Tuna spaghetti is one of the easiest pastas to make at home. The sauce comes together in the time that the pasta takes to cook, plus the canned tuna and the lemon work so well together! Canned tuna in olive oil is recommended for this recipe. Canned tuna in water works, but the final dish won't be as flavorful. Ready in just 20 minutes!
Tuna pasta is one of the dishes that is popular in Italy among college students, working parents, and frankly any Italian that needs a quick and easy meal. It's made with canned tuna, so it's super convenient to make. There's tons of versions out there - tuna pasta with tomatoes, with olives or capers...
This quick tuna pasta with lemon juice and zest, and the flavors work wonderfully together. The lemon adds a beautiful brightness to the dish. Plus the canned tuna in olive oil has amazing flavor on its own, only to be enhanced by the lemon.
Canned tuna pasta is one of the Italian pasta recipes I make again and again in my Italian kitchen (mostly when I don't have a ton of ingredients on hand!). But I will always have an onion, a can of tuna, a lemon, and some spaghetti...
How to make it
Top tips
- Canned tuna in olive oil is recommended for this recipe. I like Rio Mare tuna or Callipo tuna. Canned tuna in water could work, but the final dish won't be as flavorful.
- You don't need to add any cheese (parmigiano) to this pasta - generally Igalians don't add cheese to pasta dishes because they believe it takes flavor away from the fish.
- I used spaghetti in this dish, but you can use any type of pasta - rigatoni, penne, farfalle, linguine, would all work really well
- It's best to use a durum wheat semolina bronze die extruded pasta - you will get the best results this way and the sauce will cling very well
- Don't forget the pasta water! Pasta water is always a good idea to add to ANY pasta dish, but it's especially important in this recipe - it helps the whole dish come together
Recipe
20-Minute Tuna Spaghetti with Lemon
Ingredients
- 100 grams spaghetti
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon chopped white or yellow onion
- 3-4 slices fresh chili pepper optional
- 1 can tuna in olive oil 80 g can
- juice of ¼ of a lemon
- zest of ½ of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley plus 2 parsley stems
- salt for pasta water
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt, and drop the spaghetti in. Cook until al dente (about 2 minutes before it's done cooking, remove it from the pot and place it into the sauce - it will finish cooking in the sauce)
- While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan. Add the onion along with the chili pepper and parsley stems, and sauté until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the tuna along with the olive oil from the can, and cook it down until it's warmed through, about 3 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and lemon zest. Add pasta to the pan and toss. Add pasta water. Add fresh parsley and toss until coated in the tuna sauce, about 2 minutes.
- Plate, and top with additional parsley. Enjoy your tuna pasta!
dave says
I’ve been making something close to this for ages… I saw it made on a cooking show when I was a kid, and I thought farfalle was incredibly exotic because I’d never seen it. I still use farfalle if at all possible - the tuna and parsley get caught up in the folds and it looks great. I like using a pepper sauce that’s richer than a fresh pepper… Korean fermented chili paste, or a Chinese-style chili crisp oil integrate really well. This dish has it all… it’s easy, cheap, low calorie, full of quality protein and fresh greens, and fast! I make it about once a week these days. Oh, and use good Italian canned tuna in oil - I prefer Tonnino or Genoa yellowfin.