Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad

This healthy tuna pasta salad recipe is tasty, filling, and great for a light summer meal. It’s a fabulous make-ahead pasta salad that’s perfect for gatherings like potlucks or BBQs. 

I’m really pleased with how this tuna pasta salad turned out. In my opinion, it’s a perfectly balanced meal. It has carbs from the pasta, protein from the tuna, and plenty of vitamins and fiber from all the veggies. Olive oil provides good fats, and it’s also very delicious. 

It makes great leftovers too, so it’s ideal for meal prep. I took the leftovers to work… yum! 

I chose tomatoes, celery, and cucumber for the veggies, but feel free to swap out anything you don’t like. This pasta salad has a nice crunch to it. I really like the variety of flavors and textures in here. 

You may also like my creamy tuna pasta salad if you fancy a richer dressing.

My easy canned tuna pasta recipe is really popular on here, so I figured that with the warmer weather I should make a pasta salad with tuna. As usual, we got a dump of snow earlier this month (yes, in May), but *fingers crossed* *knock on wood* I am hoping now the warm weather is here to stay for realz. 

This pasta salad would actually be a great thing to take on a picnic (as long as you keep it in the cooler). I’d make this for the almost-annual picnic that my sister and I do, but since she’s a vegetarian, I am not making this entire thing for myself. 😛 Last year we didn’t manage to coordinate the picnic. How pathetic is that? We will make it happen this year. By putting it on the internet I have now committed us. #goals 

Healthy tuna pasta salad dressing

I just did a mix of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Sometimes simple is the best! Feel free to add more oil and/or vinegar to suit your individual tastes.

Other good stuff you could throw in here:

• Capers
• Kalamata olives
• Red peppers

Love pasta salad? You may also like my Mexican street corn pasta salad, this chicken ranch pasta salad, my chicken pesto pasta salad, this balsamic caprese pasta salad, or my easy Italian pasta salad recipe.

Questions about this easy pasta salad recipe? Leave me a comment below. 

5 from 4 votes

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Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad

This healthy tuna pasta salad recipe is tasty, filling, and great for a light summer meal. It's a fabulous make-ahead pasta salad that's perfect for gatherings like potlucks or BBQs. 

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy tuna pasta salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6

Author Salt & Lavender

Ingredients

• 3 cups uncooked pasta (I used bows)
• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna drained
• 2 tablespoons red onion chopped
• 1 cup little tomatoes halved
• 2 sticks celery chopped small
• 1 mini cucumber (or 1/4 English cucumber) chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Boil a large, salted pot of water for your pasta. Cook it al dente according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, prep your other ingredients and add them to a large bowl (add the vinegar, oil, and salt & pepper after the pasta is done).

3. Once the pasta is cooked, rinse it under cold water and let it drain thoroughly. Add it to the bowl with the other ingredients. 

4. Add the vinegar and olive oil to the bowl. You may want to add more oil and/or vinegar depending on your tastes. Season the pasta salad thoroughly with salt & pepper (it's a lot of pasta so I added quite a bit). You can serve it right away or chill it first (cover the bowl) for the flavors to meld a bit. 
   

Recipe Notes

• If you use macaroni for this salad, I suggest reducing the uncooked amount to 2.5 cups.
• As with any pasta salad, feel free to add more/less of any ingredient to make it perfect for your tastes.