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Overhead of chilled tuna salad in clear bowl on yellow linen
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4.95 from 20 votes

Tuna Pasta Salad

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.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Chilling1 hour
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 461kcal

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. This salad will last 1-2 days in the refrigerator, and should remain chilled when not serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 710mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Vitamin C: 6.4mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1.1mg