Pesto Tuna Pasta Salad

"I am always looking for recipes that my boyfriend, Bill, can take to work for his lunch. I like to make sure they include both some protein and carbs, since he does heavy physical labor and needs to be appropriately refueled. I came up with this recipe, which met those requirements, and it tastes great, too! It's simple, quick, and travels well."
 
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photo by mailbelle photo by mailbelle
photo by mailbelle
photo by Baton Twirling photo by Baton Twirling
photo by Boomette photo by Boomette
Ready In:
21mins
Ingredients:
8
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Cook pasta according to package directions.
  • While pasta cooks, mix tuna, pesto, pepper, mayonnaise, cheese, olives, and lemon juice in a large bowl.
  • When pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cold water.
  • Add pasta to tuna mixture and mix well.
  • Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

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Reviews

  1. This makes a quick, easy, and tasty lunch. I didn't have rotini, but used small shells instead. Also omiited the olives as I don't care for them. Thanks for posting Jackie!
     
  2. Not bad at all! I made this with homemade Three-Herb Pesto and leftover rotini pasta. Tuna in anything but a sandwich is not my favorite sort of dish but I had stuff to use up and just decided to try this recipe. It was dandy! :)
     
  3. I made this for lunch today and enjoyed it immensely. My BF also thought it was tasty. The mayo and pesto blended together very well. I only used a small can of olives as I thought 8 oz would be overkill. Thanks for sharing:)
     
  4. I made it for lunch and we didn't wait the 30 minutes requested. It was still good. I'm sure it's even tastier now. That recipes gives a lot. I can say more than 4 servings (for us). So it's going to be perfect for our lunches. Thanks Jackie. Made for 123 hit wonders
     
  5. This was great !! My 2 young kids even liked this, granted my 8 yearold picked out the black olives. More for the rest of us.I may slightly increase the pepper next time, other than that this is a keeper. Flavorful, and tasty.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I didn't start cooking until my early 20's, even though I come from a family of accomplished and admired home cooks. While I grew up watching my Italian grandmother in the kitchen, I remained uninterested in trying anything on my own. As a young lady, I was known for being particularly ignorant in the kitchen, with no idea how to even make a hot dog! All this changed, however, when I got engaged. I realized it was time to let my inherent talents out of the bag. At the time, the New York Times had a weekly column called The 60-Minute Gourmet by Pierre Franey. Each week, I would follow these recipes diligently, and taught myself to cook that way. From there, I began to read cookbooks and consult with relatives on family recipes. At my ripe old age now, I feel I know enough to put together a very pleasing meal and have become accomplished in my own right. Having an Irish father and an Italian mother, I'm glad I inherited the cooking gene (and the drinking one too!). One thing I have learned is that simpler is always better! I always believe cooking fills a need to nurture and show love. After being widowed fairly young and living alone with my dog and cats, I stopped cooking for awhile, since I really had no one to cook for. I made care packages for my grown son occasionally, and like to cook weekly for my boyfriend, so I feel like I am truly back in the saddle!!
 
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