Easy Tuna Pasta

I’m throwing this easy tuna pasta at you the week after Thanksgiving because you might just be cooked out. You might be cooked out, and fooded out, and not quite ready to do it all over again in a few weeks for Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or whatever you might celebrate between now and the new year. 

This is a good one to keep in your back pocket for those nights when you don’t feel like thinking about dinner, or forgot to do a big grocery haul or if you’re like me and it’s Friday and you’ve just happened to run out of food for the week. It uses pantry and freezer staples, fresh additions optional, and might just be a great way to use up those dry goods that you overzealously stocked up on in March. You know who you are.

Hey, good on you! If I get stuck in my house for two weeks without a grocery run, let’s say I’ll be eating a lot of nuts, cereal and sweetened condensed milk. 

Anyway, you know I’ve been lackluster about food lately, and this has become a once-every-three-weeks or so meal.  It’s easy, delicious and by now, I make it on autopilot.

My friend Lettuce first introduced me to the idea of cooking canned tuna in pasta back in law school, so for the past 15 years I’ve been riding that train in various forms. You’ve seen some of them here, in the form of chili taiyo and kimchi tuna pasta. Both very solid choices, and today I’m throwing the original, Italian-inspired one into the mix. If you haven’t tried the Asian counterparts- do it! SO GOOD!

Here’s what you’ll need:

tuna in oil (yes, in oil)

red onion

garlic

canned tomatoes 

pasta ( I love chickpea pasta!)

balsamic vinegar

oregano, parsley, basil- whatever you’ve got

frozen spinach, if you want

Parmesan

That’s it! Tell me you don’t have most of this in your house right now.

That’s why this is so great! I know that upon first glance in the pan you’ll think I’ve steered you wrong, and ew.

But, to quote Aladdin, do you trust me? 

Easy Tuna Pasta

December 4, 2020

Servings: 2

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 25 min

Total: 30 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Easy tuna pasta is the perfect pantry meal and uses what you might have on hand in the fridge or freezer!

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

• 1 cup red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can tuna in olive oil
• 1/2 can (about 1 cup) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh or frozen spinach
• 2 TB balsamic vinegar (or 2 turns around the pan)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tsp dried oregano (optional)
• 4 ounces dry pasta, cooked to al dente
• Parmesan cheese, to serve
• Basil or fresh parley, optional, to serve

Directions

• Step 1 In a large, non-stick saute pan, add the tuna with the oil, the onion, garlic and tomatoes. Spread around the entire bottom of the pan and let cook 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tuna has crisped up.
• Step 2 Add the balsamic vinegar and using a wooden spoon, scrape up all the crispy bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the spinach, and spices and continue cooking until the spinach has thawed or wilted and heated all the way through.
• Step 3 Toss in the cooked noodles and adjust the seasonings. Top with as much Parmesan as your heart desires.