Creamy, easy and the perfect picnic side, this Tuna Pasta salad is full of noodles, peas, red onion, tuna all tossed in a deliciously creamy and easy sauce. The absolutely best salad recipe to bring to your next gathering this summer.
When it comes to pasta salads this Tuna Pasta Salad runs supreme. It is THE salad that we whip up the majority time during the summer because it is so creamy and flavorful and everyone loves it.
There are so many simple elements to this recipe that won’t hold you back because it is super easy, whips up quickly with a little bit of chilling time you have a side dish that will feed a crowd.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- The creamy dressing made from mayo, milk, seasoning salt, sugar and salt and pepper gives it just the hint of sweet and salty that sets this salad apart.
- Additions of the red onions and pea give it a nice color plus texture contrast that is sought out in so many different salad recipes.
- The tuna and eggs give it a fun flavor that is not only traditional of a tuna pasta salad, but two parings that go together nicely.
What we do a little differently than most when it comes to cold pasta salad recipes is that we like to add a little bit of sweetness to our dressing mixture.
When it is too salty it really over powers the recipe itself, so adding in some sugar in our belief is the best option you can have.
Also adding in the milk to the mayo mixture really ensures that the salad is extra creamy and when chilled it doesn’t soak up all the way when you remove it from the refrigerator.
HOW TO MAKE TUNA PASTA SALAD, STEP BY STEP:
Place elbow macaroni (we like to use jumbo elbows) in a large pot of well salted boiling water and boil for about 10-15 minutes until al dente. Remove from heat and drain liquid, then run under cold water to stop cooking and down noodles (Photos 1 & 2).
In large bowl add your drained tuna, chopped hard-boiled eggs, peas and red onions. Next add in your pasta and stir it around until combined (Photos 3 & 4).
Next in smaller bowl whisk together your dressing ingredients which are mayo, sugar, milk, salt, pepper and seasoning salt, then whisk to combined (Photos 5 & 6).
Pour your dressing mixture over your noodles, scraping the bowl to make sure you get it all and then stir until everything is coated and combined (Photos 7 & 8).
Place plastic wrap over the to top and remove to refrigerator to cool for about 1 hour.
This is one of the creamiest Tuna Pasta Salad recipes around, the sugar really gives it a nice contrast on flavor. But this also could be a base salad recipe to work up to your liking.
Ways to adapt this salad:
Like stated above there are so many different preferences that people like when it comes to Tuna Pasta Salad recipes. You can switch out the red onion for regular, or if you’re not an onion lover leave it out completely.
My kids regularly like cheese in this salad recipe, so you can also cut up some block cheddar, or Colby Monterey Jack cheese and stir in some slices of that as well.
We are not huge celery fans in this house, but dicing up some celery nice and fine would be a great addition to this salad, it will add a little bit more crunch to the texture as well.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- You can essentially use any type of pasta you like. We like to use elbows or giant elbow (we find them at Trader Joe’s) because they are more “traditional” but any smaller pasta will work such as bowties, penne, shells, etc.
- If you like your salad super creamy, add a little bit more mayo to this salad recipe. We use 1 1/2 cups because we find that a good balance, but if it is going to sit a little longer than an hour or so before serving, I would up it to 1 3/4 and slightly adjust your seasonings slightly, taste to make sure it’s how you like it.
- You can also use miracle whip in this dressing if you are not mayo fans, we have used both and enjoy it either way. Just swap 50/50.
- This salad needs to be refrigerated 30 minutes to at least 1 hour for it to chill properly and soak up some of that dressing mixture.
- A fun way to defrost peas quickly is to add it to the end of your cooking process for your noodles, we have done that many times in the past and it works like a charm.
- This salad will last 1-2 days in the refrigerator, and should remain chilled when not serving.
If you enjoy summer salads than this Tuna Pasta Salad is one you will have to add to your recipe menu. It’s quick and easy to whip up and serves a crowd, one of our favorite recipes of all time!
Some other pasta salads you might like:
If you’ve tried this TUNA PASTA SALAD or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow noodles cooked according to pkg directions
- 3 4 oz cans tuna in water drained
- 4 hard-boiled eggs chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas defrosted
- 1/2 cup red onion diced fine
- 1 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tsp seasoning salt
- 3-4 Tbs sugar
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook your pasta in large pot with salted water until al dente, about 15 minutes, remove and strain water then run under cool water to stop cooking and cool down pasta.
- In large nowl add your tuna, eggs, onion and peas.
- Add in your drained pasta and stir to combine, set aside.
- In smaller bowl whisk together mayo, milk, seasoning salt, sugar, salt & pepper until combined.
- Pour over your pasta, scraping the bowl to make sure you get all the dressing mixture then stir to coat everything evenly.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to at least an hour to chill and let pasta soak up some of the dressing.
Notes
- You can essentially use any type of pasta you like. We like to use elbows or giant elbow (we find them at Trader Joe's) because they are more "traditional" but any smaller pasta will work such as bowties, penne, shells, etc.
