Tuna pesto pasta is a creamy, comforting dish that is packed with flavor and is SO easy to make. Pasta is coated with a creamy herb sauce with lemon juice, parmesan, and tuna. With only a few ingredients you can have dinner ready in 30 minutes or less.
Who doesn’t love an easy dinner that can be made on a weeknight after a long day of work? We're all about one pot meals with little effort like this No Boil Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe. Don’t worry about forgetting to thaw out meat or prep anything ahead of time. All of the ingredients used in this recipe are simple and you probably already have most on hand.
Pesto and tuna are the stars of this warm delicious pasta. I always have a jar of prepared pesto on hand because it's a quick and convenient way to flavor your dinner without much effort. Love pesto as much as we do? You'll need to try my Pesto Bruschetta Chicken.
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Why You’ll Love Tuna Pesto Pasta
- This creamy tuna pesto pasta recipe is extremely easy to make. Don’t worry about spending extra time whisking together ingredients to make a cream sauce because all of the ingredients are added to the freshly boiled pasta and the sauce is formed. Yes, it’s that easy.
- Don’t spend a ton of time doing dishes or hovering over the food while it cooks. You’ll spend less than 30 minutes making this easy weeknight meal. There’s nothing to prep or chop, everything just gets measured and thrown in to one pot.
- Tuna pesto pasta is cheap! I’m not sure about the stores near you but meat is becoming more and more expensive. Canned tuna is fortunately inexpensive compared to other choices making it a very economical choice. Also canned tuna is something you can stock up on and keep shelved for years.
- There’s so much flavor! You might look at the ingredients list and think it’s very small but don’t let that fool you. All of the ingredients for the tuna pesto pasta add so much flavor. The pesto gives flavors of garlic and basil making the sauce creamy and making it easier to coat the noodles. Lemon adds brightness and tartness to balance the saltiness from the parmesan cheese. Sun-dried tomatoes add color and a warm tomatoey flavor. I can’t forget to mention the tuna which has the most flavor of all the ingredients including the juice that the tuna has been sitting in.
What You Need to Make Healthy Tuna Pesto Pasta
1lb pasta - the type of pasta you use is completely up to you, you can either go out and buy your favorite or use what you have on hand
1 cup sundried tomatoes in oil - I recommend going with sun-dried tomatoes in oil because the oil is going to add a lot of flavor and it will coat the noodles nicely and blend easily with the pesto. You can either leave the sundried tomatoes whole or chop to your desired texture.
2 5oz cans tuna - For this recipe I chose to go with tuna in water because I didn’t want the sauce to be too oily with the pesto and sun-dried tomatoes. Tuna in water gives a great balance and blends nicely with all the other ingredients. You can go with tuna in oil but keep in mind it will be more rich.
1 cup prepared basil pesto - this ready made blend of oil, basil, pine nuts and garlic brings so much flavor, you can make your own but using a prepared pesto is so convenient because you don't need a food processor or extra ingredients
1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water - be sure your starchy pasta water is salted before boiling. It not only brings the water to a boil quicker, it also gives the pasta so much flavor plus it adds more to the sauce in this recipe.
1 lemon squeezed - I recommend using a fresh lemon for the best results! This ingredient will bring so much brightness to the sauce.
1/2-1 cup parmesan cheese - The freshly grated parmesan brings everything together, it’s important to add this to the hot pasta so it melts and brings the sauce together making it nice and creamy.
Pinch red pepper flakes (optional) - for added spice if desired
What is The Best Tuna to Use in This Recipe?
Choosing the right canned tuna for this tuna pesto recipe may seem daunting because there are so many different types to choose from. Each brand and type differ in flavor, texture, color, and more. At the end of the day the choice is yours but I’ve compiled a little bit of information that may help you.
Oil vs water
Choosing a tuna packed in water vs olive oil is completely personal preference. As mentioned earlier, I opted for tuna packed with water since there’s already enough fat and oil from the pesto and sun-dried tomatoes. However, if you’re looking to make this more rich or add extra omega-3 fats then tuna packed in oil will be delicious!
