Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad
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Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad is a delicious, lighter lunch! Made with only 10 ingredients, high in protein, and low in fat – it’s the perfect easy meal! Thank you Wild Selections® for sponsoring this post.
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One of the most common responses I get when I talk about meal prepping is ‘I just don’t have the time’. I’m taking care of that excuse for you today with this Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe!
When it comes to making healthy meals – it doesn’t always have to be a gourmet recipe with a million steps.
Sometimes the simplest ingredients can create the most flavorful dishes (and save you tons of time in the kitchen!)
This Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad is much lighter than your traditional, mayo coated pasta salad and pulls it’s flavor from simple ingredients like fresh herbs + sweet cherry tomatoes!
The real star of the show is the Solid White Albacore Tuna in Olive Oil. It adds a ton of protein to the dish, making it a complete meal! We also love this High Protein Pasta Salad.
Ingredients for Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad:
To make this tuna pasta salad we used:
- whole grain pasta
- olive oil
- Wild Selections Solid White Albacore Tuna in Olive Oil
- sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
- cherry tomatoes
- lemon
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
For years, we have strayed away from enjoying tuna because so many brands have questionable practices + ingredients in their products.
The only ingredients in this are tuna, olive oil + salt – so the flavor of the fish can really come through, and its clean ingredients make it perfect if you need something quick for a healthy snack.
This Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad is perfect for enjoying as a quick lunch or healthy dinner or prepping for your week. It’s loaded with flavor, quick to make + was a huge hit with everyone that I shared it with!
What makes this tuna pasta salad healthy?
- Whole grain pasta – Traditional tuna pasta salad is made with regular white flour pasta. Whole grain pasta gives this recipe heartier + better for you!
- Minimal ingredients – This tuna pasta salad only has a few ingredients, most of which are fresh herbs + veggies! Nothing funky or processed here!
- No mayo – I swapped out mayo for heart healthy olive oil, making this dish lower in calories + much lighter!
This recipe also works well with Wild Selections Solid White Albacore Tuna in Water, but I’d recommend draining it before adding it to the pasta/spice mixture.
Regardless of which one you use, this Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad will for sure become a staple in your house for a quick, delicious lunch or dinner.
Substitutions for Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad:
This is a pretty versatile recipe that you can easily customize. Here are some substitutions that will work.
Pasta – Any pasta will work. We like farfalle but penne, rotini or elbows will also work!
Oil– You can use vegetable oil or avocado oil if you don’t have olive oil.
Herbs – If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use 1/4 the amount of dried herbs.
Tuna- Any tuna will work in this recipe, but it’s best to use one that is packed in oil so that you can use the oil to toss with the pasta salad.
Dressing: I haven’t tried this recipe with other healthy salad dressings but I think it would work!
Storing Tuna Pasta Salad:
Refrigerator: This pasta salad will last for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Other healthy meal prep friendly recipes:
Here are some of our other favorite meal prep recipes!
How to make Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad:
Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb whole grain pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cans Wild Selections Solid White Albacore Tuna in Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoon basil, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook pasta per instructions
- While pasta is cooking, halve tomatoes + place in a bowl with tuna+ spices
- Once pasta is cooked, immediately drain + rinse with cold water to cool off
- Toss cooked pasta with spices, tuna + tomatoes
- Serve + enjoy!
I just made this recipe for my lunches for this week – it is delightful! To lighten it up a bit I made with couscous rather than pasta. I added 1/4 cup chopped red onion along with some shredded carrots that I diced extra fine, to up the veggies and give a nice crunch. I went a little less on the oil and did two tablespoons of lemon juice, and added in celery seeds. It came out fabulous. Thank you for a wonderful, light, summery recipe! This will definitely be part of my lunch rotation.
So simple and easy to adjust based on the ingredients you already have! I make this for my toddler with whole grain rotini and some extra veggies — we both love it. 🙂
So glad you liked it, Alyssa!
Hey, I have done this recipe w/o the basil and cut down the ingredients to half as I’m the only one eating . God that was so delicious! Love u all the way from Dubai ?
So glad you liked it!! That makes me so happy to hear 🙂
Delish! Perfect for this hot July weather! Will make again.
Thank you, Kathryn! I’m glad you like it!
Made this recipe for lunch right after the gym and it hit the spot! Only thing I would say is to add a tablespoon of light mayo because it makes the taste even better
Hi Bradley – We made it mayo-free intentionally, but I’m glad you liked it with the mayo!
Made this for a quick lunch and it was SO yummy!! Super quick and easy.
Yay! Love hearing that, Lucy!!