Tuna Pasta Salad: The Creamy Lunchbox Classic

This tuna pasta salad is the regular version, macaroni and all. It’s the pasta salad people ask for by name, made the classic way with a creamy mayonnaise dressing, peas, celery and plenty of dill pickles.

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The one rule is to rinse the pasta cold and drain it hard before the dressing goes near it. Warm pasta drinks mayonnaise, and by lunch you have a dry, gluey bowl.

It’s a good fit for summer potlucks, picnics and make-ahead lunches. The pot of water for the macaroni is the only heat involved.

What goes into tuna pasta salad

• Elbow macaroni: 8 oz. The little tubes catch dressing and peas, so every bite gets some of both.
• Tuna: 2 cans (5 oz each), drained well. Flake it straight into the bowl so some chunks survive.
• Mayonnaise: 1 cup, the base of the dressing.
• Lemon juice and Dijon mustard: 1 tbsp and 1 tsp. They give the dressing its tang so it doesn’t taste flat.
• Salt and black pepper: 1/2 tsp each.
• Frozen peas: 1 cup, thawed. They stay sweet and bright without any cooking.
• Celery: 2 stalks, diced.
• Red onion: 1/4 cup, diced.
• Dill pickles: 1/3 cup, chopped. Along with the celery and onion, this is the crunch, and the pickles keep the whole salad from tasting heavy.

Cold pasta, creamy dressing

Cool everything before you combine it. Heat breaks a mayonnaise dressing and swells the starch. Cooking the macaroni just to al dente and rinsing it under cold water stops the cooking and washes off the surface starch that makes pasta salad sticky.

Drain it properly, too. Water clinging to the elbows thins the dressing into a puddle at the bottom of the bowl. Shake the colander, let it sit a minute, and shake it again.

How to make it

The active work takes about twenty minutes, most of it waiting for the water to boil. After that the salad needs 30 minutes in the fridge.

• Cook the pasta. Boil the macaroni until al dente, then rinse it under cold water and drain it well. The rinse is what keeps the salad creamy.
• Make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper until smooth. Add a splash of pickle juice here if you’re using it.
• Add everything else. Flake the drained tuna into the bowl, then add the cooled pasta, thawed peas, diced celery, diced red onion and chopped pickles.
• Fold and chill. Fold the dressing through gently so the tuna stays in flakes. Chill for 30 minutes before serving so the flavors settle and the salad firms up.

Check the seasoning once it’s chilled. Cold food tastes less salty, so a pinch more salt at the end is normal.

Small changes that help

Pickle juice in the dressing. The tip pinned to the original recipe is a splash of pickle juice whisked into the mayonnaise. It brightens the whole bowl, and the jar is already open anyway.

Oil or water tuna. The recipe just calls for drained canned tuna, so use the one you like. Drain it thoroughly either way so extra liquid doesn’t thin the dressing.

Keep the tuna in flakes. Fold with a big spatula and stop as soon as everything is coated. Stirring hard turns the tuna into paste and the salad goes gray.

Thaw the peas first. Still-frozen peas release water into the bowl as they warm up, and that’s how you get a watery salad. A few minutes in a colander at room temperature is enough.

For a Mediterranean take on a cold pasta salad, try our Greek tortellini salad with cucumber, Kalamata olives and feta in a Greek yogurt dressing.

Serving it and keeping leftovers

Serve it cold, straight from the fridge. The pasta already brings the starch, so a big green salad, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, or a plate of raw radishes and bell pepper strips round it out. Hard-boiled or deviled eggs fit right in on a picnic spread, and lettuce cups work if you’d like to spoon smaller portions into crisp leaves.

Fridge: keep it covered in the refrigerator and eat it within a few days. The pasta keeps absorbing dressing as it sits, so day-two salad is thicker. A spoonful of mayonnaise or a splash of pickle juice loosens it again.

Freezer: skip it. Mayonnaise separates when it thaws, and celery and onion lose their crunch, so you end up with a wet, grainy bowl.

Lunchboxes and potlucks: pack it cold with an ice pack and some vegetables on the side. At a potluck, keep it chilled and out of the sun.

If you’re building a cold spread, our deviled egg pasta salad and shrimp macaroni salad with peas and lemon pack just as well, a bowl of creamy dill cucumber salad keeps things fresh on the side, and for a pasta-free tuna lunch try the avocado tuna salad lettuce boats .

Common questions

Can I make it ahead?

Yes. It needs 30 minutes of chilling anyway, so making it the night before works well. Stir it before serving and loosen it with a little extra mayonnaise or pickle juice if it has thickened.

Why did my pasta salad turn dry?

Usually the pasta went in warm or wasn’t rinsed, so it soaked up the dressing. Rinse it cold, drain it well, and refresh leftovers with a spoonful of mayonnaise.

Is this tuna pasta salad low-carb?

No. The macaroni makes it a regular pasta salad. The dressing and mix-ins add very little, so the pasta is where nearly all of the carbs come from.

Can I use a different pasta shape?

The recipe is written for elbow macaroni, which holds the dressing and peas well. Another small short shape will work if that’s what you have, as long as you cook it al dente and rinse it cold.

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Written and edited by The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team

The Foodie Yummy Kitchen Team writes and edits the recipes on Foodie Yummy: classic American potluck salads, holiday sides and easy comfort food, with a few low-carb options. Every recipe lists exact quantities, numbered steps and a printable recipe card, plus notes on swaps, storage and make-ahead timing. Spot a problem with a recipe? Tell us through the contact page and we will correct it. About us