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Tuna Macaroni Salad

Tuna Macaroni Salad is easy to make and great for lunch, dinner, BBQs, potlucks and truly the perfect picnic food. It is a great twist on classic macaroni salad, that you can easily make at home. Comes together in 20 minutes and is bursting with flavor, so good.

Top view of a large serving bowl with Tuna Macaroni Salad.

Reasons to love this Tuna Macaroni Salad

For sure, I could eat something like Macaroni Salad or a Hawaiian Macaroni Salad almost every day, because it is definitely not meant to be a summer pasta salad only. And this Tuna Macaroni Salad add another special twist to them:

You will absolutely love the textures from bountiful vegetables to the rich and creamy macaroni salad dressing.

Only pantry staples that you almost certainly have in your fridge are going into this Tuna Macaroni Salad. Once you try it, you will be surprised how that these ingredients will make such an amazing result.

Great for picnics or entertaining, because you can make anything 2 days in advance and serve it up whenever you are ready. As everything sits the dressing, it really sinks into the salad and makes everything even tastier.

Have a look at my step by step pictures, because this way you know you can make it absolutely amazingly and easily at home at a fraction of cost of a restaurant visit. This cheap recipe makes a lot and tastes great.

Ingredients needed for making Tuna Macaroni Salad on a board.

What to serve with Tuna Macaroni Salad

Creamy Cucumber Salad or Avocado Salad are wonderful side dishes and taste really refreshing.

Fries are really great to serve along, but what is of course better than just regular fries: Garlic Fries and Steak Fries.

Also tortilla chips, crackers, sandwiches like a Grilled Cheese Sandwich or bake some amazing bread such as Focaccia.

Step by step pictures showing of the dressing for the Tuna Macaroni Salad is made in a bowl.

What do you need for this Tuna Macaroni Salad recipe

Elbow macaroni are widely available, cheap and delicious. They are the foundation for our pasta salad, but you can use any pasta you want, like farfalle, penne or whatever floats your boat.

Tuna: I use plant based, but you can  use any tuna you want. It will taste great and delicious any ways. Providing a great texture with a hearty finish that goes wonderful with the other components that we are going to use in this salad recipe.

Celery is here for a great crunch and easily enhances the flavors of all the other ingredients.

Seasoned mayo: I mix egg free mayo with garlic and pickles to make our dressing. It adds tons of flavor. The contrast from flavorful garlic, creamy mayo and pickles which adds a hint of acidity.

Red onions are milder than regular onions and it will give you a great pop up color into your salad.

Finally, peas add another layer of texture and a hint of sweetness.

Step by step guide showing how the salad ingredients are mixed with the dressing.

How to make Tuna Macaroni Salad

Start with preparing macaroni according to your package directions. Set them aside and let them cool down. If you want to make them cool down faster, run them in a colander under cold water.

To make the dressing, get a bowl and combine mayo, pickles, garlic powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix and set aside.

To a large mixing bowl, add the macaroni, drained tuna, celery, onions, peas and mix with dressing.

Serve or store in the fridge for further use (up to 5 days).

Closeup of a bowl with Tuna Macaroni Salad.

Tips and tricks

Always drain your tuna first. No matter, packed with water or oil you can use any that you like.

Things that you can add to Tuna Macaroni Salad are corn, red bell peppers, tomatoes or fresh herbs like dill, chives or parsley.

You can cook your macaroni 2 days in advance so they are perfectly cooled down and you can save time, go straight to preparation as you see in my instructions.

More acidity for your dressing? Surely it is delicious as it is, but for even more acidity you can add lemon juice, vinegar, or mustard.

For a little bit of a kick: add chili flakes or a dash hot sauce.

Plate with a serving of the easy Tuna Salad.

Other tuna recipes to try

Collage of two pictures of Tuna Macaroni Salad with recipe title text.

Share remakes of this Tuna Macaroni Salad with a  tag on Instagram or Facebook.

Enjoy, Florian.

Top view of a large serving bowl with Tuna Macaroni Salad.

Tuna Macaroni Salad

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Tuna Macaroni Salad is easy to make and great for lunch, dinner, BBQs, potlucks and truly the perfect picnic food. It is a great twist on classic macaroni salad, that you can easily make at home. Comes together in 20 minutes and is bursting with flavor, so good.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz macaroni
  • 1.5 cups rgg free mayo
  • 9 oz plant based tuna
  • 1/2 cup pickles, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1/3 cup peas
  • 1/2 cup red onions, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • salt, pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook macaroni according to the package directions.
  2. Let them cool down and if you want to cool them down faster, run them in a colander under cold water.Ingredients needed for making Tuna Macaroni Salad on a board.
  3. To prepare the dressing, in a bowl combine mayo, pickles, garlic powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix and set aside.Step by step pictures showing of the dressing for the Tuna Macaroni Salad is made in a bowl.
  4. In a large bowl, add macaroni, drained tuna, celery, onions, peas and mix with dressing. Step by step guide showing how the salad ingredients are mixed with the dressing.
  5. Serve, enjoy or store everything for later use. Top view of a large serving bowl with Tuna Macaroni Salad.

Notes

  • You can use leftovers and store them in the fridge for 5 days.
  • Drain your tuna first. No matter, packed with water or oil you can use any that you like.
  • Other things that you can add to tuna macaroni salad: corn, red bell peppers, tomatoes or fresh herbs like dill, chives or parsley.
  • Cook your macaroni 2 days in advance if you want to: they are perfectly cooled down and you can save time.
  • For more acidity: The salad is delicious as it is, but for even more acidity you can add lemon juice, vinegar, or mustard.
  • A little bit of a kick? Add chili flakes or a dash of hot sauce
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1.5 cups
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 565Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 865mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 24g

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