Tuna Salad with Macaroni
May 31, 2025 05:18 AM
Make the best healthy tuna pasta salad with minimal prep in just 30 minutes, or less. Featuring the perfect mix of flaky tuna, tender macaroni pasta, fresh veggies, salty parmesan, and a better-for-you creamy Greek yogurt dressing, this macaroni salad with tuna is a total crowd-pleaser that’s perfect for picnics, potlucks, barbecues and more!
In case you roll your eye and think “gross” or “yuck” at the sound of tuna mac salad – just hear me out! My other half and most of my friends (shockingly!) absolutely loathe tuna macaroni, but they’ll devour this version like there’s no tomorrow.
So, trust and believe (also no offense to the wonderful ladies in your life), this isn’t your mama’s or grandmama’s macaroni salad. This right HERE is healthy, fresh, flavorful, and so darn delicious it just might make want to re-think about your stance on tuna pasta salad.
Just like the classic bbq side dish, this recipe for macaroni tuna salad is incredibly simple to prepare. And it will absolutely leave you with that familiar, comforting, nostalgic feeling. However, (and this is a big however) there’s no soft, mushy pasta, overly-sweet, thick shellac of mayonnaise dressing, stale flavor, or unpleasant metallic aftertaste! This version of tuna salad with macaroni is all about bright, fresh flavors, spot-on textures, and a lightened-up, flavorful creamy dressing.
This tuna macaroni salad features tender and pleasantly chewy pasta, flaky tuna, crunchy celery, delicate green onions, sweet peas, pungent red onions, herbaceous fresh herbs, and savory, salty parmesan cheese. Then, the whole dish gets generously drizzled and tossed with a tangy, slightly sweet, impossibly creamy yogurt dressing. And the end result? SO GOOD! It’s a complex, incredibly delicious mixture of macaroni and tuna salad that is downright delish!
Ingredients:
For the Macaroni Tuna Salad
- 8 ounces Dry Small Pasta – (1/2 pound or about 2 cups dry pasta)
- 2 (5 ounce) Cans Albacore White Tuna – drained
- 2 large ribs Celery – finely sliced (about ¾ cup)
- 3 medium Green Onions (dark & light green parts only) – thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 1/4 cup Frozen Peas – thawed
- 1/2 small Red Onion – finely chopped (about scant 1/2 cup)
- 2 TBS EACH: Chopped Fresh Dill & Chopped Flat-leaf Parsley , plus more for garnish
- 2 TBS Freshly Grated Parmesan – plus more for garnish
- Coarse Sea Salt & Ground Black Pepper – to taste
For the Dressing
- 2/3 cup Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream (I used nonfat Greek Yogurt)
- 1/3 cup Good-quality Mayonnaise
- 1 TBS Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 2 tsp Granulated Sugar
- ¼ tsp Celery Seed
- ¼ tsp Sweet Paprika – plus more for garnish
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Cook Time:
8 minutes
Total Time:
23 minutes
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