This Tuna Pasta Salad with shell noodles, peas, tuna, celery, and Greek yogurt is fast, healthy, and a dish your whole family can enjoy!
Tuna Pasta Salad
I don't know about you, but for me, warm weather screams pasta salad! This tuna pasta salad is a classic! It easy, fast, and I usually have all the ingredients that I need to throw it together. My kids love this pasta salad and we eat it for lunch all the time, but it works great as a dinner or side dish.
I also love feeding my kids something that I know has great health benefits. Did you know tuna fish is a great source of protein and contains omega 3 fatty acids that can help fight heart disease? For the sauce in this recipe I use a mixture of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt. I love the creaminess that the Greek yogurt adds, and it's packed with protein. You could also serve this dish with whole wheat pasta.
How to make Tuna Pasta Salad:
Cook your pasta according to package instructions, then drain them and allow them to cool a little. I like to use mini shell noodles, but any type of bite-size pasta can be used.
While the noodles cook, chop the celery and onion, drain the tuna, and warm the peas (you could also add the peas to the boiling pasta water during the last minute of cooking).
Mix the mayonnaise and Greek yogurt together until smooth.
Add the cooked pasta, tuna, celery, onion, and peas to a large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing on top and toss to coat.
If you'd like to make this recipe in advance I would suggest waiting to add the sauce until you're ready to serve, otherwise the noodles will soak up the sauce and it wont have the creaminess that you want.
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Recipe
Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces small shells pasta , or your favorite bite-size pasta
- 7 ounces canned albacore white tuna, packed in water , drained
- 2 ribs celery , chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion , chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- dried dill weed , to taste, optional
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package instructions, until al dente. Drain.
- In a large bowl add chopped onion and celery, peas, cooked pasta, and drained tuna.
- In a separate bowl, mix the mayo and Greek yogurt.
- Stir half of the sauce into the pasta mixture and toss to evenly coat. Season with salt and pepper and dried dil, to taste.
- Refrigerate pasta and remaining sauce separately, covered, for 30 min. Stir in remaining sauce and serve immediately.
Macros Recipe Adaptation
½ cup olive oil mayonnaise, ½ cup non-fat plain greek yogurtPer Serving Amount
233 gramsMacros
355 kcal, Fat: 15g, Carbs: 42g, Protein: 19gNutrition
I originally shared this recipe in June 2011. Updated May 2018.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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This is the easiest, most classic version of the tuna pasta salads. Don’t omit the dill weed, either fresh or dried. It’s delicious!!! Thank you!
Your Tuna Pasta Salad is absolutely delicious every time and a go-to for me! This salad is like a “party in your mouth”! Thank you for sharing it! I even add hard boiled eggs sometimes and a little Mayo too! A definite 5STAR recipe! I have made it with elbows and little farfalle. Both pastas go well with the recipe ingredients. And sometimes I use old Bay seasoning to add a little spice to the mix! Never fails!
I have never made a tuna pasta salad in my life but was looking for quick meals to take to work and saw this. It is absolutely delicious and only took me a few minutes to prep.
Looked for a real good tuna pasta salad and I found it here.
Looks great! Can’t wait to give it a try.
Would also be good with some powdered ranch dressing in the salad
This is so good, I could eat it for breakfast!
Thanks Kathy 🙂
Thank you Lauren Allen!!
this is DELICIOUS!!!! BUT…what is a kcal????????? I googled it and this recipe has 291000 calories???????????? If there are 5 servings, that would make 58200 calories per serving. I know that can’t be right. Help!!!!!!!!
Hi Sherry, the recipe template that calculates the nutritional information uses the scientific term for food calories (Kcal) which is the same as Calories, in this case. This recipe has about 290 calories per single serving. There are 5 servings. 🙂
Delicious salade for the summertime
It really is! Thanks Tamara!
This is DELICIOUS and so incredibly easy to make! Thanks so much for sharing!
What kind of Tuna do you recommend – water or oil? Also what size of can? Is there a favorite brand you have?
Thank you!
I would only use tuna packed in water. If you use the tuna packed in oil, it will also be packed in extra calories and fat. If you are going for a lighter taste and a healthier option, use tuna packed in water. FYI-tuna packed in oil does not sit well on everyone’s stomach. I would add a little lemon pepper seasoning and garlic to this salad as well to add a little more flavor. I cannot wait to make this and serve it in lettuce cups! YUM!!!
This recipe is delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your delicious ideas.
Just made this! Very YUMMY! Will definitely make this this summer when invited to BBQs. Makes wonderful cold side pasta salad!