If you’ve been on the hunt for a lightened up pasta salad, this is the one for you! Instead of mayonnaise as a base, we’re using a homemade balsamic vinaigrette to dress this tuna pasta salad. Use high quality jarred or canned tuna, then toss with your favorite short pasta, oven roasted tomatoes, arugula, and fresh herbs. We promise you won’t miss the mayonnaise!
We love this served cold or at room temperature — talk about an easy make-ahead meal for a picnic or cookout! — but it’s delicious hot, as well! Bonus? It’s really inexpensive to make.
There’s so much to love about this tuna pasta salad, and we cannot wait for you to give this recipe a try!
For more picnic recipes, be sure to try our Curried Chicken Salad or this amazing Pecan Chicken Salad next!
Ingredients For Tuna Pasta Salad
There’s very few ingredients needed for this simple pasta salad. It’s all about using high-quality tuna (canned or jarred is fine!) and the homemade balsamic marinade.
- High quality jarred or canned tuna fish
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
- Arugula
- Dill
- Chives
- ½ lb pasta
For the balsamic vinegar dressing
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Fresh lemon juice
- Granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
How To Make Tuna Pasta Salad
- Make the salad dressing. Combine ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, ½ a lemon juiced, 1 Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp Kosher salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper in a measuring cup, then whisk to combine. (You can also place everything in a mason jar, seal tightly, then shake.) Set aside.
- Roast the tomatoes. Preheat an oven to 425F. Place the tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, then drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp Kosher salt, then roast for 15 minutes.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil, then add ½ lb pasta. Cook according to package directions until just past al dente, or until pasta is tender, but not mushy. Drain the pasta.
- Toss it all together. Place pasta in a large mixing bowl, then pour balsamic vinaigrette on top. Add roasted cherry tomatoes, 2 heaping cups of arugula, the drained tuna (add it in large chunks, if possible!), 2 Tbsp chopped dill, and 2 Tbsp chopped chives. Carefully toss to mix well.
- Chill, then serve. You can certainly enjoy this right away, but it’s even better chilled for at least 2 hours. Can be served cold or at room temperature. Just before serving, add in another handful of baby arugula (if you want some that hasn’t wilted) and sprinkle with a tiny bit of flaky sea salt.
Tips For The Best Pasta Salad
- For this specific recipe, we recommend using a short pasta — but the shape is up to you! If you use something with holes (cavatappi is pictured here), you get little bits of the balsamic dressing inside, which is a very, very good thing!
- Use dried pasta, not fresh. It holds up better when served cold and will allow the dressing to cling to it more easily!
- You absolutely must season the pasta cooking water with salt! Pasta salads can be notoriously bland. Make sure the pasta is seasoned well from the start. A good 2 tablespoons is my general rule of thumb.
- Dress the salad while the pasta is still warm! This will help the pasta absorb the dressing.
- Yes, you can enjoy this recipe served hot, but if you are looking for the true pasta salad experience, let it sit in a refrigerator for at least 2 hours to completely chill before enjoying. If you don’t want it chilled, it can sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving to take the edge off.
Variations To Try
- Switch out the herbs! Most fresh herbs will work great in this pasta salad recipe! Tarragon, chervil, parsley, and basil are great choices.
- Instead of fresh, roasted cherry or grape tomatoes, try using sun dried tomatoes for a richer, deeper tomato flavor! Or honestly you could use fresh cherry tomatoes instead of roasting them. Easy!
- Have high quality canned or jarred salmon? You can replace tuna for salmon easily!
- Not a fan of seafood? Add store-bought pulled rotisserie chicken or leave out the meat altogether and add cubes of mozzarella cheese instead! That sounds like a caprese pasta salad that we could definitely get behind!
Other Picnic And Cookout Recipes To Try:
These are some of our favorite recipes that can be enjoyed room temperature or cold, making them perfect for picnics and cookouts where you don’t want to stress about serving food hot or constantly reheating:
- Couscous salad with tarragon roast shrimp
- Chicken pesto pasta
- Savory fig tart
- Spicy ramen noodles
- Sardine rillettes
- Lentil salad
- Roasted garlic focaccia
Totally still dreaming about these Italian-inspired flavors and the delicious combination of tuna, arugula, and balsamic dressing. Yum, you’re going to love this one! If you make this Tuna Pasta Salad recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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More easy summer salads to check out:
- Peach and burrata salad
- Watermelon feta salad
- Tomato onion salad
- Israeli salad
- Avocado tomato salad
- Prosciutto and melon
- Scallop pasta with corn
Tuna Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the balsamic vinegar dressing
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
For the pasta salad
- ½ lb pasta short shape
- 1 6.7 oz jar tuna fish or canned tuna
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
- 2 cups baby arugula plus more for serving
- 2 Tbsp dill finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp chives thinly sliced
- Flaky sea salt for serving
Instructions
- Make the salad dressing. Combine ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, ½ a lemon juiced, 1 Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp Kosher salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper in a measuring cup, then whisk to combine. (You can also place everything in a mason jar, seal tightly, then shake.) Set aside.
- Roast the tomatoes. Preheat an oven to 425F. Place the tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, then drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp Kosher salt, then roast for 15 minutes.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil, then add ½ lb pasta. Cook according to package directions until just past al dente, or until pasta is tender, but not mushy. Drain the pasta.
- Toss it all together. Place pasta in a large mixing bowl, then pour balsamic vinaigrette on top. Add roasted cherry tomatoes, 2 heaping cups of arugula, the drained tuna (add it in large chunks, if possible!), 2 Tbsp chopped dill, and 2 Tbsp chopped chives. Carefully toss to mix well.
- Chill, then serve. You can certainly enjoy this right away, but it's even better chilled for at least 2 hours. Can be served cold or at room temperature. Just before serving, add in another handful of baby arugula (if you want some that hasn't wilted) and sprinkle with a tiny bit of flaky sea salt.
Notes
- For best results, dress the salad while the pasta is still warm!
Let us know your thoughts!