This family favorite Tuna and Macaroni Salad is made with canned tuna, elbow macaroni, bell peppers, mayonnaise, parsley, spring onions and crispy iceberg lettuce. Tuna Macaroni Salad is a great recipe for any potluck, BBQ, or get together!
When I was growing up, my mom would serve this tuna and macaroni salad to our family almost every other Friday. (Fish on Friday, that’s a Catholic thing.)
Why This Tuna Macaroni Salad Recipe Is So Popular
It’s such a simple salad, but even now my heart skips a beat when I stop by my parents’ house and find out we’re having this for dinner. I think it’s my favorite macaroni salad and also my favorite tuna salad of all time. In the whole world. Period.
Classic tuna macaroni salad ingredients
Macaroni pasta with creamy tuna and mayonnaise, served with crispy peppers, celery and lettuce?
A little squeeze of lemon juice for seasoning?
So good!
This salad is also one of my favorite weeknight meals. It is easy to make, fill and budget friendly.
The best canned tuna for tuna macaroni salad
We like Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna wrapped in extra virgin olive oil and Genova Yellowfin Tuna wrapped in olive oil.
How to make tuna macaroni salad ahead of time
The saddest thing about this salad is that if left in the fridge for more than a few hours, the lettuce will become wilted and even mushy. (We’ll eat up the leftovers anyway, we love it that way.)
So if you want to make it a day or two in advance, do everything in the recipe except add the sliced iceberg lettuce. Add the salad when it’s time to serve.
Here are 5 more ways to love tuna
- The best tuna salad sandwich ever
- Avocado Tuna Salad
- Melt tarragon tuna
- English Muffin Tuna Melts
- Mediterranean tuna pasta
THUN Macaroni Salad
Tuna packed in olive oil is tastier than tuna packed in water. If you find it wrapped in oil, use it, but don’t drain it. If you packed tuna in water, drain and add 2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
ingredients
For the noodles:
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1 Cup uncooked Elbow Macaroni
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1 quart water
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1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the salad:
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1/2 Cup chopped green onionincluding spring onion greens
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1 Cup chopped red, orange, or yellow paprika
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1/4 Cup chopped fresh parsley
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2 (5-ounce) cans tunapacked in olive oil (if packed in water, drain and add 2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil)
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2 ribs celerychopped (about 1 cup)
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2 tablespoon lemon juice
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1/4 Cup mayonnaise (more to taste)
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1/2 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
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Fresh ground black pepper
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1/4 to 1/3 head lsalad (iceberg lettuce preferably), first sliced and roughly chopped into 2-inch long strips
method
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Cook Macaroni:
In a saucepan, add 1 cup of elbow macaroni to 1 quart of boiling water with an added teaspoon of salt. Cook, uncovered, until the macaroni is just a little more than al dente, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat, drain and rinse with cold water.
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Prepare salad ingredients:
While the macaroni cooks, assemble the other ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the spring onion, bell pepper, parsley, tuna, celery, and lemon juice.
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Combine the salad ingredients:
Add the cooked and drained macaroni. Fold in the mayonnaise until well combined. Add the paprika powder. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. (At this point you can go ahead and relax.)
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Surcharge:
Gently fold in the salad and serve. The lettuce doesn’t make good leftovers as the lettuce will eventually become mushy.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 259 | calories |
| 14g | Fat |
| 17g | carbohydrates |
| 16g | protein |
