Tuna Macaroni Salad Recipe
Published August 1, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
My Tuna Macaroni Salad Recipe is jam-packed with tuna, herbs, vegetables, and pasta tossed in a simple mustard-mayo dressing for the ultimate side dish. This has become a family favorite and is always requested when we host guests.
There is nothing like a hearty protein or pasta salad loaded with goodies. It’s one of my favorite things about summer. If you’re new to making bound salads like this one, try my Chicken Salad or Egg Salad.
Tuna Macaroni Salad
Tuna macaroni salad is a classic American salad of canned or cooked fresh tuna salad that is mixed with cooked elbow macaroni. It’s also common to add peas to the salad. This is a classic side-dish that is oven served during the summer but is hearty enough to be eaten as a main course.
There can be some variations to this recipe as the ingredients can be altered or swapped to customize it to your liking. If you are looking to keep this basic, tuna, mayonnaise, pickles, onion, celery, peas, and pasta is all you would need. However, adding herbs, capers, and eggs makes the dish much more filling, which will stretch further if you’re looking to feed more people.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Tuna — For salads like this, I will use canned white albacore tuna in water. However, you can use fresh tuna that has been grilled, baked, or seared and then cooled and shredded.
- Mayonnaise – Any good full-fat mayonnaise will work.
- Mustard — I like to add a bit of Dijon mustard to this. You could also use yellow or whole-grain mustard.
- Pickles – Combining bread-and-butter pickles and kosher dill pickles is phenomenal. You can use one or the other or a combination as I did.
- Capers – This is optional, but capers will add some more sweet brine flavors.
- Eggs – You will need hard-boiled eggs for this tuna macaroni salad.
- Lemon – Some lemon juice helps to brighten up the dish and eliminate any fishy-like flavors and smells.
- Celery – Fresh ribs of celery are used in this dish.
- Onion — You can use white, sweet, or red onion. You could also substitute a shallot. A whole garlic clove is also used, but 1 teaspoon of granulated or garlic powder will work.
- Dill – Fresh or dry dill may be used.
- Pasta – Macaroni pasta is the classic noodle shape to use.
- Peas – These are traditional to use, but I do not like to use them. This is optional.
How to Make Tuna Macaroni Salad
Make the hard-boiled eggs slice them, and set them to the side.
Boil the macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
Drain the pasta and run under cold water until cool.
Pour the pasta into a large bowl with the onion, celery, garlic, pickles, capers, dill, tuna, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, sliced eggs, salt, pepper, and optional peas. Mix everything together until completely combined. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
Serve with optional additional whole capers and fresh dill.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: For freshness, you can make this salad up to one day ahead. You may need to drain slightly, add more mayonnaise, and re-season before serving.
How to Store: Cover and refrigerate the tuna macaroni salad for 3 days. It will not freeze.
Chef Notes + Tips
- You can customize this salad with ingredients, so feel free to add, remove, or swap anything in this recipe.
- Al dente means to the tooth. The pasta should be firm but not crunchy.
- Feel free to add more mayonnaise for a runnier extra creamy salad.
- A traditional recipe also folds in 1 cup of peas, although I do not like it in the salad.
More Salad Recipes
Video
Tuna Macaroni Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 shelled, small-diced hard boiled eggs
- 1 pound of cooked, chilled, and drained elbow macaroni
- ½ peeled and small diced red onion
- 4 ribs small diced celery
- 1 finely minced garlic clove
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh dill
- 3 tablespoons small diced dill pickles
- 3 tablespoons small diced bread and butter pickles
- 2 tablespoons minced capers
- 1 pound drained canned tuna
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Juice of ½ lemon, about 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons
- 1 cup peas, optional
- coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the hard-boiled eggs. Slice them, and set them to the side.
- Boil the macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
- Drain the pasta and run under cold water until cool.
- Pour the pasta into a large bowl along with the onion, celery, garlic, pickles, capers, dill, tuna, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, sliced eggs, salt, pepper, and optional peas.
- Mix everything until completely combined. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
- Serve with optional additional whole capers and fresh dill.
This recipe was awesome!
Appreciate you trying it!
This was delicious, and we enjoyed it as a main dish! I added 2 cups of peas to make it more of a complete meal. Also, I actually doubled ALL of the “sauce” ingredients (mayo, lemon juice, capers, pickles, mustard, dill, garlic, salt and pepper) which I whisked at the bottom of a my largest bowl before adding the tuna, eggs, peas, onion, and celery). I think it made it much more flavorful. But you said it was customizable – this made it perfect for me, and I would definitely make again!
Awesome! So glad you could make it work for you!
Not yet but soon!
The way you give instructions is very good Billy
Thank you kindly!
Yum!