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Our Tuna Pasta Salad is loaded with creamy avocado, red onion, and diced tomatoes all tossed in a simple, tangy dressing with tuna and tender pasta. This pasta salad recipe is a summer staple that makes a great lunch or side dish at any cook out and it’s perfect for meal prep!
Pasta salad is arguably the best part of summer. Okay, and potato salad. And fruit salad. Bring me all the cold salads! 😉
Cool, refreshing, and infinitely adaptable. What’s not to love about a recipe like that?
We have quite a few pasta salad recipes, including our famous Italian pasta salad (it’s loaded with so much goodness) and Amish macaroni salad.
I also make this BLT pasta salad all summer long and it’s a winner too!
This tuna pasta salad though? It’s a definite favorite, partially because it can double as a main course or a side dish thanks to the protein from the tuna and big flavors stirred in!
This tuna pasta salad recipe is simple, easy to make, and family friendly – plus it’s made with pantry staples like canned tuna and dried pasta.
Everyone loves the creaminess of the dressing paired with the fresh vegetables and bright flavors all mixed up with tender pasta and tuna.
Ingredient Notes:
Pasta – Campanelle is our favorite, but farfalle, macaroni, and penne will work too. Use any small shape of pasta that you like.
Tuna – Use your favorite brand of the canned/bagged stuff and drain it well.
Avocado – This adds a creamy, buttery texture and makes the salad so satisfying.
Tomatoes – We add in halved cherry tomatoes for a little pop of freshness.
Red Onion – This adds a bit of crunch and a sharp flavor. Skip this if you have onion haters in the house!
Lemon – A little citrus just brightens up the whole dish. We prefer fresh lemon juice vs. bottled.
Mayo – Use full fat or low fat mayo here. You could also swap this out for plain Greek yogurt if you don’t want to use mayo.
Seasonings – We’re seasoning this with a mix of chives, dill, salt, and black pepper. Simple, but flavorful.
Other – Feel free to use any other veggies or ingredients you’d like to mix in. Peas are commonly added to tuna pasta salad, and celery, carrots, or dill pickle relish will add a nice crunch. Hard boiled egg would work here too!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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What We Love About This Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe
This tuna pasta salad makes for a cool, refreshing dish that is especially awesome during the summer! We love that you don’t need to heat up the kitchen and that this can be served as a side dish at dinner or as a quick lunch. Plus, the avocado is creamy and filling and the lemon adds loads of bright flavor.
How to make Pasta Salad with Tuna:
Cook your pasta according to the package directions. Rinse it under cold water to quickly cool it down.
Add the tuna, avocado, tomatoes, and onions to the bowl with the tuna and give it a quick stir.
Combine the mayo, lemon juice, dill, and salt and pepper in a small bowl to make the dressing.
Pour the dressing over the pasta and stir to coat. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before enjoying.
What to serve with cold tuna pasta salad:
This makes a great lunch – double the tuna if you’d like it to be extra filling and just serve with some fresh fruit or grilled veggies on the side. Our air fryer zucchini makes a great side too!
If you’d like to serve this as a side, it will work well with any of your standard barbecue fare – turkey burgers, grilled BBQ chicken, or hot dogs and brats.
Don’t want to fire up the grill? Make your brats in the air fryer.
My Jiffy corn casserole and broccoli cheese casserole all go well alongside this pasta salad.
For dessert, try my Bisquick peach cobbler.
Hope you guys love this cold tuna pasta salad as much as we do!
Recipe FAQs:
Yep! Campanelle, farfelle or bowtie pasta, macaroni and just about any other small shape of pasta will work great in pasta salad.
Our cold tuna pasta salad will last, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for 4 days.
More Creamy Pasta SAlad Recipes!
Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces campanelle pasta
- 12 ounces tuna drained
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons minced chives
- 1 tablespoon dill
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
- Add the pasta to large bowl along with the tuna, avocado, tomatoes, and red onion. Stir to combine.
- Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives, dill, salt, and pepper to a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Pour dressing over the pasta salad and stir to coat.
- Season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate for one hour before serving.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in 2018. It was updated with new photos in April 2024.
Sharon Goldman says
Even better the next day!
Karly Campbell says
Love to hear that! Thanks, Sharon!
Sharon Goldman says
followed this recipe (almost) exact – which is unusual for me…DELICIOUS! will definitely be adding this to my rotation of recipes!
Karly Campbell says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks, Sharon!
Sandra Rutledge says
Can’t wait till I can get the ingredients to make th!
Melissa says
Does this use fresh dill or dried
Karly says
We use fresh dill. If using dried, you may want to use a bit less.
Pamala says
Hey Karly, regarding the tuna pasta salad, is that fresh dill? If I use dried dill would I use less?
Karly says
I used fresh dill. You could reduce to a teaspoon if using dried and always add more if you like. 🙂
Dana says
Well…. This looks and sounds really delicious. I just went to the market and bought all the ingredients and my husband said that he wanted to make a tuna pasta salad tonight (I usually make all our meals). He just now finished it and put it in the fridge to chill; he only mixed together pasta, peas, tuna, and a *whole jar* of mayo, THATS IT! Literally not anything else in it, no salt, nothing. Lol! (Sigh) I guess ill have to make your version tomorrow for me.
Karly says
Oh my, that’s a lot of mayo! Hopefully your hubby’s recipe turned out, but if not, I hope you give this one a try!
Joyce says
Would this work with smoked Alaska canned red salmon?
Karly says
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would be fine.
Rena says
This Pasts Salad looks so tasty! Going to make this for my kids
Lauren @ Lemon & Mocha says
I love pasta tuna salad and yours looks delicious! Bring on the avocado 🙂
Kimberly says
This looks really good. My daughter loves pasta salad. Definitely gonna give this one a try soon, hope it will be tasty for her.
Karly says
Hope you and your daughter enjoy!