Pickled Tuna Macaroni Salad

I’m so excited to have partnered with Chicken of the Sea to bring you this Pickled Tuna Macaroni Salad!  This lightened up pasta salad is a versatile and healthy dish, perfect for lunch or a quick dinner and a tasty way to get the recommended 2 to 3 servings of seafood a week!

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Tuna Pasta Salad is one of those classic dishes that everyone seems to love.  It’s simple comfort food, budget friendly, easy to make ahead of time and lasts days in the fridge.  We’ve eaten pasta salads like this at every picnic, barbecue and party for as long as I can remember.

You just can’t go wrong when a dish is this easy and this good!

This Pickled Tuna Macaroni Salad is a simple make-ahead dish and although it’s crazy-easy to make, it is packed with so many awesome flavors.

Tender macaroni noodles are tossed with Chicken of the Sea® Solid White Albacore Tuna, an overload of pickles with both sweet and tangy dill (and a squeeze of relish).  White onion adds a little bit of zip while the red pepper adds a touch of sweetness and crunch, and of course the fresh dill adds a fresh summery flavor!

This can be made ahead of time and served as either dinner, lunch or a potluck favorite (it’s the one bowl that ALWAYS ends up emptied first)! This tuna pasta salad stores well for about 3 to 4 days, so it’s great if you like to cook once and eat all week like I do!

I use Chicken of the Sea® Solid White Albacore Tuna with Sea Salt in EZ-Open cans which are convenient, I love the time-saving feature of the cans and the flavor and the flake of the tuna! As you might already know, I love pickles, so the addition of both dill and sweet pickles plus the pickle juice really takes the classic flavor of tuna macaroni salad to a new plateau of sweet and tangy perfection!

The only thing better than a great creamy tuna pasta salad is when you can turn it into a healthy tuna macaroni salad!

To make the recipe a little bit lighter than a traditional tuna salad, I use fat free Greek yogurt in the dressing and replace mayonnaise with light dressing. This recipe has so much flavor you’ll never even know it’s lighter in calories and fat.

Tuna is a great source of protein and a great source of healthy unsaturated fats (in fact, it’s recommended that we are eating 2-3 servings of seafood per week).  While I used regular macaroni noodles, you can use shells or even whole wheat macaroni noodles for nutritious and delicious results.

If you’re looking for more delicious make ahead meal ideas, I’ve teamed up with Chicken of the Sea to create a Make-Ahead Pinterest Board to collect our favorite recipes and tips all in one place!

Yield: 12 servings

Total Time: 12 minutes

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Pickled Tuna Macaroni Salad

I’m so excited to have partnered with Chicken of the Sea to bring you this Pickled Tuna MacaroniSalad!

Print Recipe

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Ingredients:

• 8 oz macaroni noodles
• 2 cans Chicken of the Sea® Solid White Albacore Tuna with Sea Salt in EZ-Open cans
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles
• 1/2 cup chopped dill pickles
• 1/3 cup diced red pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1/4 cup minced white onion

Dressing

• 3/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt (plain)
• 3/4 cup light dressing or mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons pickle juice
• 1/4 cup relish
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt & pepper to taste

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Directions:

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Top with dressing and gently toss to combine.
4. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

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I’m so excited to have partnered with Chicken of the Sea to bring you this Pickled Tuna Macaroni Salad! While I was compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own.  Working with great brands I love allows me to keep bringing you the great recipes you love!

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About the author

Holly Nilsson

Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!

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