Types of Canned Tuna
There are two main types of canned tuna which are commonly known as white and light or chunk light. White refers to albacore tuna. It has a firm texture and light colored flesh. The flavor of albacore tuna is mild and will not overpower the other flavors of the tuna pesto pasta. Albacore tuna is a larger species and tends to have more mercury.
Light tuna can be a mixture of different types of tuna like skipjack, tongol, and sometimes yellowtail. This canned tuna tends to be more pale pink in color. The texture is softer and it tends to have more flavor than albacore. Because the three types of tuna mentioned above are smaller they typically contain less mercury. If you love a more flavorful tuna that you’ll be sure to taste I recommend choosing the light variety. I've made the pesto and tuna pasta with both varieties and it's turned out great with both.
What to Look for
Look for tuna canned in a BPA free container. BPA can have negative effects on the body and should be avoided if possible. When it comes to health you may opt for wild caught tuna. Tuna in farmed conditions don’t tend to be as healthy and wild caught tuna have been known to be lower fat. If you’re interested in more sustainable options, choose pole caught and fad free tuna for this tuna pasta pesto recipe. Pole catching is the most ocean friendly and is significantly less harmful to the environment.
How to Make Easy Tuna Pesto Pasta
Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil for recommended cooking time per the package instructions.
Step 2: Once the pasta is done cooking turn the stove off, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
Step 3: Add the pasta back to the pot and place on the stove. To the pasta, add pesto and reserved pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at and stir until the noodles are well combined with the pesto. Only add enough water to loosen up the pesto and coat the pasta.
Step 4: Fold in the tuna, sundried tomatoes, lemon juice, parmesan, and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined. Serve the pesto tuna pasta immediately.
Tuna Pesto Pasta Variations
- Add extra veggies - Fold in extra veggies you have on hand like spinach, chopped artichokes, or frozen peas for added flavor and nutrition.
- Stir in hummus - I highly recommend stirring in a tablespoon or two of this Lemon Dill Hummus to add creaminess, zestiness and herbaceous flavor.
- Substitute canned chicken - If you’re not a seafood fan or maybe you don’t have canned tuna on hand you can substitute canned chicken breast instead.
- Substitute traditional store bought pesto sauce for sun-dried tomato pesto instead - If you have sun-dried tomato pesto on hand, use that in place of the sun-dried tomatoes and traditional pesto. This will bring so much flavor and put a little twist on the tuna pesto pasta recipe.
- Make the sauce extra creamy by adding a splash of heavy cream. If you love a rich creamy sauce a small splash of heavy cream is going to take this easy tuna pesto pasta recipe over the top. If you try this let me know how it turns out!
- Make it gluten free by using a gluten free pasta. It's really that simple since all the other ingredients are naturally gluten free.
- Consider adding olives to make tuna pesto pasta with olives. It adds saltiness and more flavor. You could add green or kalamata which are my personal favorites.
- If you're feeling extra fancy, add an extra layer of parmesan cheese over the tuna and pesto pasta and broil until the cheese is golden and bubbly. There you have it now you've made a tuna pesto pasta bake!
Recipes to Serve with Tuna Pesto Pasta
Storing Tuna Pesto Pasta
Storing the tuna pesto pasta is easy. Refrigerate in an air tight container within two hours of cooking. Leftovers stay good in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat simply place the tuna pesto pasta in a microwave safe bowl, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave for 30 seconds at a time until fully reheated. I have never tried freezing the tuna pesto pasta but I’ve never had luck freezing pasta dishes because the texture changes in an undesirable way.
The Best Tuna Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta
- 1 cup sundried tomatoes in oil
- 2 5 oz cans tuna
- 1 cup prepared pesto
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
- 1 lemon squeezed
- 1/2-1 cup parmesan cheese
- Pinch red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil for recommended cooking time per the package instructions.
- Once the pasta is done cooking turn the stove off, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Add the pasta back to the pot and place on the stove. To the pasta, add pesto and reserved pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at and stir until the noodles are well combined with the pesto. Only add enough water to loosen up the pesto and coat the pasta.
- Fold in the tuna, sundried tomatoes, lemon juice, parmesan, and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined. Serve immediately.
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