Tuna pasta is such a great dinner to make when you don’t have much in the cupboard. For canned tuna recipe cynics out there – it’s time to take a leap of faith! This is seriously tasty, very economical and super fast – it comes together in 15 minutes flat, from start to finish.
Yes – canned tuna CAN be delicious!
I feel like the words “tasty meal” and “canned tuna” aren’t usually in the same sentence. Bad memories of poor cash strapped university days and crash diets, hastily thrown together tuna and rice, bland tuna salads, mayo-laden tuna sandwiches.
But you can make canned tuna delicious!!! Just a little bit of thought, a bit of imagination, a smidge of effort and a lot of anticipation for a hot, tasty meal as your reward.
Today’s reward in question? Tuna pasta. A spritz of lemon, a sprinkle of capers, and using the oil from the tuna can. You never knew a canned tuna pasta could be so delicious!!!
Ingredients in canned tuna pasta
No capers? Chop pickles instead. No lemon? Add a dash of vinegar. No anchovies? Still worth making! We get a really good (free) flavour boost by using the oil from the cans of tuna. Anchovies just makes it that little bit more special!
Garlic missing from the photo – oops! 🙂
Canned tuna – Tuna in oil is the go here! We use the oil from the can of tuna for the sauce to sauté the garlic until golden. No tuna in oil? It’s ok! Just use olive oil instead and tip the liquid from the can of tuna into the sauce.
TIP – Not all canned tuna is created equal. Premium canned tuna in a good fruity olive oil will set you back more than a generic home brand in tasteless canola oil. But also, premium canned tuna piled on crusty bread with a drizzle of the oil from the can is pure joy. I hope you try it one day. 🙂
Anchovies – Anchovies make everything taste better! Finely minced then sautéed in oil so they dissolve and lose the fishiness, just leaving great savouriness into the dish. I always have a jar in the fridge. Always! Anchovy paste – use 1 teaspoon.
Capers – For a pop of fresh tang! I like to use baby capers. If you only have large ones, give them a rough chop. No capers? Chop pickles instead!
Lemon – Juice for sour and zest for lemon flavour. It really does lift the dish so I hope you have it! Lemon is a staple ingredient I always have on hand. But if you don’t, this dish is still worth making. Add a dash of vinegar instead.
Chilli flakes / red pepper flakes – For a hum of warmth. This isn’t a spicy pasta. Substitute with finely chopped fresh chilli or a smidge of chilli paste or sauce (add this at the end). Or leave it out for no spiciness at all.
Parsley – For freshness. Not critical.
Pictured below is the tuna I’ve used, a mid-range one sold at supermarkets in Australia. I use 3 x 95g/3.5oz small cans which I feel is the right amount of protein for a pasta which serves 2 people. However, the recipe can take more or less tuna so don’t get too hung up on exact tuna quantity!
How to make canned tuna pasta
Get the pasta cooking then start preparing the ingredients for the sauce. That’s how you’ll get this on the table in 15 minutes flat, from start to finish!
Cook the pasta in salted water per packet directions minus 1 minute. The pasta will be slightly under al dente (ie underdone) but that’s ok. The pasta will finish cooking with the sauce, during which time it will absorb the tasty flavours of the sauce!
Reserve pasta cooking water – Just before draining, scoop out 1 cup of cooking water then drain the pasta. Why? Because we will be using this to make the sauce for the pasta. The starch in the pasta cooking water will react with the oil in the sauce to make it thicken so it clings to the pasta strands instead of remaining as a watery sauce at the bottom of the pan.
Tuna oil – Pour the oil from the tuna can(s) into the same pot and heat over medium heat.
Sauté garlic, anchovies and chilli flakes for 1 minute.
Pasta and water – Add the pasta, capers and 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water. Toss using 2 spatulas for 2 minutes. During this step, the oil and the starchy pasta cooking water will thicken into a sauce that clings to the pasta. Also during this step the pasta will finish cooking from just under al dente to al dente. If the pasta is still too firm for your taste, add more of the pasta cooking water and keep cooking the pasta.
Add tuna – Turn off the heat. Add tuna, parsley, lemon zest, juice, salt and pepper. Toss gently so the tuna stays in chunks and doesn’t crumble into tiny little bits.
Then serve immediately!
As with all pastas, this is at its prime freshly made, right off the stove, when the pasta is hot and slippery with sauce! If it’s sitting around for a while and the pasta cools down and dries out, it can be easily rejuvenated with a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water and a toss on the stove for 30 seconds or so, to reheat the pasta and make it slick with sauce again.
To make it a complete meal, don’t hesitate to throw in a couple of handfuls of rocket/arugula or baby spinach at the end. Else, serve it with a simple garden salad or whatever leafy greens / steam vegetables you’ve got tossed with an everyday salad dressing.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
The most amazing canned tuna pasta!
