Canned tuna pasta quickly became one of my dad’s favorite tuna dishes. My dad usually ate canned tuna for breakfast with a sandwich, so he was very surprised when I prepared such pasta for dinner. Tuna pasta is quick and easy to prepare, but more importantly, it is filling and very tasty. So if you don’t have a lot of time but want a nice dinner, I suggest tuna pasta.
This pasta doesn’t have many toppings, but in fact, you can add many of your favorite things to it. In addition to tuna, I added sun-dried tomatoes because they have an interesting, expressive, and strong taste. As for the sauce, I prepared a tomato sauce that goes great with canned tuna.
First watch this video and see how easy it is to make tuna pasta.
Tuna pasta is bursting with flavor and is ideal for lunch or dinner!
Why You Will Love this Recipe?
- Incredibly Easy! Making this dish is all about cooking pasta, frying it a bit, and mixing all the ingredients together.
- Tasty and Delicious! If you’re a fan of pasta and tuna, you will simply love this dish.
- Very Versatile! This recipe does not limit you. You can add more pasta toppings.
What type of pasta to choose?
The beauty of pasta and its great advantage is that there are many pasta shapes and you can choose the one you like now. For some, the shape of the pasta does not matter, but for many, it is essential. Especially children often have a favorite shape of pasta.
For this dish, I recommend using pasta with a short and delicate shape. It's best that it has holes, ridges and grooves. Those kind of pasta absorbs sauces well.
What type of canned tuna to choose?
When choosing canned tuna, it comes down to three basic things: white or light, chunky or solid, and filled with water or oil. There are five popular species of tuna on the commercial market: albacore, skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye, and bluefin.
For many, the best tuna is albacore tuna, packed in good quality olive oil. The oil that the tuna has been packed in adds an extra flavor. Albacore has a mild flavor and a firm, meaty texture.
Canned tuna is considered nutritious and healthy: all types of tuna are high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, yet low in calories and saturated fat.
You may wanna check this link:
How To Pick The Best Canned Tuna At The Store • A Sweet Pea Chef
Ingredients you need to make Canned Tuna Pasta
Canned tuna – The most important ingredient in this dish. Use your favorite type of canned tuna.
Pasta – It is best to use short noodles. I used fusilli.
Sun-dried tomatoes – Dried tomatoes have a more intense and distinct flavor than fresh tomatoes. I recommend using them, but if you don’t like them, you can skip them and replace them with your favorite ingredient, e.g. olives.
Tomato puree – Use homemade or store-bought tomato puree.
Garlic – Few cloves of garlic are needed to spice up the taste of this dish.
Olive Oil – Use good quality olive oil. If you don’t have it, you can use a little vegetable oil.
Fresh herbs – You can use parsley, dill, basil, or other available herbs.
Salt and pepper – Salt and pepper enhance and add flavor.
Italian seasoning – you can replace it with oregano.
Parmesan Cheese – The use of parmesan is optional. Generally, many Italians never combine this cheese with seafood, e.g. so that the Parmesan cheese does not overshadow the delicate flavor of the seafood.
Fancy something “tomato” but not with tuna? Maybe you’ll like this tomato tortellini soup…
Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup – Pasta Mama Cooks or
Cheesy Chicken and Gnocchi Bake. – Pasta Mama Cooks
How to make Canned Tuna Pasta
Step 1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Reserve half a cup of pasta water. It is best to cook pasta al dente.
Step 2. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and fry for about a minute, stirring occasionally. Then add tomato puree, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and sugar. Mix. When the sauce boils, reduce the heat and cook for about 5 minutes.
Step 3. Add sun-dried tomatoes and pieces of drained canned tuna to the sauce. Stir and cook over low heat for about 2 minutes. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well. The sauce must cover the whole pasta.
In the end, you can add grated parmesan and fresh herbs. Remember, adding cheese is optional. Many people never mix fish and seafood with parmesan cheese.
If you find it necessary, you can add the pasta water.
Canned tuna pasta with tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- 10,5 oz /300 g uncooked short-shaped pasta weight before cooking
- 17,6 oz/500 g tomato puree
- 2 cans (5 oz) of tuna, drained (tuna weight after draining should be at least 7oz/ 200 g) I prefer tuna packed in oil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3 tbsp julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes (in oil) you can use more
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh herbs for example, parsley, dill
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for frying) you can use vegetable oil
- 1 tsp white sugar
- Parmesan cheese optional
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning you can replace it with oregano
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. It is best to cook past al dente. Reserve half a cup of pasta water.
- Peel the garlic cloves and chop them. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and fry for about a minute, stirring occasionally. Then add tomato puree, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and sugar. Mix. When the sauce boils, reduce the heat and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add sun-dried tomatoes and pieces of drained canned tuna to the sauce. Stir and cook over low heat for about 2 minutes.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well. The sauce must cover the whole pasta.
- At the end, you can add grated parmesan and fresh herbs. Remember, adding cheese is optional (note 1).
Notes
