This spicy tuna pasta salad is a quick and easy cold pasta that is perfect for weekday meals and gatherings. It is packed full of flavor with red onion, peppers, carrot, and tuna chunks, tossed in Asian inspired creamy dressing.
Creamy pasta salad is always nice to have either as a side or main dish. It’s simple, easy to make, and goes well with any kind of dish.
This version has a nice kick from Sriracha sauce, enhancing the flavor to the next level. Diced and grated vegetables add a perfect texture to the pasta, allowing you to enjoy every single bite. The spiciness can simply be adjusted by the amount of Sriracha sauce.
This recipe also works great for potluck, or make ahead meals.
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The creamy dressing
The creaminess in the dressing comes from the combination of mayonnaise and cashew yogurt. You can use any other dairy-free yogurt such as coconut or soy, or even whole milk yogurt if you are a dairy-taker.
There’s also a splash of rice vinegar, tamari soy sauce and a touch of sweetness from honey. They really balance out the sharp spiciness from Sriracha!
Ingredients for this recipe
- Gluten-free pasta - I like to use 'rotini' pasta from ZENB
- Unsweetened cashew yogurt - or any non dairy yogurt
- Avocado oil mayonnaise - or regular mayonnaise
- Sriracha sauce - or chili sauce of your choice. Thicker the better.
- Rice vinegar - or lemon juice
- Honey
- Tamari soy sauce
- Salt and pepper - just to adjust the flavor at the end
- Red onion
- Red bell pepper - or any color
- Medium carrot
- Canned tuna - 5oz size can
For toppings
- Scallion - very thinly sliced
- Toasted white sesame - black sesame works as well
How to make spicy tuna pasta salad
1. Cook the pasta. Rinse under cold water to avoid cooking further.
2. Make the dressing. Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, Sriracha, rice vinegar, honey, tamari, salt & pepper together and mix well.
3. Combine & toss. In a large bowl, place the cooked pasta, red onion, bell pepper and carrot. Pour the dressing over and toss well.
4. Add in the tuna. Toss gently.
5. Serve on a plate and top with scallions and toasted white sesame.
Tips
If you would like the flavor of the onion to be less intense, soak the diced onion in the cold water for about 5 minutes. Drain well.
I recommend adding in the tuna at the very end (as it says in the recipe), that way the tuna chunks stay intact instead of spreading everywhere.
Storing direction
Spicy tuna pasta salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, covered tightly. If you find the refrigerated pasta harder than your preference, microwave for 10 seconds or so until it comes to room temperature.
Do not make it warm as the dressing will become loose and runny.
Recipe
Spicy Tuna Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- ½ pound gluten-free short pasta I use ZENB Rotini pasta
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cashew yogurt or any non-dairy yogurt
- ½ cup avocado oil mayonnaise or regular mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce or more
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ red onion diced small
- ½ red bell pepper diced small
- 1 medium carrot peeled and grated
- 1 5oz can canned tuna drained
Toppings
- 1 stalk scallion very thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted white sesame
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package. Rinse under cold water to avoid cooking further. Drain and set aside.
- To make the dressing, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, Sriracha, rice vinegar, honey, tamari sauce, salt & pepper together and mix well.
- In a large bowl, place the cooked pasta, red onion, bell pepper and carrot. Pour the dressing over and toss well.
- Add in the tuna and toss gently.
- Serve on a plate and top with scallions and toasted white sesame.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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