Tuna Macaroni Salad Recipe
My Tuna Macaroni Salad Recipe is packed with tuna, herbs, vegetables, and pasta in a mustard-mayo dressing, making it the ultimate side dish.
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.
Notes
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.
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 324kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 18gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 496mgPotassium: 291mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 315IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 1mg