If you’re looking for a dish that’s quick to make, budget-friendly, and totally delish, this Easy Tuna Pasta Salad is going to be your new obsession. Whether you’re planning high-protein meals for the week or looking for a new pasta salad recipe, you’re in the right place!
Unlike many creamy pasta salad recipes that rely heavily on mayonnaise, this one achieves its creaminess through a smooth and incredibly delicious cottage cheese sauce. It’s a high-protein pasta salad that fills you up and keeps you full for hours!
It’s affordable and one of my favorite pantry recipes, and if you’re into high-protein recipes, check out my tips for how to cook with cottage cheese (it can be finicky) and my collection of savory cottage cheese bowls!
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 I loved his tuna casserole. This isn’t a casserole, but it always reminds me of him.
Packed with lean tuna, beans, eggs, and chickpea pasta, it’s a protein-packed salad that keeps you satisfied for hours. Serve it as a cold pasta salad in the summer for BBQs and picnics, add it to your healthy meal plans, pack it for a high-protein cold lunch that doesn’t need to be reheated, or prep it ahead for a meal-prep tuna pasta salad to enjoy all week.
Easy Tuna Pasta Salad
Since eating a diet high in protein has helped me beat my menopause weight, I made some adjustments to increase the fiber and protein content in this dish. You’ll only use 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.
Main Ingredients
Using staples most of us already have, this easy 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 high in calories.
- Eggs. I adore tuna pasta salad with eggs, and they add extra protein to the dish.
- Beans. Cannellini beans are creamy and buttery, adding additional protein.
- Peas. The pop of sweetness is delicious in this salad, but you can leave them out if you’re not a fan.
The cottage cheese sauce is truly the star of this recipe, and it couldn’t be easier to prepare. Add the cottage cheese, mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, Dijon, and seasonings to a small food processor. Blend until smooth before mixing it with the pasta and the remaining ingredients!
Note. You’ll notice 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 a significant amount of sodium. I recommend waiting until the very end to taste and adjust the salt!
How To Make Easy Tuna Pasta Salad
- Let your multitasking skills shine as you make this recipe! Once the water is boiling for the pasta, proceed to the sauce. By the time you’re done with the sauce, the pasta should be done, and it’s really just a matter of mixing everything and adjusting the ingredients to your taste!
- When cooking pasta for pasta salad, cook it thoroughly. You don’t want it to be al dente. Have you ever eaten leftover pasta salad and found the pasta to be a bit undercooked or brittle? That’s because pasta will firm up as it cools. This is a rare instance where you actually don’t want to start with al dente pasta.
 | Ninja Blender Food Processor The Ninja Master Prep Professional Handles All Of Your Chopping, Food Processing, And Blending Needs |
Recipe Tips + Variations
- Store in a covered container for up to four days. I don’t recommend freezing pasta salad.
- For additional texture and fiber, adding celery, bell peppers, and red onion would be delicious!
- We used Barilla Protein+ (Plus) Rotini, which adds 10 grams of protein per serving plus fiber.
- I used dried herbs to make this recipe user-friendly, but fresh herbs would be delicious.
- A generous squeeze of lemon would brighten up the whole dish, and I would’ve added it if I had it.
I recommend waiting until the dish is completely done before adding salt. Cottage cheese is inherently salty, and so is tuna. 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 ideal for gently mixing salads.
- 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.
How To Make This Budget-Friendly
- Stock up on pantry ingredients when they’re on sale to save money later. Shopping sales are one of the easiest ways to save money on groceries.
- Don’t be a brand snob, especially when cooking with an ingredient. 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.
- If you don’t have eggs or beans, don’t make an extra trip to the store. They’re there for added protein, but the recipe would be just as good without them. Recipes are guides, not rules.
If you’ve tried my easy tuna pasta salad or any recipe on my site, please leave a comment below!
Easy Tuna Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry protein pasta
- 2 5-ounce cans albacore tuna in water
- 1 15.5-ounce can Cannellini 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.
- Add the pasta and gently stir everything together until well combined.
- Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, and vinegar. (see notes)
Is there a rough idea of calories per serving?
I got nine 3/4 cup servings. I only did two eggs and half cup of peas. Each serving was 282 calories.
Is it supposed to have beans?
Yes! Thanks for catching that, Laura! Just fixed it!
Do you cook the peas? When do we add them in?
I rinse them under hot water to thaw them. Just fixed the recipe. Thanks for catching that!! 🙂
How much is 1 serving size??
That’s diffferent for everyone. A serving is much as you want it to be. This makes a giant bowl.
This is AMAZING!!! Thanks for sharing ❤️
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Thank you so much, Suzanne!
Great recipe. Love all the high protein bits in it. My final salad was quite runny. I wonder if possibly holding off on tuna juice or just one can would have helped.
Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much, and that could certainly be it. Brands vary so much, so I would have suggested the same thing. Drain the juice off and add it as needed! So glad you like it! 🙂
Can this be made without cottage cheese? I can’t do dairy and the fake doesn’t have the same nutritional content.
I’m not familiar with dairy free products but if you don’t like the dairy free alternative for cottage cheese, maybe try dairy free yogurt to make the sauce?
Loved this! The vinegar takes it to the next level!! I added a little Greek yogurt and a little less mayo! Great flavors in this protein packed salad!! Thanks for sharing!
This was good. I could go even lighter on the red wine vinegar. And consider whether you’re making this for a crowd or just for yourself. I did it as meal prep and got nine servings. I’ll do a half recipe next time because I will be stuck eating tuna pasta salad every day for a quite a while now.