Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe

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is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
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Today I show you my tuna pasta salad recipe.

I have prepared a noodle salad with plenty of vegetables and tuna, which you will surely like.

You can prepare it in less than 40 minutes.

The noodle salad is a good idea when friends come to visit or when you need a souvenir for a party.

As a tip right at the beginning:

Marinate the tuna in an extra bowl and add the tuna as an extra topping to the salad.

So you can serve your dish vegetarian or vegan and make everyone happy.

As an additional task I have added an idea for a tofu topping. 

The noodle salad will be gluten-free if you use gluten-free noodles.

This evergreen salad is a sure success!

Let me guide you step by step through the preparation, I took extra many pictures to show the preparation perfectly.

1. Recipe Tuna Pasta Salad

It’s easier step by step 🙂

Here you will find all the relevant work steps with pictures and you can simply cook the pasta salad yourself…

Bring an Italian lifestyle to your table!

Pasta Salad with Tuna vegetarian and vegan Variant

Cooked, photographed and written down by chef Thomas Sixt.

Servings 4
Calories 538
Total Time 29 Min.
Preparation Time 19 Min.
Cook Time 10 Min.

Simple guide to prepare pasta salad with tuna.

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Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe Image
Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

Ingredients

Pasta Salad

300 g Pasta (Spirali, Fusilli, Girandolle, …)
1 cup dried tomatoes (I also like to use small tomatoes!)
4 pc young onions
120 g canned corn
3 sticks cellery
1 cup artichoke hearts
10 – 15 pc black olives
10 pc Mushrooms
3 pinches thyme
2 pc red bell pepper (small)

Pasta Salad Dressing

100 ml lemon juice
1/2 tsp Salt
5 – 6 pinches black pepper
4 pinches Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp brown sugar
50 ml Olive oil

Tofu Topping

250 g smoked tofu
15 g brown sugar
1 pc clove of garlic
100 ml Soy sauce
4 pc young onions

Tuna Topping

2 cans tuna in water (or tuna in oil)
1 pc Lemon
6 pinches black pepper
15 ml Olive oil
4 pinches Peperoncino (I love to take chili flakes)

Noodle salad decoration and others

1 bunch basil
2 tbsp Cashew nuts roasted and salted (I also like to use almonds or pumpkin seeds)
1 pc Lemon (to serve at the table)

Instruction

Noodles, pasta while cooking in the pot with salted water.
Cooking pasta for pasta salad.

Cook pasta

Place a pot with plenty of water on the stove and bring to the boil.

Season the water with salt.

Cook the pasta al dente and drain.

Cooked pasta in a bowl.
Cooked pasta drained in a bowl.

Provide pasta

Drain the pasta well and place in a bowl.

Mix the noodles immediately with a little olive oil so that the noodles do not stick together.

Pasta salad prepared with vegetables and tuna.
Prepare the vegetables and the accompaniments for the pasta salad. Now snipping is the order of the day.

Prepare ingredients

Cut the pickled, dried tomatoes into small pieces.

Cut the celery into thin, slanted strips.

Drain the corn, olives and artichokes and make ready.

Wash young onions briefly and cut into thin slices.

Mushrooms in a pan when frying.
Fry the mushrooms in a pan.

Prepare mushrooms

Cut the mushrooms in half and quarter according to size.

Fry them in a frying pan over high heat with some olives, allow to take Pilze zubereiten.

Season with salt, pepper and thyme.

Peppers strips when frying in the pan.
Fry strips of peppers.

Prepare peppers

Core the peppers, wash and cut into thin strips.

Fry the peppers in a pan with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with a little sugar at the end and caramelise gently.

Pasta salad while mixing.
Mix the pasta salad and add all the ingredients for the pasta salad.

Marinate salad

Put all the vegetable ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Alternatively, prepare tuna topping and tofu topping separately:

Drain the tuna onto a sieve and season with lemon juice, peperoncino and olive oil.

Cut tofu into cubes, caramelize sugar with garlic in a frying pan, allow to cool briefly.

Deglaze with soy sauce and bring to the boil. Fold in the tofu cubes.

Pasta salad in a deep plate.
Serve the seasoned pasta salad. Seen here in a deep plate.

Serve

Season the salad to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, chilli and lemon juice.

Add the olive oil and the finely chopped herbs and marinate the salad well.

2. Nutritional Values

3. Tuna Topping and Vegan Topping for Pasta Salad

You can bring this noodle salad as a present.

You marinate the tuna extra and serve it with the salad.

For guests who don’t want to eat animals, you can offer a simple topping of smoked tofu cubes marinated with a strong soy sauce and sugar and spring onion rings.

Cut the smoked tofu
Cutting Tofu
Cut smoked tofu into fine strips
Smoked tofu

4. Pasta Salad as Party Salad, the Preparation Tips

First of all I serve you some tips from the professional kitchen, so that your kitchen and your mindset is well prepared…

  1. Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente.
  2. The pasta water may taste like sea water.
  3. Rinse the pasta under running water to interrupt the cooking process.
  4. Combine fresh vegetables and pickled vegetables.
  5. Pay attention to the seasonal offer, supplement these ingredients flexibly: asparagus, bear’s garlic, chanterelles, pumpkin….
  6. Wild garlic pesto and basil pesto go well with pasta salad
  7. Prepare animal ingredients in an extra topping so ALL are happy.
  8. Avoid lettuces in pasta salad or add them shortly before serving.
  9. Add fresh and dried herbs to your pasta salad.

For once, don’t cook pasta salad with mayonnaise and peas today. So far so good, now it can start…

Pasta salad served with tuna, lots of vegetables, Mediterranean. This noodle salad also goes vegan.

5. Further matching Recipe Ideas with Pasta and Tonno

Tuna steak with vegetables – Low Carb
Tuna salad with spinach and apple – Low Carb
Tuna Salad with Romana Salad, Tomatoes, Avocado and Egg
Tuna noodles with garlic, parsley and peperoncino
Spaghetti with tuna and asparagus
Tuna Pasta with Basil and Tomatoes
Tuna Pizza
Nizza Salad – Salad Nicoise
Vitello Tonnato
Tuna spread with herbs and vegetables

Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers

5.00 from 923 ratings

Below you can write to me directly.
Please don’t forget the star rating on the recipe, 5 stars means you liked it!

  • Hello Thomas,

    your salad is so appealing served, that convinced me to try your recipe.

    Everything worked perfectly and it was really fun.

    Best regards Lia

    Reply

    • Hello Lia,

      Thank you for your nice message.

      I am very pleased if the salad tastes and arrives.

      Let with pleasure again something from you hear!

      Best regards Thomas

      Reply