Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Salad

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This tuna pasta salad is made without mayo and is packed with bright Mediterranean flavors, making it a customizable and healthy main dish recipe.

A close-up of a bowl of tuna pasta salad with a wooden serving spoon.

I’ve never been a big fan of traditional tuna salad or cold, mayo-based salads (exceptions granted for curry chicken salad and a few others). But with canned tuna being both a shelf-stable and cost-effective ingredient, it can easily be worked into no-mayo salads for a protein- and nutrient-rich addition.

Always on hand for healthy baked tuna cakes, I started adding canned tuna to one of my very favorite non-green salads: pasta salad. And the verdict? YUM.

Reasons To Love This Recipe

This tuna pasta salad features a variety of Mediterranean-flavored ingredients such as greens, beans, and cheese that can totally be tweaked depending on what you have on hand. No cannellini beans, celery, and/or pine nuts? No problem.
It's a no-stress menu item. Great served warm right away or after being chilled in the fridge, sometimes I think it may taste even better once it chills overnight.
This cannot be overstated: it's a tuna pasta salad without mayo, for the mayo-leery among us. The vinaigrette-esque dressing provides all the moisture and cohesiveness we need.

Recipe Ingredients

Canned Tuna: Either tuna packed in water or oil will work just fine, but my preference is to use tuna packed in oil. It has a little extra moisture that’s welcome as everything here isn’t covered in mayo.
Pasta: Look for medium-sized pastas for pasta salad. Here I used casarecce, but other shapes that work well are penne, rotini, farfalle, gemelli, fusilli, etc.
Arugula: Two packed cups of greens add a healthy boost to pasta salad. Baby spinach can be subbed in.
Rice Vinegar: As far as vinegars go, rice vinegar has a very mild flavor (it’s great in this honey mustard vinaigrette!). If you don’t have it you can use another variety, like apple cider or white wine. Even balsamic would mesh well with the flavors here.
Herbs: Fresh thyme, parsley and/or basil mesh with these Italian flavors, but you can use whichever ones you like. And if you don’t have fresh herbs available, your favorite dried ones are fine. Just be mindful that you’ll need less of them (versus fresh herbs) as their flavor is more concentrated.

Step-by-Step Instructions

First add all dressing ingredients to a measuring cup or bowl and whisk well to combine. Once that’s done, don’t put your whisk in the sink just yet because you’ll want to give it a final whisk right before you dress this tuna pasta salad.

Dressing ingredients in a glass measuring cup before being whisked (left) and after (right).

Next set up a big pot of salted water to boil, then cook the pasta according to the middle timing on your particular package. Usually that’s called “firm”, and will be a minute longer than al dente and a minute less than tender.

You’ll have around fifteen minutes (or more) while the water comes up to boil/the pasta cooks to prep the rest of your ingredients: opening and draining the tuna and beans, rinsing/chopping the veggies and herbs, grating the cheese, etc.

Once the pasta has finished boiling, transfer it to a large colander and give it a rinse under cool water to bring the temperature down.

Drained pasta in a large strainer set over a bowl.

Add rinsed pasta and the rest of the pasta salad ingredients (except for the dressing) to a large mixing bowl.

Cooked pasta and the rest of the pasta salad ingredients in a large bowl ready to mix.

Give the dressing another whisk to re-emulsify it, pour it over the salad, and stir and toss to coat evenly.

Tuna pasta salad mixed together in a bowl before adding the arugula.

Top with additional herbs for garnish. Take a taste and see if you'd like more salt, pepper, dried herbs, lemon juice, Parmesan, etc. This pasta salad can be served warm or chilled from the fridge.

Expert Tips

When it comes to pasta salad, ensuring that all of the ingredients are bite-sized makes it easier and less messy to eat. Keep this in mind when chopping up the tomatoes, breaking up the tuna, and choosing a pasta shape.
Rinsing the pasta under cool water is beneficial for pasta salads as it stops the cooking process quickly (so that pasta doesn’t get overdone and mushy). It also prevents it from clumping up immediately if you’re still wrangling the rest of your ingredients and slows down the pasta from absorbing all of the dressing right away.
It’s inevitable that leftover pasta salad will absorb the dressing. If making this pasta salad ahead of time, you can reserve a portion of the dressing to dress it just prior to serving, or you can mix up a little extra to add to leftover portions when you eat them.

Recipe FAQs

Is tuna pasta salad healthy?

I think so! One-quarter cup of olive oil makes up the majority of the dressing for this salad, which yields a good 6-8 servings. This recipe includes leafy greens as well as as tomatoes, beans, and nuts, and the canned tuna provides lean protein and other nutrients.

Can you make tuna pasta salad in advance?

Yes, this recipe can be prepared a day or two in advance of when you'd like to serve it. As it will absorb the dressing the longer it sits, you may wish to reserve some of the dressing and stir it in just prior to serving, or make up an additional smaller portion of it to add at that time.

How long does tuna pasta salad keep?

This tuna pasta salad should stay in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but as always, if something looks or smells off before that time, then better safe than sorry and toss it.

An overhead picture of pasta salad in a serving bowl with a wooden spoon.

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