Tuna Pesto Pasta

A bowl of cooked rotini pasta mixed with pesto sauce and tuna and topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Take budget-friendly dried pasta and canned tuna and add store-bought or homemade pesto and you've got yummy Tuna Pesto Pasta - an easy and satisfying dinner that's ready in 20 minutes with just 5 ingredients!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Keyword budget meals, dinner

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 486kcal

Author Sarah Pyle

Cost $10 total / $1.25 per serving

Equipment

Nonstick 5-Quart Sauté Pan with Cover

Ingredients

16 ounces pasta dried
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic minced
20 ounces canned tuna 4 (5 ounce) cans
1 1/2 cups pesto
salt and pepper to taste
Optional garnish: shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook pasta according to the package instructions, making sure to salt the water to ensure the pasta absorbs the flavor.
While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil and garlic in a pot or deep pan over medium heat. Saute for 1 minute.
Add the drained tuna and continue to saute until the tuna is heated.
Once the pasta is finished cooking, reserve 1 cup of cooking water and drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the tuna and garlic.
Stir in the pesto. Use the cooking water to thin the pesto to your preference. You want the pesto to coat the pasta like a sauce.
Tasta and add salt and pepper to your preference.
Top with optional Parmesan cheese when serving.

Notes

This recipe is very flexible. Choose your favorite pasta shape or whatever you have in the pantry. For the tuna, use as much or as little as you like. The same goes for the pesto. If you like a nice punch of basil and garlic, use 2 cups. If you're looking for the essence of pesto, use less. And you're free to use store-bought or homemade pesto. You can also use red pesto varieties for this pesto pasta dish.

As for more variations, swap out the canned tuna for chicken, shrimp, or italian sausage. Or add sauteed zucchini or sliced cherry tomatoes and mozzarella pearls.

Storing and Reheating: This pesto pasta dish will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Pesto is a very thick sauce, so you will need to add more pesto or water to help loosen up the pasta when reheating.

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