Quick and easy tuna pasta salad

This quick and easy tuna salad is one of my go-to salads to make to during the summer months. It’s also been a crowd pleaser at potluck dinners and barbeques. Canned tuna is a staple ingredient in my pantry so I was delighted when Rio Mare offered the members of the Food Bloggers of Canada the opportunity to use their Italian tuna to use in one of our recipes.

I have used many different brands of tuna whether in salads or pasta dishes and have always preferred tuna canned in olive oil. Whenever I make my quick and easy tuna pasta salad, I don’t drain the oil from the can when adding the tuna . It makes the tuna pasta salad more flavourable and I don’t need to add hardly any extra olive oil to the salad, if any.

Tuna and pasta are the main ingredients for this salad and you can add any veggies you have on hand. For this salad, I added cherry tomatoes, scallions and basil and pesto. It’s a great salad for vegetarians and you can swap out the regular pasta for gluten-free pasta. I have tried many gluten-free pastas and finally found an imported pasta that the whole family likes.

On a recent trip to the supermarket I purchased a Rio Mare tuna Per Pasta (for pasta) can. It contained tuna, garlic, olive oil and hot pepper flakes. Pasta with tuna, garlic, olive oil and hot pepper flakes is one of my favourite dishes that my mom used to make. I just had to try it to compare. This dish is so easy to prepare. Cook the pasta of your choice, add a can of Rio Mare tuna Per Pasta . Mix well and serve hot. A perfect dish for lunch or supper. I loved the spicy taste of this dish. It tasted just as good as mom used to make. Deliziso!

Overall, my family and I like the quality and taste of the Rio Mare tuna and I will be using it in my other tuna recipes.

Quick and easy tuna pasta salad Author: Liliana Recipe type: Salads

5 cups pasta (penne or any other type of short pasta), cooked. I used imported corn pasta. 5 tablespoons pesto (optional) 3 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved 3 scallions, chopped 2 cans (80 grams each) Rio Mare Solid tuna canned in olive oil salt and pepper extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Add the cooked pasta in a large salad bowl. If the pasta has been refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before adding the pesto (if using). Add the two cans of Rio Mare tuna including the oil. Mix well so the pasta is well coated with the tuna and oil. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and scallions. Mix and add more extra virgin olive oil if nedded. Taste the salad and season with salt and pepper according to taste. The pasta can be cooked ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until it is ready to use, or you can cook the pasta as you are preparing the add in ingredients. 3.2.2708

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Disclaimer

I was not compensated for writing this post. Rio Mare sent me the promotion package which contained the Rio Mare tuna I used to make the Quick and Easy Tuna Pasta salad. The opinions are my own.