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Need a quick and affordable meal? Try these tuna recipes that everyone will love, using both fresh ahi and canned tuna!

Classic tuna salad
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Here’s a meal maker that’s affordable, easy to cook and shelf stable: a can of tuna. It might sound a little 1960’s, but this magic can provides loads of protein and omega 3’s, and tastes incredible prepared in different ways. These days you can also find fresh ahi tuna at your local grocery store, which makes meals that come together in a flash. So the next time you’re stumped on what’s for lunch or dinner? Think tuna. Here are our top tuna recipes from this website, as well as selections from two top recipe experts: Imma Adamu from Immaculate Bites and Yumna Jawad of Feel Food Foodie.

And now…the best tuna recipes for easy meals!

Notes on buying tuna

Buying tuna for these recipes? Here are a few notes on finding great canned tuna or fresh ahi tuna:

  • For canned tuna, look for light tuna caught by pole and line fishing, which is the most sustainable choice. Light tuna that comes from skipjack has the lowest mercury levels of all types of tuna. (Read more here.)
  • Look for ahi tuna labeled sushi-grade or sashimi grade. While there are no specific regulations around the label sushi-grade, it means it’s high quality fish that is safe to be eaten raw. (Read more here.) Look at your local fish counter for a tuna steak that has a firm texture and a bright red color.
  • You can also find frozen sashimi grade ahi tuna at some grocery stores. It’s sold in a small box and intended for making sushi or sashimi, but it works for poke and tuna tartare to! If you buy frozen, pull it out of the refrigerator and let it thaw in the refrigerator the day of serving.
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20 Tuna Recipes for Easy Meals

Tuna pasta salad
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This tuna pasta salad recipe is creamy and satisfying! It’s a protein-packed quick and easy dinner or make ahead lunch.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Pasta

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 ounces pasta: shells or bowties (farfalle)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 3 green onions (or ¼ teaspoon onion powder)
  • ¼ cup minced red onion
  • 2 5-ounce cans tuna
  • ½ cup mayonnaise*
  • 1 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon dried dill
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Optional: ½ cup feta cheese crumbles

Instructions

  1. Cook the pasta (and peas): Start a pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until it is just al dente. Start tasting a few minutes before the package recommends: you want it to be tender but still a little firm on the inside; usually around 7 to 8 minutes. In the last 1 minute, add the peas. Drain the pasta and peas, then rinse with cold water. 
  2. Prep the remaining ingredients: Meanwhile, thinly slice the green onions. Mince the red onion. Drain the tuna and flake it with a fork. Place them in a large bowl with the mayonnaise, white vinegar, dill, and kosher salt
  3. Mix: Once the pasta and peas are cooked, add them to the bowl and mix. Taste and adjust flavors if desired, adding black pepper as necessary. Serve immediately. Store leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days: before eating, allow to come to room temperature. You may want to add a swirl of mayo or sour cream and a pinch of salt to refresh the texture and flavor. 

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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