This tuna spaghetti is one of the easiest pastas to make – the sauce comes together in the time that the pasta takes to cook – plus the tuna and the lemon work so well together!
Welcome to the first post in the work from home pasta lunch series! In this series, I will be featuring pasta dishes that you can make at home – for lunch. Because pasta doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, if you pair the pasta with a simple sauce, the sauce will come together in the amount of time that it takes to cook the pasta!
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 – with tomatoes, with olives or capers…
This version pairs tuna 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.
Ingredients
- Spaghetti
- Olive oil
- White or yellow onion
- Chili pepper
- Canned tuna in olive oil
- Lemon juice and zest
- Parsley
- Salt
How to make tuna pasta – step by step
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 sauté until onion is tender, about 5 minutes (photo 1)
Add the tuna along with the olive oil from the can (photo 2), and cook it down until it’s warmed through, about 3 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and lemon zest (photo 3)
Add pasta to the pan, and toss (photo 4). Add pasta water if the sauce needs to be loosened up a bit.
Add fresh parsley (photo 5) and toss until coated in the tuna sauce, about 2 minutes.
It’s as easy as that! This tuna pasta definitely makes the perfect easy lunch, or dinner! Hope you enjoy this work from home pasta lunch series.
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.
- The chili pepper is optional if you’d like to add some heat, and how much you add depends on how spicy your chili pepper is. You can also use dried chili flakes if you don’t have fresh.
- 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
More easy pasta recipes
- Lemony Ricotta Pasta with Zucchini and Arugula
- Asparagus Pasta with Peas and Pancetta
- Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta with Creamy Burrata
If you’ve tried making this Tuna Spaghetti, or any other recipe on the blog please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’ve been up to.
Tuna Spaghetti With Lemon and Parsley
This tuna spaghetti is one of the easiest pastas to make – the sauce comes together in the time that the pasta takes to cook – plus the tuna and the lemon work so well together!
Ingredients
- 100 grams spaghetti
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp chopped white or yellow onion
- 3-4 slices fresh chili pepper optional
- 1 can tuna in olive oil 80 g can
- juice of 1/4 of a lemon
- zest of 1/2 of a lemon
- 2 tbsp minced parsley
- 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 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 if the sauce needs to be loosened up a bit. Add fresh parsley and toss until coated in the tuna sauce, about 2 minutes.
-
Plate, and top with additional parsley. Enjoy your tuna pasta!
Recipe Notes
- 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.
- The chili pepper is optional if you’d like to add some heat, and how much you add depends on how spicy your chili pepper is. You can also use dried chili flakes if you don’t have fresh.
- 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
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