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Quick Dinner Ideas

Creamy Tuna Pasta Salad

5 from 1 vote
Light creamy tuna pasta salad that works hot or cold. Budget friendly filling and genuinely delicious. Make a big batch Sunday and you have lunches sorted for half the week too. One of the most underrated quick dinners on this list.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Calories: 410

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g pasta shells or rotini or any short pasta
  • 2 cans tuna in water well drained
  • 5 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise
  • 2 stalks celery finely diced
  • Quarter red onion very finely diced
  • 1 large lemon juiced
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • Half teaspoon garlic powder
  • Salt and black pepper very generously
  • Fresh parsley or dill chopped for garnish
  • Optional: 1 cup frozen peas added to pasta water last 2 minutes

Method
 

  1. Step 1: Cook pasta in heavily salted boiling water per package instructions — salting the water properly is the difference between bland and delicious
  2. Step 2: If using peas add to pasta water in last 2 minutes of cooking
  3. Step 3: While pasta cooks drain tuna in strainer press firmly with fork to remove as much liquid as possible — wet tuna makes dressing watery
  4. Step 4: In large bowl whisk together mayo mustard lemon juice and garlic powder until smooth
  5. Step 5: Add tuna to dressing break up any large chunks mix well
  6. Step 6: Add celery and red onion mix again
  7. Step 7: Drain pasta — if serving cold rinse under cold water until completely cooled — if serving hot add directly to bowl
  8. Step 8: Add pasta to tuna mixture toss everything together coating every piece
  9. Step 9: Taste and season generously — this needs more salt than you think
  10. Step 10: Garnish with fresh parsley serve immediately or refrigerate up to 3 days

Notes

— Season aggressively —
pasta salad needs more
salt than hot dishes
— Add pasta while still
slightly warm if serving
immediately — absorbs
dressing better
— Gets better after sitting
in fridge couple hours —
great make ahead meal
— Add halved cherry tomatoes
cucumber chunks or
hard boiled eggs
to bulk it up further