This tuna and pasta salad is one of my go-to high-protein meals that I love preparing for busy days. Creamy, tangy, and loaded with crunchy veggies, it’s ready in 30 minutes and perfect for lunch, dinner, or post-workout refueling.
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 📹 Watch The Video | 🥗 Serving Suggestions | 📝 Full Recipe Card | Variations | 🍽 More Similar Recipes
This tuna pasta salad has been on my meal prep rotation for a long time. I usually make it for lunches but it’s great as a summer dinner meal, when you want something substantial and filling but not hot, plus you can make it ahead of time.
It’s a pasta dish but I think of it more as a filling salad. Think creamy dressing with a tangy kick, flaky tuna, al dente pasta, and crunchy bursts from fresh veggies. It’s a perfect balance of protein, carbs, and veggies, keeping you full and fueled.
Each serving offers approximately 30g of protein (and under 500 calories), making it great for post-workout or pre, or busy days when you need something hearty and satisfying without blowing the calories. For extra fiber, add a cup of canned chickpeas.
Unlike many creamy pasta salads, this one keeps it light with a mix of light sour cream and light mayo, while still delivering big-time flavor.
👩🍳 You might also like these pasta salads:
⭐️ Cold Chicken Pasta Salad
🌿 Mediterranean Pasta Salad
💪 High-Protein Pasta Salad
🌽 Elote Pasta Salad
🥓 Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
👉 More Pasta Salad Ideas
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this tuna and pasta salad recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Pasta: Elbow pasta or another small shape is my favorite but you can use penne or fusilli as well. This will give you a source of carbs and extra protein. You can opt for gluten-free options or go for high-fiber, protein-rich chickpea or lentil pasta. The key is to not overcook the pasta! If you have leftover elbow pasta, you can use it for my elote pasta salad recipe.
- Protein: Canned tuna is great for convenience, or swap for cooked chicken, salmon, or chickpeas for a vegetarian twist. Got leftover tuna? Try my creamy tuna casserole (aka tuna Mornay pasta bake).
- Creamy dressing: Light sour cream and light mayo for a creamy, tangy base. Greek yogurt can replace sour cream if needed. There are other flavor boosters like mustard for sharpness and lemon juice for brightness, plus a little salt and pepper for balance.
- Crunchy veggies: Red bell pepper, radishes, cucumber, and red onion add color, freshness, and crunch. Skip or swap based on what you have. I love pickles/gherkins for a pop of tangy, briny flavor. Capers could work here too.
How To Make Tuna Pasta Salad
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos for how to make this hearty pasta salad with tuna and veggies.
- Cook pasta until al dente, then drain and let cool. Don’t overcook so it doesn’t get mushy, plus you want to retain some fiber.
- Mix sour cream, mayo, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a big bowl.
- Add drained tuna, veggies, pickles, and cooled pasta. Toss until everything’s evenly coated.
- Enjoy right away or pack into containers for later.
Watch The Video
👩🍳 For more easy high-protein meals, check out my spicy tuna salad bites, tuna white bean salad, meal prep burritos, balanced BLT chicken salad, fibre-rich tuna and lentil salad, healthy baked chicken tacos, make-ahead zucchini slice, or try Greek butter beans skillet (for something vegetarian).
Serving Suggestions
Serve this salad on its own for a complete meal or pair with a crusty piece of bread or fresh green salad. For extra crunch, toss in some roasted nuts or seeds just before eating. When I have it for lunch, I might finish with a piece of fruit.
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Video
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz dry elbow pasta about 100 grams
- 7 oz canned tuna drained, about 200 grams, you can add more
- ⅓ cup light sour cream
- ⅓ cup light mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon mustard such as Dijon or yellow
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup gherkins or pickles, diced
- 3 large radishes diced (optional)
- 1 medium Lebanese cucumber diced
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- ½ red onion finely diced
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Strain, rinse, and let cool.
- In a large salad bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Add drained tuna, diced vegetables, and pickles. Toss to coat.
- Stir in cooled pasta and mix well.
- Serve immediately or divide into meal prep containers for later.
