Salt & Lavender

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Easy Canned Tuna Pasta (Ready in 15 Minutes!)

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This canned tuna pasta recipe is quick, healthy, and comforting. The perfect recipe when you don’t have a lot in your pantry!

This healthy 15 minute canned tuna pasta is a great time-saver when you're short on time and ingredients!

This tuna garlic pasta recipe takes me back to my childhood. My mom used to make something similar when I was a kid, and I just loved it.

She’d sometimes chop up celery leaves instead of using parsley, but I never have those on hand, so parsley it is!

I hadn’t made this recipe in a while, and I really enjoyed eating it after I finished the photos. I never put this recipe on the blog because I wasn’t sure people would like it, even though I know it tastes great. I did a little research, and there definitely is demand for canned tuna pasta, so I figured I’d do it.

I can’t believe it’s September already. I’m sure everyone is saying it, but it kinda snuck up on me. I love summer, so I’m sad to see it go, and I’m so not ready for fall.

In any case, if you’re busy and frazzled with back-to-school activities, this tuna spaghetti recipe is one way to save some time and keep your sanity.

This healthy 15 minute garlic tuna pasta is amazing when you're short on time and ingredients!

This healthy tuna pasta recipe can be jazzed up or even made more simple than it already is. For the photos I added some grated parmesan cheese and a little lemon zest (I used the same handy tool to do both so it took me like 30 seconds), but in real life I don’t usually bother.

I’ve even made this with just tuna, garlic, and olive oil when I’m in a rush and I really have nothing in the fridge (it’s rare I don’t have parsley).

This easy canned tuna pasta recipe is the perfect simple dairy-free dinner when you're short on time and ingredients. Garlic and lemon make this a deliciously comforting weeknight dinner!

Will you give this easy canned tuna pasta a go? What’s your favorite clean-out-the-pantry recipe?

Talk to me in the comments below!

This healthy 15 minute canned tuna pasta is a great time-saver when you're short on time and ingredients!
4.79 from 19 votes
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Easy Canned Tuna Pasta

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword canned tuna pasta, tuna garlic pasta
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 2
Author Salt & Lavender

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large cloves garlic minced
  • 1 (5 ounce) can tuna, drained I prefer tuna packed in oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 4 ounces uncooked pasta (I used spaghetti)

Instructions

  1. Boil a salted pot of water for your pasta and cook it al dente according to package directions. Prep your other ingredients while it cooks.

  2. When the pasta is close to being ready, add the oil to a small pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook it for 30 seconds.

  3. Stir in the tuna, lemon juice, and parsley. Let it heat through. 

  4. Once the pasta is done, add some of the pasta water (a couple tablespoons) to the sauce and then drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Season with salt & pepper as needed. Optional: serve pasta with freshly grated parmesan cheese and lemon zest.

Try more of my tasty recipes:

Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta Recipe
Sesame Ginger Shrimp
Cajun Salmon Pasta

Reader Interactions

Comments


  2. I made this around a month ago and since then have made it 4 other times. It is so delicious and a great way to use tuna other than a melt. My husband hates tuna and only eats it when I make this!

    Reply


  3. Thank you so much for posting this recipe! So good and so easy! And I love the idea of replacing parsley with celery leaves!

    Reply


  4. I didn’t have parsley or celery leaves so I chopped spinach up. I did add parsley flakes and celery salt. It was really tasty! I topped it with breadcrumbs and parmesan for a little crunch.

    Reply


  5. This was delicious. I tweaked it a little because I didn’t have actual garlic or parsley, but I used garlic powder and just didn’t use any parsley and it turned out great! Will definitely make it again.

    Reply


  6. WILL YOU JUST LOOK AT THIS.
    Look at it!! OHHHH MER GERD THIS
    IS SOME GERD PASTA.
    I just love TUNA FISH. And pasta.
    AND GERLIC – and MER GERLIC.
    This. Is. New. Level.
    LOOK AT IT GURRLS. LOOK AT IT.
    can you also use canned sardines?
    or canned mackerel? Or canned SALMON?
    OR CANNED HAPPINESS AND A WHOLE LOTTA WOOT WOOT – CAUSE THIS IS GOOD. CAN ME UP SOME OF THAT
    GOOD FISH.

    Reply


  7. So easy and delicious! This will become a weeknight staple for me since I always have these ingredients on hand. The only substation I made was using parsley flakes instead of fresh parsley and it was delicious. Thank you!

    Reply


  8. I have to thank you for this recipe and for others on this site. I am a recently divorced man after 38 years of living with a wonderful chef and thus have lost some of my culinary skills over time. Your recipes are easy to follow, the results deliciously yummy, and thus a godsend. Bravo!

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and others, Myles. Your sweet comment means a lot. It makes doing this all worthwhile. 😊

      Reply


  9. I like this dish and make it occasionally. I usually add tablespoon of chopped capers. This dish is also a favorite in spring, using new baby potatoes instead of pasta. Delish.

    Reply

    • Yes, it’s meant to be a super simple recipe… a “clean out the pantry” or a “I don’t feel like putting much effort in because it’s been a long day” type thing. Did you salt it properly? Add some red pepper flakes if you want it spicy. Not exactly sure what you were hoping for. Similar recipes are quite popular in Europe. Oh well – guess I can’t please everyone. 🙂

      Reply


  12. I’ve been enjoying a similar recipe for years. You can also add red pepper seed to the hot oil. Or top it off with artichoke pesto. Yum! Eating it right now.

