Tuna Salad Recipe with Pasta

4.93 from 39 votes

By Katie

May 3, 2025

72 comments

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If you’re a tuna fan looking for a simple Tuna Salad Recipe with Pasta, this one is for you. It’s packed with flaky tuna, tender pasta, frozen peas, red onion, and a creamy dressing made with lemon juice and real mayonnaise. You can stop your recipe search because this one’s been tested, tweaked, and is totally reliable every time.

scooping tuna pasta salad out of pit with a wooden spoon

Ingredients Needed for Tuna Pasta Salad

Here’s what you’ll need for this classic tuna pasta salad—all simple ingredients that you probably already have:

Mini bowtie pasta – or swap for elbow macaroni, shell noodles, or rotini pasta
Frozen peas – tossed in during the last 30 seconds of cooking for just the right bite
Red onion – diced small for flavor and crunch
Dill pickles – diced finely for tang and texture
Canned tuna – use albacore tuna in water for the best results
Lemon juice – fresh is best, adds brightness to the creamy dressing
Real mayonnaise – or sub with light mayo, sour cream, or even Greek yogurt
Dried dill – or fresh dill for a boost of flavor
Salt and black pepper – season to taste

Tuna Salad Variations

Feel free to change up this recipe to make it your own! Here are a couple of ideas from some of my readers who adapted their Tuna Pasta Salads:

Cut Out the Mayonnaise – to cut out some of the mayo, go half and half with unsweetened plain greek yogurt. This makes this recipe a little more healthy.
Replace Dill Pickles – don’t like dill pickles? One of my reader’s replaced them with green olives and capers and another replaced it with artichoke hearts! However, if you’re just looking for the crunch without the pickle flavor, try celery.
More Protein – looking to add more protein to your dish? Consider adding a can of cannellini beans or garbanzo beans or chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Replace Tuna – this might be a little sacrilege, but if you happen not to like tuna, you can still enjoy this recipe by replacing it with shredded chicken.
Swap Mini Bowties– for elbow macaroni, shell noodles, or rotini pasta
Add-ins– green onion, red bell pepper, kalamata olives, or sweet relish
Herb it up– fresh dill, parsley, or other fresh herbs
Make it gluten-free– use gluten-free pasta

top view of tuna pasta salad on two plates

Helpful Ingredient Tips

Sometimes a particular form of an ingredient is better than another when used in a recipe. Here are a few that I have found with this Tuna Pasta Salad.

Mini Bowtie Pasta – I love using mini bowtie pasta for this recipe because with every bite you get the perfect balance of ingredients. No huge chunks of pickle, pasta, or red onion. However, you can use whatever pasta you have on hand (probably not spaghetti, fettuccine, or lasagna noodles though).
Frozen Peas – if you don’t have frozen peas, you can use canned peas. Just be sure to drain them well. If fresh peas are in season, that would be the BEST choice of course.
Red Onion – or white onion. Although I love the taste of raw red onion, you can replace it with white onion, if desired.
Dill Pickle – please please please use dill pickles and not sweet pickles. This makes a huge difference.
Tuna – I used albacore packed in water but feel free to use what you have. And don’t forget to drain it!

How to Make Tuna Pasta Salad

For full details on how to make Tuna Pasta Salad, see the recipe card down below. Here is what you can expect while making this salad.

1. Prep Ingredients

Prepare ingredients by dicing red onion and dill pickles.

2. Cook Pasta + Peas

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water and cook pasta until al dente. Stir in frozen peas and cook for 30 seconds.

Drain pasta and peas. If you want room-temperature pasta salad, don’t rinse. If you want cold pasta salad, rinse with cold water.

3. Mix Remaining Ingredients and Serve

In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk lemon, mayonnaise, dill, salt, and black pepper until well combined.

Add pasta, peas, onion, pickle, and tuna, and toss until everything is evenly coated in sauce.

adding dill and red onions to tuna pasta salad

Storing this Tuna Salad Recipe with Pasta

Store any leftovers in the fridge, covered in an airtight container, for up to 3 days! The longer it sits the better it tastes. Perfect as lunch, as a snack, or as a side dish!

Freezing or Make Ahead – I don’t recommend freezing this salad because of the mayo- it doesn’t thaw and remix very well. You can make this salad ahead of time (the day before) before you need it and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Love Tuna? Check Out These Other Seafood Recipes:

More Pasta Salad Recipes to Try!

If you liked this Tuna Pasta Salad you’re going to love my other pasta salad recipes!

This classic recipe is a great way to use pantry staples and feed the whole family. It makes a perfect pasta salad for any summer picnic, potluck, or busy weeknight. The printable recipe card is down below. Have a great day, friends! 🙂

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.