- If you like your salad super creamy, add a little bit more mayo to this salad recipe. We use 1 1/2 cups because we find that a good balance, but if it is going to sit a little longer than an hour or so before serving, I would up it to 1 3/4 and slightly adjust your seasonings slightly, taste to make sure it's how you like it.
- You can also use miracle whip in this dressing if you are not mayo fans, we have used both and enjoy it either way. Just swap 50/50.
- This salad needs to be refrigerated 30 minutes to at least 1 hour for it to chill properly and soak up some of that dressing mixture.
- This salad will last 1-2 days in the refrigerator, and should remain chilled when not serving.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Joyce
This was everything I’ve always wanted in a tuna Mac salad! I omitted the sugar and added sweet pickle relish and it was perfect! I only used low sodium seasoned salt to taste and black pepper for the seasoning. I’ll be making this for every picnic/cook out from now on. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Kathleen
Loved your tuna pasta salad! Made it today with all organic ingredients (even the tuna) and it tastes so good! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Diana
Very good recipe. I do not add any sugar and I also use dill and add celery. This is a very similar recipe my mom used to make. I also use spiral pasta and do not add milk. You can really have fun with this recipe to make it to your liking.
Susan Cox
Really nice salad – I add a tablespoon or so of spicy brown and/or dijon mustard as I love the flavor it adds, chopped celery and used only 1/2 the sugar called for. yum
Andre
Delicious classic! Exactly what I had been craving. Added some dried dill to it, highly recommend 👍👍
Diane
This is possibly the best pasta and tuna salad I’ve ever made. I’ll admit I only used 1 teaspoon of sugar, and I was out of peas, so I doubled the onion and added celery. I’ve tried many times to make this salad as creamy and delicious as your recipe. Finally with your suggestions I did it. Thank you for the delicious salad. I’ll make it again and again.
Elaine
We love this salad! I have made it 3 times since I found the recipe. One thing I changed is the mayonnaise, I substitute 1 cup of Greek nonfat yogurt and a 1/2 cup mayonnaise and follow the rest of the ingredients using just 3 tablespoons of sugar. Trust me the dressing is still delicious.
Renee
I love tuna pasta salad. I have made it at home in the past, but it wasn’t nearly as good as this. The milk makes it creamier and the sugar gives it a hint of sweetness. The recipe calls for 3-4 tablespoons of sugar, I used 3, which was the perfect amount of sweetness for me. The only thing I added to the recipe is a stalk of celery. Perfection! I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing!
Lee
Deliciousness In Minutes!
How can something so simple be so good! I made this, adding a bit of celery, cucumber, radishes, yellow pepper and a bit more mayo and milk! The seasonings are perfect! Thank you! This recipe is a keeper!
Lynne
Wonder if I could use can chicken instead of tuna? I have an abundance of can chicken.
Tornadough Alli
A lot of people use canned chicken so that should be fine.
Debbie
Excellent! Easy to make and delicious
Alyne Thomas
This salad is wonderful! Very easy to put together. I made it for the first time tonight and can’t stop nibbling on it. I think the next time I make this salad, I might chop up some apples to put in it and maybe add a little dill seasoning. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Netta
I really enjoyed the salad, but I used more miracle whip then mayonnaise. Thanks
Melanie
Can this be made with canned peas? I don’t care much for frozen ones but I’m worried the canned may be too soft and make the salad mushy.
Tornadough Alli
It can, but we like frozen better, the canned ones turn more to mush when mixed in.
Mary Lou Barclay
What is seasoning salt ? Lawrey’s
Tornadough Alli
Yes or any other seasoning salt you would like to use.
Becca
So yummy!!! I used Duke’s mayonnaise and and also bow tie pasta just because I already had it. This can feed a crowd!
Suzy
This was so creamy and delicious! Loved the step by step photos! So helpful!
Becky Hardin
The perfect pasta salad! So good and so full of flavor.
Sara Welch
Now this is my kind of pasta salad!!! Looks amazing! I will definitely be making this with dinner tonight! Delish!
Sandy
I just have one question in your macaroni salad dressing to use 3 tablespoons of sugar. Isn’t that an awful lot of sugar to use in the dressing? This Actually it’s the first time I have ever even heard of sugar being added to a macaroni salad dressing. Before I make this recipe I want to be sure that is the correct amount to be putting in the dressing.
Tornadough Alli
It is correct. We put sugar in all of our cold pasta salads along with out chicken salad. You can use as little or as much as you like. But 3-4 Tbs is what we normally use.
Claire Hill
I use sweet pickle juice instead of the milk and sugar.
Tornadough Alli
That would be good! I’ll have to try that!
Karen
Traditional, delicious, yet able to take numerous substitutes without losing the base flavor. Im impressed! It feeds so many and even when you are full you WILL find yourself sneaking more bites. It doesnt have to be said how much better it gets as it chills but it really is just as good before it goes in the fridge. It very much has earned thw 5 stars. (also, Almost everything in it is a pantry or staple item…and you cant beat 2 days of no grocery store visits.)