    Reply


  13. I’m a college student renting a small apartment and having an almost empty kitchen. This recipe is perfect!

    I’m trying it as I write and damn, it’s really easy and delicious! I made it with macaroni though, since that’s the only one I have. I also added fresh pineapples to give it a sweet touch. Topped with cheese, it’s really yummy.

    Thank you so much for the idea! 💕

    Reply


  14. Just home from travelling and had little in the kitchen. I fixed this for lunch today and it was a quick and easy meal. I think I would follow your suggestion and add some pepper flakes next time.

    Reply

  15. “add the garlic and cook it” What, 2 whole cloves? Or do I slice it? Or chop it? Or put it through garlic press? Sorry, but I need more instructions… and could I add turmeric & tomato sauce to it? I’m hopeless without help in a kitchen.

    Reply

    • Hi Geoff! In the ingredients list it is supposed to show the garlic as “minced” – my bad that I didn’t specify! I will fix that pronto. I usually put it thru the garlic press, but you could also chop it very finely. Sure, you could add some turmeric and tomato sauce too. I’ve never tried that combo personally, but I think it could be very tasty. Let me know how it goes! If you’re worried, just make the recipe as written first and then try the tomatoes. 😊

      Reply


      • I sprinkled a teaspoon of turmeric powder over the chopped garlic while it was frying. Also added a half-cup of sauce made from 100% tomato puree and hot water. It was not only delicious but surprisingly filling (I used wholemeal spaghetti). Excellent – very satisfying. I might “zing it up” next time with a sprinkling of hot curry powder in the early stages…

        Reply

  16. I love tuna but eating it like this has made me love it even more. Thank you for this quick meal fix recipe. I tried it two ways, the first time sprinkled some Parmesan after serving and second time I added some cayenne pepper (because I love a hot kick in my meals) when mixing ingredients and both were yummy.

    Reply


  17. This was straight up the easiest and weirdest recipe I have ever made for dinner. Amazingly, all 3 of my kids lived this! One of my kids said if he could only eat one thing for the rest of his life, this would be it! I was straight up shocked that they would even try this it looked so weird. I added half a can of corn and celery leaves and stalk. Topped with some parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. The only reason I made this was because my husband was out of town (he would never est this), and I had to make something quick for my kids after school and before hockey.

    Reply

  18. This was great. So quick and easy and so satisfying. Being Greek means of course lemon, olive oil and garlic are some of my fav ingredients. Next time I’d like to try adding capers or kalamata olives. I had some leftover xorta (dandelion leaves) that I chopped up and added also. YUM!

    Reply


  19. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE! It saved me from an argument and a last minute shopping trip! I was able to use things I already had and it was delicious! I added mushrooms and onions to mine, and used spinach zucchini pasta.

    Reply

  20. Wow this recipe was amazing, I was hungry and I was thinking of making some soup and then I came across this and it was very simple and easy to make. I thought my siblings wouldn’t like this and I put to much spaghetti in but my siblings ended up trying and loving it, I’m 14 by the way I’m gonna make more for sure.

    Reply


  21. What a great recipe! It’s simple, fast, very economical and delicious! Even two of my pickiest eaters ate some and said they liked it. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  22. Delicious! I added shallots, mayonnaise (non-sweetened; a table spoon), grated parmigiano and capers and I used freshly chopped celery leaves from my garden. A hit with my family and will definitely make this again.

    Reply


  23. The baby napped through my only chance to go grocery shopping today, so tried to find a recipe for what I had in the house. This was easy, tasty, and (most important of all) picky toddler approved! I made it with pastina instead of spaghetti. Thanks!!

    Reply

    • Thanks! I do not. I am not a trained nutritionist, and I don’t really trust the online nutrition calculators out there. If you want to know calorie info, I suggest plugging the exact ingredients you’ve used into one of the free calorie calculators out there. Calories in this recipe can vary a lot… depending on the size of the can of tuna you use, whether the tuna is packed in oil or water or not, what type of pasta you use, etc.

      Reply

  25. Hello! This was a very quick, easy and delicious recipe that I made for lunch today. I found it through Pinterest. Thanks a lot 🙂

    Reply

  26. Sounds yummy! Have you ever tried it with zucchini noodles instead of pasta?? I am doing the whole low carb thang 😉

    Reply

    • Hi! I haven’t tried this particular recipe with zoodles, but I think it would definitely taste delicious!! Just toss them with the sauce for a few minutes and that should soften them up a bit. 🙂

      Reply

  27. Added a bit of tarragon, and used capers instead of salt. Also added red bell pepper and sugar snap peas to level up the veggies and color. Will make again. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

  28. This was super easy to make and really fast too! Im pregnant and have been craving tuna and this was amazing. I did add condensed tomato sauce with the tuna and loved it like that as well. Thank you so much for posting this.

    Reply

  30. This is fabulous and so straightforward to make. It ticks all the boxes: quick, easy, store cupboard ingredients and popular with everyone. Many of the tweaks on the comments seem interesting, my own very simple one was a couple of handfulls of cherry tomatoes. Thanks so much for this recipe.

    Reply

    • I am so glad you liked it, Doug!! I was definitely quite surprised how popular this recipe has become, but obviously I am happy about it haha.

      Reply

  31. I was so anxious from work relqted stress. So, I tried this recipe and it made me so happy and relieved. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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