Easy Tuna Pasta Salad | High Protein Recipe

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 gets its creaminess from a cottage cheese sauce that’s smooth, tangy, and ridiculously good. 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! If you’re into high-protein recipes that taste like you’re indulging, add this to your collection of cottage cheese recipes, easy side dishes, and quick meals!

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, my easy tuna pasta salad recipe reminds me of him.

Packed with lean tuna (one of my go-to high-protein foods), beans, eggs, and chickpea pasta, it’s one of those protein-packed salads that keeps you satisfied for hours. Serve it as a cold pasta salad in 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.

Don’t be afraid to change things up! Swap the creamy sauce for a pasta salad with Italian dressing, toss in olives and feta for a Mediterranean vibe, or turn it into a pesto pasta salad when you’re craving herby flavor.

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.

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!

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, 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 avocado mayonnaise to give the dish a classic flavor. Use any mayo you like.
• 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 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

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.
3. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
4. Transfer the sauce to a mixing 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 Tips + Variations

• 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 easy tuna pasta salad 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.

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 ads 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 as needed, 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!

If you’ve tried my easy tuna pasta salad or any recipe on my site, please leave a comment below!

Easy Tuna Pasta Salad

Easy tuna pasta salad is creamy, tangy, addicitve! Add it to your collection of high protein meals, cottage cheese recipes, cold work lunches!

Print This Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Equipment

• Albacore Wild Tuna
• Protein Pasta
• Glass Mixing Bowl With Lid
• Vegetable Chopper
• Ninja Food Processor Set
• Avocado Mayonnaise
• Cannellini Beans

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 366kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 333mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g

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!

Enjoyed this recipe?Save this recipe and others @plaineverything on Pinterest!

Save to Pinterest!Save this recipe and others @plaineverything on Pinterest!