Satisfy your whole crew with this Italian Tuna Pasta Salad. It's easy to make but big on flavor. Don't be intimidated by the homemade dressing-- it really isn't that hard! Just measure out and whisk up your dressing ingredients and you're good to mix in the pasta, veggies, and tuna!
Bring a large dutch oven full of heavily salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain in a colander, rinse briefly with cold water, and then let the pasta rest for 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, basil, thyme, cheese, and black pepper until well combined.
Gently stir the pasta, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, peppers, black olives, tuna, and mozzarella cheese into the dressing until all the pasta and vegetables are covered in the dressing.
Stir the pasta salad right away or cover the mixing bowl and let the salad cool in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
1. Leftover pasta salad lasts covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. It does not freeze well.2. This recipe can easily be halved, doubled or tripled -- just divide or multiply all the ingredients by the desired amount and follow the directions as listed. 3. White wine vinegar also works in place of the distilled white vinegar. 4. If you don't like cucumber seeds, just de-seed the cucumbers before dicing. Slice the cucumber down the center length-wise and then scrape the seeds out with a spoon. 5. To make this salad gluten-free, just use a gluten-free pasta! 6. If using a premade dressing for this recipe, use 1 heaping cup. 7. If using fresh thyme or basil in place of dry, use 4 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh basil and 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme.
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