Ingredients
- 200g / 7oz spaghetti , or other thin long pasta
- 1 tbsp cooking salt , for cooking pasta
Tuna sauce:
- 285g/ 10 oz (approx) canned tuna in oil , drained, oil reserved (I use 3 x 95g/3.5oz cans, Note 1)
- 2 clove garlic , finely minced
- 2 anchovy fillets , minced (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes / red pepper flakes (can skip, Note 3)
- 2 tsp baby capers (or finely chopped pickles)
- 1 tbsp parsley , finely chopped (ok to skip)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (sub 1 tbsp apple cider or sherry vinegar)
- 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta – Bring 3 litres / 3 quarts of water to the boil with the 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook pasta per the packet time minus 1 minute. Just before draining, scoop out ~1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Sauté aromatics – In the same pot, heat the reserved oil from the tuna cans over medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovies and chilli flakes. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
- Toss pasta – Add the pasta, capers and 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water. Toss using 2 spatulas for 2 minutes.
- Add tuna – Turn off the heat. Add tuna, parsley, lemon zest, juice, salt and pepper. Toss gently to mix through – try to keep some tuna chunks.
- Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Got canned tuna? Dinner’s half done!
Life of Dozer
At my local coffee shop, Zubi in Newport (Sydney Northern Beaches). Best coffee in my area – I searched wide and far!!
I was really skeptical about this. Spaghetti and tuna – how good could it be? Wow. I think this is one of the best meals I’ve ever made. Hubby agrees. I did what one of the other comments suggested and added some marinated artichokes, and some freshly grated parmesan. OMG
Absolute hit! Super easy to make, under 30 mins, delicious, simple, tasty, oh so tasty!
I thought calling a canned tuna recipe “amazing” was a stretch. For my husband tuna (any fish) is a necessary but unexciting inclusion in his diet. I didn’t think he’d like it… but WOW!! This recipe knocked our socks off!! So much flavour & minimal effort (my favourite combo)! Absolutely worthy of the adjective “amazing” & I would add “flavour bomb”. When my husband tells me it’s a keeper… it MUST be good!
This recipe is easy and delicious as is, but is also great with additions. I like to add little more lemon juice and freshly grated parmesan or pecorino.
This was AMAZINGLY delicious! I used Natural Catch yellowfin tuna in EVOO. Was hesitant about anchovy, but since you said it would melt into dish, I did it, and you were right! Thank you for an awesome new recipe!
I love this pasta – it’s always better than I expect it to be.
Just a couple notes for anyone wanting ideas:
I almost always have half a bag of mixed salad greens, so I chop them and add them at the end off heat;
I add about 2 tablespoons of tapenade if I have it;
I get marinated artichoke hearts at Trader Joe’s and roughly chop them, plus add half of the jar of liquid – yum!
Tonight I added a can of white beans, I’ll do that again. I almost think I wouldn’t need the pasta at this point.
I top the bowls with toasted panko and good olive oil.
I also only use one can of tuna, it’s plenty for two people.
If you don’t like straying from a recipe, this recipe is still great as written.
Great easy recipe! I added an extra garlic clove & subbed basil for parsley ( & used a lot!). So easy & delicious
So I make this recipe a lot and I love it. The only change I would recommend is to use a different shape of pasta. With the spaghetti, all the tuna falls to the bottom. But with something like radiatore, it works really well.
As always amazing recipe.
Thank you Nagi ♥️
Echo to the deep flavour I didn’t expect from canned tuna. How easy to make this is a big bonus 🙂
Sadly I had run out of anchovies (found out only after having started boiling the pasta), so I used traditional Korean salted shrimp (새우젓)instead: and it worked out. Next time with real anchovies!
The most amazing canned tuna pasta was fabulous. A new family favourite. I love every recipe of yours that I try, haven’t had a failure yet
Truly excellent rrecipe. My only suggestion is to use less than the recommended 3 litres/3 quarts of water to cook the pasta—less is more, and the greater starch in the water will make the final sauce coat the strands of pasta even better. Five stars from me.
Delicious. I added a few marinated artichoke hearts that I had in the fridge, and topped with toasted panko.
This is the tastiest pasta. We love it. I put more anchovies and capers in as we love the taste and fullness they give to the dish. Thanks…its one of our staples!
Wonderful
This is a fantastic recipe! It has become a regular favourite in our kitchen. I use one bottle of Italian tuna in olive oil, which is a little pricier but sooooo good, plus one small tin to add a little more fish and oil. I agree with other reviewers – don’t skip the anchovies; along with fresh parsley, they elevate this dish to restaurant quality.
Spawn of the devil imo (tinned tuna unless its the ultra-expensive variety from European delis) but I admit that I enjoy this meal. Anchovies could of course raise shoelaces to an edible state! I like to add a big handful of rocket at the end and add any herbs I have to hand (basil, coriander and dill are all good).
I made this ages ago and had forgotten about till I had a hankering for tuna for dinner tonight. YUMMO! It’s so easy and deeelicious! I use Sirena tuna in chilli oil, didn’t need to use the chilli flakes. Thanks Nagi, an oldie but always a goodie! x
This is one of the easiest, inexpensive, delicious meals you can make. Do not skip the anchovies! I need to make this more often and splurge on a good quality product as things like “sustainable” tuna and organic pasta isn’t that much more depending on where you shop. I highly recommend this recipe. Thank you Nagi for creating this one!
What a winner this dish is. I used 3 small cans of the Aldi chilli
Tuna in oil and it was amazing. Maximum flavour for minimal effort!