A simple and savory cold pasta salad made with just a few ingredients like tuna, olives, tomatoes, gluten free pasta and an easy salad dressing. Can be served hot or cold to fit any season!
With all the pasta salads I have on my site at the moment (Pasta Salad With Cheddar Cheese Cubes, Cold Pasta Salad with Smoked Sausage) this one is my favorite.

I really like that it's so simple and I always have these ingredients at home.
I could totally see myself eating this pasta salad for lunch and dinner every other week.
You can use any kind of pasta, any kind of dressing, and add tons of garden fresh vegetables if desired.
Plus, it can be served warm or cold. It is simply YUMMY! The possibilities are limitless.
Ingredients
For Salad you'll need 6 ingredients:
- 1 can tuna drained
- ½ oz pasta (Gluten-free, if desired)
- 12 cherry tomatoes half
- 1 red onion diced
- 12 black olives sliced, pitted
- 2 handful of fresh basil for salad and garnish chopped
For the Pasta Salad Dressing you'll need just 4 ingredients:
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (½ lemon)
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black ground pepper
This is just the base and few ingredients that I had on hand and threw everything together.
You don't have to use the same exact veggies, just use whatever you have on hand. I also love to add some sweet corn to this salad.
- Pasta Salad With Cheddar Cheese Cubes
- Healthy Purple Cabbage Salad
- Raspberry Beet And Spinach Salad
- Cold Pasta Salad with Smoked Sausage
Instructions
Delicious lunch in 3 easy steps!
STEP 1
Cook pasta according to package directions. Season with salt and let cool.
STEP 2
In a serving bowl or separate bowl, separate tuna chunks into smaller pieces using a fork. For salad dressing, simply mix all the ingredients in a jar, close the lid, and give it a good shake.
STEP 3
Stir in all the rest prepared salad ingredients and drizzle with Salad dressing, toss to coat. You can serve this salad warm or chilled.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 days.
Tips
Don’t overcook your pasta - it will result in hard, not tasty pasta especially when mixed with all the other ingredients.
Let the pasta cool before adding the ingredients. Pasta salad should be not very cold and served at room temperature. Besides, You want to have the rest ingredients as fresh as they come.
Let the salad sit a bit after you have poured in the dressing. It’ll allow the pasta to soak all the flavors before serving.
Make sure to choose the highest quality gluten-free pasta, this way it will actually taste like real pasta!
We love seafood recipes, maybe even too much! From our Easy Shrimp Tacos, Shrimp Scampi, Mediterranean Salmon Salad to our 2-minute Air Fryer Tuna Steak. You should try these, you gonna love it!
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this easy and healthy pasta salad recipe!
xx Julia
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Recipe
Easy Tuna Pasta Salad (No Mayo)
INGREDIENTS
Salad
- 1 can tuna (drained)
- ½ oz pasta (Gluten free, if preferred)
- 12 cherry tomatoes (half)
- 1 red onion (diced)
- 12 black olives (sliced, pitted)
- 2 handful of fresh basil for salad and garnish (chopped)
Dressing
- 5 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice ((½ lemon))
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook pasta according to instructions on the package. Let cool.
- In a serving bowl or separate bowl, separate tuna chunks into smaller pieces using a fork. For salad dressing, simply mix all the ingredients in a jar, close the lid and give it a good shake.
- Stir in all the rest prepared salad ingredients and drizzle with Salad dressing, toss to coat. You can serve this salad warm or chilled.
NOTES
PRIVATE NOTES
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
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