Notes
- Pasta Tips: Cook pasta just until al dente so it doesn’t get mushy when mixed and it will retain more fiber.
- Customization: Swap veggies or protein based on what you like or have on hand.
- Dressing balance: Taste the dressing before mixing and adjust salt, pepper, or mustard to your liking.
- Storage tips: Store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. This is great for meal prepping ahead of time. Freezing isn’t ideal for this dish due to the creamy dressing and the texture of pasta will get too mushy.
- Can I make this gluten-free? Yes! Use gluten-free pasta to make this dish suitable for a gluten-free diet. Don’t overcook!
- What’s a good tuna alternative? Cooked chicken, canned salmon, or even chickpeas for a vegetarian option.
- Can I use yogurt instead of sour cream? Totally! Greek yogurt works as a lighter, tangy substitute.
Nutrition
Variations You Might Love
Keep this tuna pasta salad fresh and exciting with a few simple twists:
- 🌿 Mediterranean Style: swap in kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and feta for a bright, Greek-inspired salad that pairs beautifully with lemon and oregano.
- 🥑 Creamy Avocado Tuna Pasta: stir in diced avocado just before serving for extra creaminess and healthy fats — perfect if you want a richer, more satisfying lunch. You can also use avocado to make the dressing.
- 🍋 Herb & Lemon Zing: Add extra fresh herbs like parsley, dill, or basil and a splash more lemon juice for a vibrant version with zingier flavour.
- 🌶️ Spicy Tuna Pasta: Mix in chipotle paste, red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce for a subtle heat kick that pairs well with crisp veggies.
- 🥦 Veggie-Loaded Extra: Bulk it out with extra greens like spinach, peas, or chopped broccoli to make this even more balanced and nutritious.
Oh and I used gluten free pasta!
I used this recipe as a base for mine. I threw everything at it. A while box of gluten free penne pasta, red onion, red bell pepper (1/2), celery, peas, cucumber, hard boiled egg sliced, I used the above recipe for the dressing but I had to make it twice, bread & butter chips instead of gherkins, feta cheese, and avocado slices with 2 cans of albacore tuna. I would have given it 5 stars, however I added so much stuff I couldn’t say that is was exactly this recipe, but it was darn good and I’m looking forward to finishing it.
Thank you .
Try
Lebanese cucumber?
Yes, it’s a type of cucumber. In Australia/UK, it’s known as Lebanese but in the USA/Canada, maybe Persian cucumber. For this recipe, you can use any cucumber, really. Lebanese ones are the ones that are a bit shorter; they typically have fewer seeds.
Loved it. I also added boiled egg and corn to stretch it further for a larger group
Great tuna salad! I tripled the recipe and brought it to a potluck. For the veggies, I used green pepper, red onion and cucumber. I had a few gherkins so threw them in as well as little dill relish. I used greek yogurt with light mayo to make it “healthy”. My husband commented that it tasted a little sour (he’s not a fan of greek yogurt); I told him it was the lemon juice! Would definitely make this again and would like to try the addition of chickpeas.
You can come to my potluck any time 😉 Glad you made this salad and thank you for the comment.
Can you recommend a substitute for the mustard? My partner is highly allergic 🙁
Hey Ria, you can leave it out. If you want to add a little heat/spice, feel free to use some hot sauce or Tobasco sauce instead.
I made this with Greek yogurt in place of sour cream (still used the light mayo) and it was delicious. This recipe was a great find when I needed to prep a few lunches and didn’t feel like doing a big grocery haul as I always have tuna and pasta handy. I even added half a can of chick peas to stretch it further and it goes with the flavor profile really well!
That’s great and I love the addition of chickpeas, also great for that extra fibre 🙂
I prepped this to have after my gym session yesterday and it was super tasty and so filling! Perfect post-workout meal 🙂
This is one of the best tuna salads I’ve made – love the added crunch of the veggies and tartness of the pickles and dijon mustard. This will be a regular in our rotation. Thank you!!
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, I am so happy you liked it. It’s on rotation for me too.