Tuna macaroni salad
Creamy, old-fashioned macaroni salad with tuna, peas and pickles, a cheap and filling cold lunch that makes enough for 4 days of lunches.
- 30 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $1.12 a serving
- 350 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 8 oz elbow macaroni
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 cans canned tuna, drained
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- ¼ red onion, finely chopped
- 2 dill pickles, finely chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
From your pantry
- 1¼ tbsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch paprika (optional)
Each serving has about 350 calories, 19 g protein, 33 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $1.12 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No elbow macaroni? Penne works.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No canned tuna? Canned salmon works.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring a large pot of water on high and add 1 tablespoon of the salt.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Add the macaroni and cook 7 to 8 minutes, until tender. Tip the frozen peas into the pot for the last minute.
High heatTimer: 7 min 30 sec
in a colander and under cold water until the pasta feels cool. Shake it well.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Dolly’s tip: Cool pasta keeps the mayonnaise creamy. Warm pasta melts it into a greasy puddle.the tuna and the celery, onion and pickles.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
In a big bowl, the mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, the rest of the salt and 2 tablespoons of juice from the pickle jar.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Add the macaroni, peas, tuna and vegetables and until everything is coated. Sprinkle with paprika.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Chill at least 30 minutes. It keeps 3 days in the fridge.
Timer: 30 min
Dolly’s tip: The pasta soaks up the dressing overnight. Stir in a spoonful of mayo or a splash of pickle juice before you pack it, and send it with an ice pack.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
