Easy Tuna Pasta Salad | High Protein Recipe

Easy tuna pasta salad is high in protein and packed full of flavor. It’s a healthy, filling meal that’s easy to make and easy on your wallet!

Growing up, we didn’t have much. My mom died when I was very young, and my dad raised three young girls on his own. Our meals were simple and predictable, but they were always delicious. He was a great cook, and his tuna pasta salad was something I always looked forward to. This high-protein, easy tuna pasta salad recipe reminds me of him.

Most people think of a pasta salad as a side dish, but this qualifies as a complete meal for me. It’s loaded with all the good things and high in protein, so it keeps you feeling fuller longer. Enjoy this for a snack, lunch, or dinner!

Adding More Protein

Since eating a diet high in protein has helped me beat my menopause weight, I did some things to pump up the protein in this dish. The entire recipe has a whopping 162 grams! That amount will be slightly different depending on the products you use.

This recipe only uses 8 ounces of dry pasta, but we bulk it up with veggies, tuna, and a killer sauce. This is an excellent example of high-volume, high-protein, lower-calorie eating. The extra protein is satiating and helps to stabilize blood sugar spikes.

Instead of an all-mayonnaise-based sauce, I made a high-protein cottage cheese sauce that is lower in calories and higher in protein. And let me tell you, I impressed myself with this sauce. It’s SO good! I’ve been making a weekly batch and love dipping veggies in it!

Easy Tuna Pasta Salad

Why We Love It

• High in protein. This recipe has loads of protein, which keeps you full and stabilizes blood sugar spikes.
• Meal prep. Pasta salads are great for meal prep! Portion them out for quick meals throughout the week.
• Affordable. Most ingredients are cheap pantry staples, making this an extremely affordable dish!
• Easy to change up. Several of the ingredients can be swapped out. I’ve listed several variations below!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Using staples most of us already have, tuna pasta salad is one of my favorite pantry recipes.

• Pasta. Protein pasta alone adds forty grams of protein! Use whatever brand you like.
• Tuna. I use albacore tuna in water. Tuna and oil can be a little heavy and a lot of calories.
• Eggs. I adore tuna pasta salad with eggs, and they add extra protein to the dish.
• Beans. Cannellini beans are creamy buttery and add additional protein.
• Peas. We love them! They go so well in this dish, but you can leave them out if you don’t love peas.
• Cottage cheese. This is the base of our sauce and adds even more protein.
• Mayonnaise. We use a little mayo to give the dish a classic flavor.
• Red wine vinegar. The acidity in red wine vinegar helps balance out the richness of the dish.
• Dijon. Mustard adds depth of flavor to the sauce.
• Scallions. For a pop of freshness, crunch, and subtle onion flavor.
• Italian Parsley. Fresh parsley adds a layer of flavor and color.
• Seasonings. Garlic, onion, dill, and a little black pepper.

Pro tip: You’ll notice in the written recipe that I don’t include a salt measurement. This is because cottage cheese is inherently salty. Depending on the brand of tuna you use, it can also contain quite a bit of sodium. I recommend waiting until the very end to taste and adjust the salt!

Recommended Ingredients
Wild Caught Tuna	Dijon Mustard	Rotini Protein Pasta

How To Make Easy Tuna Pasta Salad

This recipe comes together in about 30 minutes. Start with the sauce and work on everything else while the pasta boils.

1. Start with the sauce. This allows the flavors to come together while you work on other things.
2. Add the cottage cheese, mayonnaise, Dijon, vinegar, and seasonings to a small food processor or blender.
3. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
4. Transfer the sauce to a bowl big enough to mix the entire salad.
5. Cook the pasta according to the package directions (see tip below).
6. While the pasta cooks, you can move on to the other things.
7. Add both cans of tuna to the bowl (with the juice). Break up any big chunks with a fork.
8. Rinse the peas under hot water, drain, and add them to the bowl.
9. Rinse and drain the beans and add them to the bowl.
10. Run the peas under hot water to thaw them.
11. Chop the hard-boiled eggs and add them to the bowl.
12. Add the scallions and mix well.
13. Once the pasta is fully cooked, rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking and drain well.
14. Gently mix the salad until well combined. A big spatula works well and doesn’t break up the pasta.
15. Taste and adjust one final time for salt and pepper.

Pro tip: When cooking pasta for pasta salad, you don’t want it to be al dente. Have you ever eaten leftover cold pasta salad, and the pasta seemed a bit undercooked or hard? That’s probably because it was cooked al dente, and pasta will firm up as it cools. This is even more important if you make the pasta salad in advance or plan on chilling it before serving it!

Recipe Variations & Helpful Tips

• Store in a covered container for up to four days. I don’t recommend freezing pasta salad.
• The variations in pasta salad are endless. Celery, bell peppers, radish, olives, and red onion would all be delicious!
• We used BARILLA Protein+ (Plus) Rotini Pasta in this recipe. Just two ounces is ten grams of protein. This recipe uses eight ounces, which adds forty grams of protein! Use whatever brand you like.
• The amount of juice will vary from brand to brand. If you feel like yours has too much, you can drain some off into a separate bowl and add it later. I usually leave it all in because I prefer a stronger tuna flavor.
• I used dried herbs to make this recipe user-friendly, but fresh herbs would be delicious. My recommendations here would be fresh dill, parsley, and or marjoram.
• A generous squeeze of lemon would brighten up the whole dish, and I would’ve added it if I had it.
• Adding the sauce and veggies to a big bowl before adding the pasta helps keep the pasta intact while mixing everything.
• I recommend waiting until the dish is completely done before adding salt. Cottage cheese is inherently salty and varies significantly from brand to brand. Tuna is also salty. Wait until you’ve mixed everything before adding salt. If you’re making this in advance, wait until just before serving to salt, as the flavors will develop and change in the refrigerator.

