meld together as it sits in the fridge.
- Other veggies that would be great to add to this dish include corn, diced red bell pepper, olives, scallions, or even some blanched broccoli!
- If you have leftovers, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
