Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad
This healthy, gluten-free tuna pasta salad is an easy, 20-minute recipe that will feed a crowd! Packed with the best canned tuna, veggies, & a creamy mayo sauce, this pasta salad recipe will be on repeat all season long!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Gluten-Free Pasta Salad with Tuna
It’s pasta salad season! To me, pasta salad symbolizes warmer weather, picnics and summer BBQs, gatherings with friends and family, and delicious, easy-to-make recipes that feed a crowd! This tuna pasta salad is giving me all of those Springtime vibes and I am so excited to share this recipe with you all.
Packed with protein and veggies and ready in 20 minutes, this is the perfect make-ahead potluck dish or the perfect Sunday family lunch or dinner! It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and absolutely delicious!
How to Make Tuna Pasta Salad
This tuna with pasta salad recipe is super easy to prep and make, with easy, simple ingredients and steps. The best part? It’s super easy to swap the veggies for ones you have on hand. Out of bell pepper? Swap raw broccoli! Mix and match and make it your own.
What You’ll Need
- Gluten-Free Pasta
- Canned Tuna
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Red Onion
- Cucumber
- Bell Peppers
- Mayo
- Salt
- Dill Weed
- Coconut Aminos
- Dijon Mustard
- Lemon Juice
Tuna Pasta Salad in 3 Easy Steps
- Cook the gluten-free pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water.
- Add the mayo, salt, dill, coconut aminos, dijon mustard, and lemon juice to a small bowl. Whisk together until smooth.
- Combine the cooked & rinsed cooled pasta in a large bowl along with the drained tuna and chopped veggies. Pour the mayo sauce mixture over top. Toss everything together until the sauce is incorporated. Serve right away, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
The Best Canned Tuna
There are so many brands of canned tuna out there, some more popular than others. It’s easy to choose based on labels you recognize, but my personal favorite is actually Wild Planet. Wild Planet’s tuna comes from sustainable fishing practices in an industry that has a tarnished record on the treatment of our oceans.
I appreciate their mission and love that their cans are hand-packed with the freshest, sustainably caught tuna, making this tuna with pasta salad recipe even better!
Canned Tuna Nutrition
I loved to use Wild Planet tuna because it’s sustainably caught, so I can only speak to the nutrition on their label. According to their nutrition label, a serving of 3oz is 90 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 20 grams of protein! There are no sugars or carbs, which makes it an excellent healthy choice for protein!
How Long Does Canned Tuna Last?
Canned tuna actually has a very long shelf life and is one of the foods that is recommended for emergency kits because of its extended expiration dates, typically a couple of years. It’s best to always check the date of your cans, but buying in bulk from Costco is super cost-effective because of the long shelf life.
Mary’s Tips & Tricks
Gluten-Free Pasta: You can use your favorite brand of gluten-free pasta, however for this recipe I used Jovial’s gluten-free bowtie pasta.
Mayo: My favorite dairy-free, healthier mayos are Sir Kensington’s avocado oil mayo or Primal Kitchen’s avocado oil mayonnaise. These can both be found at your local grocery store. If you need to be egg-free, just use some vegan mayo!
Make-Ahead: The great thing about tuna pasta salad, is that it actually tastes even better the next day! So if you’re planning a fun spring picnic or gathering with family and friends, feel free to make this gluten-free pasta salad ahead of time, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and serve within 3 days!
For Large Gatherings:Â This tuna pasta salad is a big hit with family gatherings. If you’re feeding a large crowd, double the batch! Simply double all ingredients and you’ll have yourself enough for 16+ people!
FAQs
Can I make tuna pasta salad without mayo? The mayo in this recipe serves as a binder for all the ingredients, so if you prefer to make it without mayo, you’ll need to replace it with something thick and binding. One option that could work is dairy-free ranch dressing. It would change the flavor a bit, but could still turn out well! Greek yogurt could also work, but keep in mind that is not dairy free. Let me know in the comments if there’s another mayo sub for pasta salad that you love!
Is this tuna pasta salad healthy? This gluten-free pasta salad is packed full of protein and veggies that make it a healthier version of regular pasta salad, which is mostly empty carbs. The tuna provides a ton of nutrients and protein, and because it’s dairy-free and gluten-free, it’s more allergy and diet-friendly.
Can you eat cold tuna pasta salad? Yes! Canned tuna is safe to eat straight from the can, so it’s completely safe to eat. In fact, this gluten-free tuna pasta salad is best served straight from the refrigerator!
Pin This Recipe!
More Delicious Springtime Recipes
Paleo Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
Honey Lime Poppyseed Fruit Salad
If you try this pasta salad and love it, a 5-star review and rating below would mean the world! And don’t forget to share your creations on Instagram and tag me so I can see!
Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 oz Jovial Gluten Free Bowties, or pasta of choice
- 3 5 oz cans of tuna , drained - I like Wild Planet brand
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, sliced and halved
- 1 bell pepper, any color, diced
- â…” cup mayo
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dill weed
- 2 tsp coconut aminos
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Equipment
- 1 pot for cooking pasta
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the mayo, salt, dill, coconut aminos, dijon mustard, and lemon juice to a small bowl. Whisk together until smooth.
- Add the cooked cooled pasta to a large bowl along with the drained tuna and chopped veggies. Pour the mayo sauce mixture over top. Toss everything together until the sauce is incorporated. Serve right away, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
*This post contains affiliate links. This means if you purchase something using one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Mary’s Whole Life!
12 Comments on “Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad”
This made such a delicious & satisfying lunch option for my husband & me! It’s creamy, crunchy from the veggies, & the bow-tie pasta was carblicious! I added an extra can of tuna and split the batch into 4 large lunch portions. Yum!
Thanks Kristen!
Lunch is always a hard one for our family. This salad is yummy and easy. Great to pack for a lunch too.Â
Thank you!
Super easy, quick and delicious!!!
Thanks, Katelyn!!
This recipe is so delicious and refreshing on a hot day! The dressing is SO good! I’ve made this several times and I always get several meals out of it for my lunches throughout the week.
Woo hoo! So glad to hear it!
Made this tonight & it was so delicious. Very light but so satisfying the whole family had seconds!Â
Thoughts on anything you could use to sub the Mayo? Maybe Avocado?Â
I made this with Banza pasta (for extra protein) and it worked great. I made it for meal prep and it actually got better as it sat. Another winner from Mary!
DeliciousÂ