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Easily turn your canned tuna into a incredibly tasty tuna pasta. This traditional tuna pasta recipe is a winner for both flavor and convenience.
Why We Love Pasta with Canned Tuna
We love the tangy Mediterranean flavors in this pasta dish and the ease of using canned tuna. It’s perfect for busy weeknights, and one of the reasons it has been a go-to pasta at our house for decades. It’s always there for us when we have no time, need to come up with a last-minute meal, have nothing in the house, or are just feeling lazy. Of course the key is to keep all the ingredients for tuna pasta in stock, which is easy to do. It’s also super easy to make.
But we love this pasta with canned tuna not just because it’s convenient! This is a seriously crave-worthy pasta.
Tuna Pasta Ingredients
All the ingredients for this tuna pasta are regular pantry items that are easy to find and easy to keep in stock: canned tuna, canned anchovies, capers, dried oregano, a pinch of powdered or crushed chili pepper, tomato concentrate (or some other form of tomato), olive oil, pasta, freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese, fresh garlic (the only fresh produce required in the recipe, and it stores well), and some optional Italian flat leaf parsley.
Important Ingredient Notes
I started to tell you not to leave out the anchovies! Ditto for the cheese (don’t leave it out!) … and soon I realized that I strongly recommend not leaving out any of the ingredients. They all contribute to the perfect masterpiece of flavor. The tomatoes and anchovies for deep savoriness, the acidic pickle in the capers, the touch of power in the chili… The oregano too, it’s sweet earthy flavors are key contributors to the dish. And the cheese? It’s essential! Don’t leave it out!
- Tuna – I prefer canned tuna in olive oil because it is more flavorful. However, it doesn’t matter whether it is packed in oil or water. Go with your preference or whatever you have in the cabinet. Note: if the tuna is packed in water, you will need to add an extra tablespoon or two of olive oil to the recipe yourself, as the tuna tends to drink, or shall I say absorb, a lot of olive oil in the pan.
Fresh Tuna – By the way, you can also use fresh tuna. Since fresh tuna is so expensive, however, we usually save it for a special appetizer or main dish. But of course, it is delicious in pasta as well. - Tomatoes – I’ve cooked this tuna pasta with every form of tomatoes throughout the years, and my advice is to choose the tomatoes most convenient to you at the moment. If you only have a tube of concentrated tomato paste (super convenient) you can definitely use it. Just squeeze it into the pan with the olive oil. Likewise, if you have fresh tomatoes on hand, you can roughly chop them and throw them into the pan. Use what you have or prefer. My one caveat is: don’t overdue it with the tomato. This is not really a pasta with tomato sauce. The tuna sauce should have just a tinge of tomato color.
- Anchovy Fillets – Anchovies are one of those hidden flavor boosters that many people don’t know they love because they are imperceptible in the dish. If you are looking to up your game in the omega 3 essential fatty acid department, look no further (anchovy nutritional benefits). Tip: No need to bother chopping the anchovy fillets. It is a messy and unnecessary step, because the whole fillets will dissolve completely into the sauce during the cooking and stirring.
- Capers – What you do with the capers depends on what kind you have: If you prefer using capers packed in salt, then give them a little rinse. We usually use capers in brine because they are easier to use (we don’t rinse them) and easier to keep (in the fridge) once opened. We like to use the regular size capers here, but you can also use the smaller nonpareil capers, if you like. On occasion, we’ve also used the large caper berries, and they are a delicious and fun substitute. (I recommend removing most of their stems, leaving one or two for decoration.)
- Oregano – Fresh is nice but dried is too, plus dried oregano is about twice as strong and more convenient. Marjoram, known as wild oregano, will also do just fine, fresh or dried.
- Peperoncino – Powdered red pepper or crushed red pepper flakes. After years of keeping whole peperoncini to crush at the moment, we switched to powdered, usually cayenne, and never looked back. Easier control, more consistency, and no more having to remember not to accidentally rub your eyes the rest of the day (ouch).
- Cheese – Pecorino or Parmesan – Although in some parts of Italy cheese is not served with seafood, it is in other parts. And it is fantastic with tuna pasta! To get the fullest cheese flavor, I highly recommend using the type of hard cheese grater with the star-shaped holes that many in Italy use on pasta because of the fine powdered texture it makes that melts in your mouth.
- Pasta – Tuna pasta is great with long pastas like bucatini or spaghetti, but I tend towards easy-to-eat short pastas like rigatoni. I also kind of like the idea of pasta shells to stay in-theme, you know, with the tuna.
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Tuna Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbsp canned tomato purée (or see notes)
- 2 anchovy fillets, oil-packed, patted dry
- 5 oz canned tuna, preferably in olive oil (if packed in water, drain and add 1 Tbsp olive oil)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp capers (rinsed if salt-packed)
- 2 tsp dried oregano, or double the amount of fresh oregano
- 1 Tbsp flat-leaved parsley, finely chopped (optional)
- ⅛ tsp red pepper, powdered or crushed flakes (optional)
- 8 oz (½ lb) pasta (see notes)
- 2 Tbsp pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Bring a large covered pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
- Meanwhile, in a sauté pan big enough to hold the finished pasta, heat the olive oil, tomato puree and anchovies over medium heat for about 1 minute, to let the anchovies dissolve into the sauce. Add the tuna, garlic, capers, oregano, parsley and chili pepper, and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cook the pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until al dente, tender yet still firm to the bite.
- Transfer the pasta along with about ½ cup of the starchy cooking water to the sauce, and toss over moderately high heat for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce is evenly distributed and the water absorbed.
- To serve, dust with grated pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and enjoy immediately.
Tomato Options
You can also use: 1 Tbsp of concentrated tomato paste from the tube, canned crushed tomatoes, or 1 medium fresh tomato, choppedRecommended Pasta
short: rigatoni, penne or fusilli; long: spaghetti or bucatiniNutrition Info: Click to Expand
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