This flavorful Tuna Pasta is one of the best ways to elevate canned tuna and excellent for those dinner rut moments. It’s made with pantry staples including hearty spaghetti, vibrant sun dried tomatoes and capers, time-saving pre-cooked tuna, and it’s all highlighted with a lemony herb oil finish.
This is the easy dinner you’ll love on hectic days. It’s also a great way to incorporate an inexpensive seafood in your dinner rotation.
Canned tuna is packed with protein, it’s pre-cooked and ready to go, and it makes a great addition to meals going beyond just tuna salad.
The other great thing about canned tuna is that since it’s left plain and unseasoned it leaves plenty of opportunity to season it in various ways. Here we add an Italian spin and create a deliciously satisfying pasta dinner you can turn to any day of the year.
Tuna Pasta Recipe Ingredients
Spaghetti: A great pasta choice here for the base of the dish.
Salt and black pepper: Added for enhanced flavor.
Extra virgin olive oil: Essential for a rich coating and added moisture for the pasta.
Green onions: Used to build up the background flavor of the dish.
Sun dried tomatoes: Added for a zesty pop of bright flavor.
Capers: These add salty, briny flavor that pairs super well with the flavor of tuna.
Garlic: Included for some traditional Italian flavor.
Red pepper flakes: You can adjust the amount of these added to taste as they are spicy.
Canned tuna in olive oil: Be sure to use tuna in oil vs. tuna in water, as you’ll also be including the oil from the can for the pasta dressing.
Lemon: A key flavor here to enhance the tuna. Both the zest and juice will be used.
Parsley: This ingredient adds fresh herby flavor and a pretty pop of color.
How to Make Tuna Pasta
Cook pasta: Boil spaghetti to al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water according to directions on package. Before draining, reserve 1 cup pasta water.
Saute seasonings: Near the end of pasta cooking, heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add green onion white portions and saute 1 minute.
Add sun dried tomatoes, capers, garlic, black pepper, and red pepper flakes and saute 1 minute longer. Remove from heat.
Toss pasta with tuna, additional add-ins, and lemon: Return drained pasta to empty pot along with 1/3 cup pasta water, the sun dried tomato mixture, tuna with oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Toss mixture, season with salt to taste, and cook briefly over low heat for about 1 minute while breaking up tuna chunks.
Finish with greens: Remove from heat. Toss in parsley and darker green onion portions. Thin with more reserved pasta water as needed and add a little more olive oil to taste if desired.
Serve immediately while warm, topped with extra parsley and a squeeze of lemon if desired.
