Tuna Macaroni Salad
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This easy Tuna Macaroni Salad is a great twist on a classic side dish. It’s perfect for a BBQ, potluck, or even enjoyed as a meal on its own for a simple weeknight dinner. Bursting with pieces of flaky tuna and sweet peas, everyone will want to go back for seconds.
Tuna Macaroni Salad Recipe
I’ve always been a big fan of tuna salads and macaroni salads alike. It’s the perfect mash-up and I can’t believe I haven’t shared this amazing salad before with you! This is a perfect marriage of flavor right here, from the flaky savoury tuna to the bright peas, the acidic onion, and the perfectly al dente pasta – you’re about to fall in love with this side dish!
This tasty side dish is so incredible and so good, it’s the kind of side dish that will keep you sneaking back to the fridge to snack on it some more. There’s just the perfect amount of acid, chew, creamy texture, and crave-able flavor. Serve this up beside any of your favorite proteins or just munch away on a big bowl of the stuff – I won’t judge!
I don’t think tuna salad gets enough loves. When made properly you can get a side dish that packs flavor, creamy texture, and a great source of lean protein. Throwing some macaroni pasta in there was just the last logical step – and believe me it’s a welcome addition.
Tuna Macaroni Salad Highlights
- Incredibly Easy. That’s right, all you need to do is boil some macaroni, chop some veggies, drain some tuna and mix everything up.
- Tasty And Delicious. It’s obvious but worth mentioning. If you’re a tuna salad fan, you’re going to love this pasta salad version. Utterly delish!
- Super Versatile. You don’t have to add the veggies I added, add your favorites or what’s in your fridge. Your salad your rules!
- Elbow macaroni – This recipe will work with other small pasta shapes such as farfalle, penne, and rotini.
- Red onion – You can use other types of onion such as white, yellow, scallions, or even shallots for a milder onion taste.
- Celery – You can use more, less, or no celery at all. Whatever you prefer!
- Peas – I really love the sweet bursts the peas give this salad. You can leave them out if you like, but I really recommend leaving them in!
- Tuna – Make sure you drain your tuna well before using it in this salad.
- Mayo – You can use store bought mayo or make your own using my recipe.
- Sour cream – I like to use sour cream in this salad so it doesn’t have such a mayo-y taste. You can use any ratio of sour cream to mayo that you like.
- Relish – I used sweet relish for this salad, however any type you have hand will work.
- Salt & pepper – Season to taste.
- Cook the pasta. Boil the pasta in well salted water until al dente. After you drain the pasta, rinse it well with cold water.
- Make the salad. Rinse the frozen peas under hot water and drain well. Add the cooked pasta and the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl and toss well.
- Chill and serve. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
What Else Can I Mix Into My Macaroni Salad?
This recipe is so simple, so delicious, and so versatile. Give these mix-ins a try!
- Canned salmon
- Shredded chicken
- Bell peppers
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Fresh herbs
- Corn
- Hardboiled eggs
- Feta cheese
Can I Make Tuna Macaroni Salad Ahead?
This is the perfect recipe to make ahead! If you’d like, you can mix the mayo, sour cream, and relish separately and add it right before serving to make sure your pasta salad is extra creamy. It will still taste delicious if everything is all mixed together, though!
What Kind Of Canned Tuna Should I Use?
I recommend using canned tuna in water for best results. Canned tuna in oil will definitely change the flavor of this salad.
Serve This Salad With
Beer Can Chicken
Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon
Rosemary Garlic Pork Roast
Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
Leftovers
Store your leftover macaroni salad in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last 3-5 days. I don’t recommend freezing this recipe! The pasta and mayo will break down as they thaw and give you a mushy mess.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
- Avocado Tuna Salad
- Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Easy Coleslaw
- Fattoush Salad
- Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad
- Easy Tuna Melt
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Tuna Macaroni Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni (uncooked)
- 1 small red onion (chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (finely chopped)
- 1 cup peas (frozen)
- 12 ounce tuna (drained (4 small cans))
- 1½ cups mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup sweet pickle relish
- ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Cook the pasta – Boil the pasta in well salted water until al dente. After you drain the pasta, rinse it well with cold water.
- Finish the salad – Rinse the frozen peas under hot water and drain well. Add the cooked pasta and the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl and toss well.
- Chill and serve – Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Store your leftover macaroni salad in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last 3-5 days. I don’t recommend freezing this recipe! The pasta and mayo will break down as they thaw and give you a mushy mess.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I’ve never made a macaroni salad that I like, until now, and that is pretty sad at 72 years of age, lol. The sour cream in this recipe makes it in my opinion. It does solve the mayo-y taste like you said. The frozen sweet peas are a really nice surprise. I used scallions instead of red onion, added dill weed, omitted the sweet relish, didn’t have celery and instead of canned tuna, I used Starkist Sweet & Spicy Tuna packets to add even more great flavor and it was wonderful. Thanks for posting this recipe!
That’s awesome to hear! I’m glad you found a recipe that you like! It sounds like you made some tasty modifications, and it’s super cool that you found a way to incorporate what you had on hand. Keep on experimenting and enjoying! Thanks for trying it out!
Wonderful recipe. I made today. It is delicious. I didn’t add sour cream because I didn’t have it. I added celery Cucumber and onion along with rinsed canned sweet peas. I too added the boiled egg and smoked paprika. The sweet relish was a nice twist. I will make again. Thanks so much for sharing.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the tuna macaroni salad and made it your own! It’s always great when a recipe can be flexible. Adding celery, cucumber, and onion sounds like a delicious twist, and I’m pleased to know the smoked paprika and sweet relish worked for you. Thank you for taking the time to share your version, and you’re very welcome!
This the best tuna mac I have wver tasted. Recipe is perfect as is. Thank you!
My pleasure! 🙂
This is a new family favorite. I boiled eggs and added them in also.
Great recipe! Made this earlier today for a potluck. Everyone loved it!
In addition I added cut-up olives, Red bell peppers and shredded carrots.
Great recipe! I made this earlier today for a potluck! Everyone loved it!
In addition I added cut-up olives and shredded carrots.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent! I halved the recipe and was surprised by how much it still made, but we’ll eat it up. The sweet relish and peas added great flavor. Will definitely make again.
Do you use the frozen peas as is? Or do you boil it first? Thank you!
As mentioned in step 2, you just have to rinse them under hot water.
All it needs is some acid. A bit cider vinegar is always great in Macaroni salad.
Worth the try! I had some home made, canned relish that just needed to be in this! Mmm 😋. This is going to get packed for my lunches this week. Maybe I’ll add some hard boiled eggs like another viewer
This is such an incredible macaroni salad! The whole family enjoyed it & I will add it to my most loved recipes. I just added a little bit of lemon juice to top it all off because we Greeks love lemons on almost everything! 😉
I’m glad you like it, Anna! A little bit of lemon juice would be great!
This was so delicious… everyone just loved it … and it was delicious the day after … quick and easy
Aside from tuna and macaroni, I use miracle whip, scallions, chopped black olives, celery seed, chives, s&p to taste, and sometimes peas. It’s really hard to find something not tasty!
I am a huge fan of tuna mayo pasta. The red onion and sweet pickle relish gives a lovely bite to the dish. Perfect for work lunches too!
My mom made this and I just loved it. Thank you Jo. M
My pleasure!