Tuna Pasta

Tuna pasta is a quick and easy meal that is delicious, flavorful, and loaded with Mediterranean ingredients. Made in less than 15 minutes with canned tuna, lemon juice, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and garlic, this simple recipe is perfect for busy weeknights. It’s light, healthy, and nutritious. Plus, it’s a great way to clean out your pantry and relatively cheap to make.

Why You’ll Love Tuna Pasta

• It’s so easy! To make tuna pasta, you’ll start by sautéing garlic while the pasta is cooking. Then, add in canned tuna, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, parsley, and kalamata olives. Mix it all together with a few spoonfuls of pasta water, and you’ve made tuna pasta!
• It’s seriously quick. Tuna pasta is ready in a short 15 minutes or less. Yes. You read that right. Just fifteen minutes. Or less! It’s the perfect last minute lunch or easy dinner idea on a busy weeknight.
• Tuna pasta is so flavorful. If you’re a fan of acidic flavors, you’ll love this tuna pasta. Lemon juice adds a dash of acidic citrus to complement the natural flavor of the tuna, while parmesan cheese adds a savory, cheesy flavor. Then, kalamata olives give this dish a kick of salty flavor that complements all the other ingredients so well.

Ingredient Notes

To make quick and easy Tuna Pasta, you will need the following ingredients (full quantities in the recipe card below):

• pasta - I like to use spaghetti or any other long noodle like linguine or fettuccine. But of course, you can use any shape pasta that you have on hand. You can even use pasta that cooks quickly, like angel hair, to get this dish on the table even faster.
• olive oil
• garlic
• tuna - this is a great recipe to use any tuna that has been sitting in your pantry for a while. You will need 2 cans of tuna, or you can easily cut the recipe in half and use one can.
• fresh lemon juice
• Parmesan cheese
• pasta water - we use pasta water to add a little moisture but keeping it light and healthy. You can easily substitute it with some heavy cream or milk for a creamier texture.
• parsley
• salt and pepper
• olives - I like to use Kalamata olives to keep it very Mediterranean, but you can easily substitute with green olives or any other kind of olives that you prefer. You can even substitute with capers.

This recipe is also customizable. Feel free to load it up with any veggies that you like but choose veggies that cook quickly such as spinach and cherry tomatoes or throw in cooked veggies like garlic mushrooms, air fryer asparagus, bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, or canned artichokes.

How to Make the Best Tuna Pasta

1. Make pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add spaghetti noodles and cook until al dente or according to package directions, about 10-12 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup hot pasta water in a bowl. Drain the noodles well and set aside.
2. Make sauce. While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add canned tuna and cook until warmed through, about 1-2 minutes. Add lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, reserved pasta water, and fresh parsley. Stir well until smooth, about 1 minute.
3. Toss in pasta. Add the cooked spaghetti and sliced olives and toss well until evenly mixed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve. Serve immediately. Feel free to top with extra Parmesan, parsley, and lemon juice, if desired.

How to Serve Tuna Pasta

I like to serve most pasta dishes with a side salad or soup and bread. Some of my favorites to pair with this tuna pasta are:

• Lemon Kale Salad
• Garlic Breadsticks
• Garden Salad
• Lemon Asparagus Soup with Parmesan
• Garlic Knots
• Greek Salad
• Minestrone Soup

More Pasta Recipes

• 40 Best Pasta Recipes
• Baked Mediterranean Pasta
• Creamy Salmon Pasta
• Chicken Penne Pasta
• Mascarpone Pesto Pasta
• Fettuccine Alfredo

Recipe

Tuna Pasta

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5 from 1 review

• Author: Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

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Description

Tuna pasta is a quick and easy Mediterranean meal that is delicious, flavorful, and made in less than 15 minutes with pantry staples like canned tuna.

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Ingredients

• ½ pound (8 ounces) dry spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 (5 ounce) cans tuna, drained
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• ¼ cup reserved pasta water
• 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
• ¼ cup Kalamata olives (or green olives), pitted and sliced

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add spaghetti noodles and cook until al dente or according to package directions, about 10-12 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup hot pasta water in a bowl. Drain the noodles well and set aside.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add canned tuna and cook until warmed through, about 1-2 minutes. Add lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, reserved pasta water, and fresh parsley. Stir well until smooth, about 1 minute.
4. Add the cooked spaghetti and sliced olives and toss well until evenly mixed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve immediately. Feel free to top with extra Parmesan, parsley, and lemon juice, if desired.

Notes

You can keep the heat lower: This pasta cooks quick and it’s easy to overcook garlic, so if you’re not familiar with heating garlic on your stovetop, it’s better to go low than high. You also don’t want to dry out the tuna too much, so be careful not to sear all your ingredients.

How to store: Keep leftover tuna pasta in the fridge inside an airtight container for up to 3-5 days.

How to reheat: Heat cold tuna pasta on the stove over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes until warmed through. You can also reheat this dish in the microwave.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Category: Pasta
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Mediterranean

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