Products + Equipment Used in This Recipe

• An egg chopper quickly chops the eggs and is great for prepping other veggies.
• This large mixing bowl makes mixing the salad much easier.
• I use my Ninja food chopper/blender several times a week. It’s perfect for making the sauce!
• A large, flexible spatula is a kitchen essential, and it’s perfect for gently mixing the salad.
• I love serving this in a large, wooden serving bowl. It’s so pretty!
• These bowls are great if you transport the salad from here and want a disposable option.

Recommended Equipment
OXO Vegetable Chopper	Glass Mixing Bowls	Ninja Food Processor Set

How To Make This Budget-Friendly

• Stock up on pantry ingredients when they’re on sale to save money later. In Nashville, Publix has great buy-one-get-one-free sales. Every week, I scan the new ad and stock up on the products we use the most. Shopping sales are the easiest way to save money on groceries.
• Don’t be a brand snob. It doesn’t have to be your favorite brand if you’re using ingredients for cooking. For example, I love Good Culture cottage cheese, but it’s pricey. For cooking, I buy the big containers of Daisy when they go on sale. One of my Instagram followers recently recommended I try Aldi’s cottage cheese, and I was shocked at how much I liked it. I’ll start purchasing that for cooking when Daisy isn’t on sale!
• If you don’t have eggs or beans, you can save money by not buying them. They’re there for added protein, but the recipe would be just as good without them. Recipes are guides, not rules. Adapt them however you need to, and I wouldn’t make an extra trip to the store for one or two ingredients that can be swapped out or left out entirely. You can always message me if you have any questions regarding it!

Questions About This Recipe

Can this be made gluten-free?

Of course! Swap out the pasta for your favorite gluten-free pasta and keep everything else the same. It may change the amount of protein in the dish, but there are high-protein + gluten-free pasta options. It’s also important to note that brands often add hidden ingredients that may have gluten, so be sure you’re reading your labels.

How can I add even more protein?

You could add a third of tuna for an additional 32 grams! Since the mayonnaise has zero protein, you could reduce the amount and add more cottage cheese, which is higher in protein. If you don’t like peas, you could swap them out for edamame, adding about ten extra grams.

Can I make this the day before?

Yes, but be aware that pasta salad dries out overnight because the pasta absorbs the sauce as it sits. You could add a little milk the next day if it seems dry. I often add milk and more red wine vinegar. Taste it first and add whatever works for you. Another option would be to keep the cooked pasta and prepared sauce separate and mix them before serving.

Can this be made into a keto pasta salad?

You could use a low-carb, high-fiber pasta, drastically reducing the net carbs. Depending on how strict of a keto diet you’re on, you could also omit the beans.

Is this the best tuna pasta salad in the world??

• We think so 😉

Serve This With

• Foolproof Butter & Lemon Baked Rice Recipe
• Easy Oven Roasted Broccoli Recipe
• Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe | Plus 25 Ways To Use It
• Make-Ahead Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches
• How to Make Sausage Balls – Gluten-Free
• Vegetable Frittata with Broccoli and Sausage

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Easy Tuna Pasta Salad

Easy tuna pasta salad is high in protein and packed full of flavor! It’s a healthy, filling meal that’s easy to make and easy on your wallet!

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Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 8 ounces dry protein pasta
• 2 5-ounce cans albacore tuna in water
• 1 15.5-ounce can of white kidney beans, drained
• 4 large hard-boiled eggs
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup whole milk cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (we use Duke's)
• 2-4 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Salt to taste

Instructions

For The Sauce

• Add the cottage cheese, mayonnaise, Dijon, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, and seasonings to a small food processor or blender.
• Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
• Transfer the sauce into a big bowl. 

For The Pasta

• Cook the pasta according to the package directions (see tip below). While the pasta cooks, you can move on to the other things.

For The Salad

• Add both cans of tuna to the bowl with the sauce, making sure to add the juice.
• Break up any big chunks of tuna with a fork.
• Rinse the peas under hot water, drain well, and add them to the bowl.
• Rinse and drain the beans and add them to the bowl.
• Chop the hard-boiled eggs and add them to the bowl.
• Add the scallions and mix well.
• Once the pasta is fully cooked, rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking and drain well.
• Gently stir everything together until well combined.
• Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

Notes

I like a lot of red wine vinegar in mine. The acid helps cut through the richness of the dressing while adding a vinegary kick! If you don't love vinegar as much as I do, start with two tablespoons and add more to taste.

When cooking pasta for pasta salad, you don’t want it to be al dente. Have you ever eaten leftover cold pasta salad, and the pasta seemed a bit undercooked or hard? That’s probably because it was cooked al dente, and pasta will firm up as it cools. This is even more important if you make the pasta salad in advance or plan on chilling it before serving it!

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