As temperatures rise, a cool pasta salad makes a perfect lighter meal, especially for tuna lovers. This dish is refreshing and adaptable, allowing for various vegetables. Chelsea, the food blogger behind Chelsea's Messy Apron, has created a tuna pasta salad recipe that requires just 10 minutes of cooking and 30 minutes of preparation. Her secret is swapping mayonnaise for Caesar salad dressing.
Why Caesar Dressing Works
Chelsea explains: "This salad ranks as one of my favourite creamy pasta salads. It's creamy, richly flavoured, and has loads of texture. We are completely convinced this is the best of the best as far as tuna macaroni salads go!" She adds that Caesar dressing "adds so much more flavour" and keeps the salad from tasting like plain mayo.
According to Chelsea, the dressing complements tuna nicely and acts as a convenient shortcut for flavour, reducing the need for extra seasonings.
Ingredients and Method
The recipe calls for 23g pasta, 129g frozen peas, 284g tuna (preferably in olive oil), 198g Caesar salad dressing, 151g sour cream, salt and pepper to taste, 3g garlic powder, 94g pickles, half a red bell pepper, 2 celery stalks, 77g carrots, and 72g diced red onion.
To prepare, cook the pasta according to packet instructions, seasoning the water generously with salt. Add frozen peas during the final minute. Drain and rinse under cold water, then cool and dry thoroughly. In a medium bowl, combine Caesar dressing, sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dice the pickles, pepper, celery, onion, and carrots. Transfer pasta and peas to a large bowl, layer with vegetables and drained tuna, pour over dressing, and fold until coated. Adjust seasoning as needed.
