This easy and delicious pasta recipe with tuna is made with feta cheese and artichoke hearts to give it incredible flavor and texture! Busy weeknight dinners have never tasted so good!
Just wait until you try this tuna pasta recipe! What I love most about it is that it has such a nice Mediterranean flavor without being too 'different' for kids.
For instance, there's enough feta cheese in this tuna pasta dish to balance out the flavor without overpowering the dish. And, when feta cheese gets warm, it gets a nice creamy texture. You'll see what I mean when you make it - yum!
I like to make this with whole wheat, Barilla Plus, or Chickpea pasta. But you can make it with whatever pasta you like. Just be sure not to overcook the pasta before you mix it in with the rest of the ingredients because no one wants to eat mushy pasta 😉
And, how great is it that you don't have to cook the tuna ahead of time, like you do when making something that calls for shredded chicken?! So, now you have another super quick pasta option for those times when you don't have all of the ingredients to make chicken tortellini with pesto 😉
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Quick & Easy It only takes 15 minutes to make!
- One pot recipe Easy cleanup!
- Kid-approved My son loves this so much that he uses a thermos to take leftovers to school for lunch.
- Leftovers reheat easily Just use a microwave!
Ingredient Notes
- Pasta I like to use whole wheat, Barilla Plus, or chickpea pasta for more fiber and protein.
- Tuna Inexpensive source of protein. Consider rinsing the tuna first to reduce the amount of sodium.
- Artichoke hearts Added for flavor and texture.
- Cheese Enough feta cheese is added to give this pasta with tuna some creaminess but not so much that it overpowers the dish. The parmesan cheese adds even more flavor that kids love.
How to Make This Tuna & Pasta Dish
- Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Cook just until al dente because the pasta will continue to cook as the other ingredients are added.
- Add one cup of peas to the boiling pasta for the last minute, before you drain the pasta water.
- While the pasta is cooking, drain the can of tuna (rinse if first, if desired. see notes) and crumble the feta cheese.
- Drain the pasta and return pasta to the pot.
- Add the spinach and jar of marinated artichoke hearts including the olive oil it is packed into the cooked pasta. Cut the spinach leaves and pieces of artichoke hearts into smaller pieces (see notes).
- Stir in the drained tuna, crumbled feta cheese, peas, and water.
- Place the lid on the pot and cook over medium heat until everything is heated through, and the feta has softened, about 3-5 minutes. Stir again before serving.
- Serve and enjoy!
Dietitian Tip
I like to find foods that my kids really enjoy and want to eat often that I can make small changes to for some variety. Pasta dishes are probably the easiest to modify without kids ever noticing.
Changing up the kind of pasta you cook with is an easy way to add protein and fiber to a meal. And, oftentimes, these other types of pasta cook quicker which saves time.
If your kids are only used to eating white pasta, consider first substituting half of the pasta with a whole grain or chickpea-based pasta. What I found with my kids is that over time, they got so used to it that they now prefer the heartier pastas over traditional white pasta.
Expert Tips
- Use kitchen scissors to cut the spinach leaves and artichoke hearts into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
- Don't use pre-crumbled feta cheese because it doesn't melt as easy.
- For more flavor, consider adding sliced garlic stuffed olives, pitted kalamata olives, or capers. Fresh lemon and lemon zest would also add incredible flavor.
- One cup of peas or corn can be used instead of spinach if it's what you have or to change it up.
- For even more color, consider tossing in a second cup of baby spinach. The spinach wilts and mix in as the tuna pasta dish warms before serving.
Questions You May Have
Yes, you can. I've done this before. Place all of the ingredients into a greased 9x9 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.
To keep the pasta noodles from drying out, cover the tuna pasta recipe with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes.
A simple salad, fruit salad, applesauce, or roasted vegetables would all go well with this tuna pasta. This meal is filling, so I suggest keeping the sides that you serve with it simple.
This reheats well in the microwave. You can reheat it in the oven but you should cover it with foil to help keep the pasta from drying out.
Yep! It may sound strange, but you can definitely eat this cold, like you would a tuna pasta salad.
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15-Minute Pasta Recipe with Tuna
Equipment
- 1 pot
- 1 Kitchen shears I like to call them kitchen scissors 🙂
Ingredients
- 5 cups Barilla Plus pasta Cooked pasta. Any kind of pasta will do.
- 1 cup Spinach Baby spinach leaves
- 8 oz canned tuna in water 2 x 5oz cans of chunk light tuna packed in water, drained.
- 4 oz feta cheese About one cup once crumbled from a block of feta. Do not buy them as feta crumbles.
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese Grated
- 12 oz Marinated artichoke hearts Use one 12-oz jar, including the olive oil it is in.
- ¼ cup water Use reserved pasta water if possible. Otherwise, regular water will work.
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Cook just to al dente, because the pasta will continue to cook as the other ingredients are added.
- While the pasta is cooking, drain the can of tuna (rinse if first, if desired. see notes) and crumble the feta cheese. Set aside.
- Drain the pasta and return pasta to the pot.
- Add the spinach and jar of marinated artichoke hearts including the olive oil it is packed into the cooked pasta. Cut the spinach leaves and pieces of artichoke hearts into smaller pieces (see notes).
- Stir in the drained tuna, crumbled feta cheese, and water.
- Place the lid on the pot and cook over medium heat until everything is heated through, spinach leaves have wilted, and the feta cheese has softened (about 3-5 minutes). Stir once more before serving.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I have made this recipe with whole wheat pasta, chickpea pasta, and Barilla Plus pasta and we've enjoyed it all! So, use whatever pasta you prefer, even if it's spaghetti noodles 🙂
- Use kitchen scissors to cut the spinach leaves and pieces of marinated artichoke hearts into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
- Do not use pre-crumbled feta cheese. The ingredients added to pre-crumbled feta will keep it from giving this tuna pasta dish a creamy texture.
- I've used frozen petite and fresh English peas to make this recipe in place of spinach and it works well, too.
- I don't always remember to reserve some of the pasta water, but when I do I notice that it does make a difference in the creaminess of the dish. Still, no one but me notices when I forget and use regular water instead 😉
- The easiest way I've found to crumble feta cheese is by using a fork. I use scissors to open one end of a block of feta and then I twist the prongs of the fork over a bowl. The feta cheese breaks apart and crumbles easily this way.
- To add even more flavor, add sliced garlic stuffed olives (my favorite!) or toss in pitted black kalamata olives or capers. Some fresh lemon juice and lemon zest would also take the flavor up a notch.
- To add even more color to this dish, add a second handful of spinach.
- The amount of time this recipe takes will depend on what kind of pasta you use, because cooking times vary. I used elbow macaroni Barilla Plus pasta the last time I made this, and it only needed to boil for 5 minutes. So quick!
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