Looking for a simple weeknight meal? You’ll love the Greek flavors in this Savory Greek Tomato Tuna Pasta! A mouthwatering garlicky tomato-based sauce gets combined with Mediterranean flavors like spicy sweet Piquillo peppers, Kalamata olives, and capers. You combine those Greek favorites with perfectly-cooked spaghetti. Then, it’s topped with tender, flaky tuna that’s full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. This recipe is going to be a meal you make again and again.
In my mind, there is nothing worse than a tuna noodle casserole. Something about hot tuna fish never sounded appealing. That is an understatement. Canned tuna should not be baked in the oven. It gets fishy. It gets a bit slimy. And I do not like the smell. I have held these beliefs for at least 6 decades. So this is why it is just so darn surprising that I am in LOVE with a dish that utilizes tuna as an ingredient in a dish that is served warm. Not hot. More like room temperature. Stay with me here, please.
Canned tuna fish is the star of this dish.
This Savory Greek Tomato Tuna Pasta is so flavorful such a different twist on a pasta dish that you will never believe that the main ingredient is canned tuna fish. And not just any tuna fish. It must be Bumble Bee because that is the only tuna fish I have ever eaten in my entire life. Why? Because my mother had a thing about tuna fish. It had to be pure white. It could not look or smell like cat food. And most importantly, it had to taste really, really fresh. Check, check and check with a can of Bumble Bee.
My love of this tuna began in my childhood with my mother’s famous tuna salad. It was about as basic as it gets. Hellmann’s mayo and celery were the only additions. It was creamy, mild and the softness of this filling on crunchy white toast is still the lunch that brings me back to when I was young. In fact, this sandwich is such a favorite and so wrapped up in my memories that right after I retired, I wrote an entire blog post explaining why tuna melt sandwiches were a paradigm for the new, slower, more enjoyable life I now lead. You can read that post here.
This is not a sponsored post. Since I started blogging after my MEtirement, I promised my readers and IG followers that I would only promote and use the products that I really believed in. I do not do this for money. I do this to share with my readers the best recipes using the highest quality ingredients. And if I find sponsors, great. And if I don’t, I believe in sharing what I know about cooking because it is my passion.
A recipe to love again and again!
My Savory Greek Tomato Tuna Pasta is a recipe you will get passionate about, I promise. Loaded with protein, easily made gluten-free with pasta of that type and filled with all good, fresh, healthy ingredients. The strands of the pasta become coated with the tuna and entwined with the capers, salty olives, and spicy sweet Piquillo peppers. Every mouthful takes you to a different flavor.
Best of all, this Savory Greek Tomato Tuna Pasta dish tastes best at room temperature within a half hour of making it. Or you can refrigerate it and eat it for breakfast or lunch (as admittedly, I have been known to do).
This Savory Greek Tomato Tuna Pasta will be a go-to recipe for you and your family for as long as it has been for mine. I promise you will love the tang and the saltiness of all the ingredients as they meld so well together. Not to mention the fact that since we eat with our eyes as well, this one is a beauty.
Savory Greek Tomato Tuna Pasta
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- 4 carrots finely diced
- 5 celery stalks finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 28 ounce can Petite Diced tomatoes with juice
- 1/3 cup capers drained
- 1/3 cup parsley finely chopped plus extra for garnish
- 10 basil leaves thinly sliced
- ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup Piquillo peppers thinly sliced
- 1 can Bumble Bee White Albacore Tuna finely shredded with your fingers
- 1 pound spaghetti preferably DeLallo whole wheat or regular
Instructions
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In a large saucepan over medium high heat sauté the onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil for 10 minutes, stirring so that the vegetables don’t stick to the pan.
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Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until it is translucent but not brown. Add the wine all at once and bring the wine to a simmer. Cook until the wine is nearly gone and add the honey. Stir for a minute and then add the tomatoes. Simmer the mixture uncovered over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring it frequently and lowering the temperature if it is boiling too quickly.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Follow the cooking instructions for the pasta on the package. When the pasta is done to the al dente stage, save ¾ cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.
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Add the capers, parsley, basil, olives, peppers and tuna to the tomato mixture and simmer it for 5 minutes until it is hot.
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Put the drained pasta back in the cooking pot with the stove turned off and pour all of the tomato tuna sauce into the pasta, tossing well the entire time. Add the pasta water and continue to toss it until the sauce is well incorporated. Taste for salt and pepper and add as desired.
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Serve the Savory Greek Tomato Tuna Pasta in individual bowls garnished with more parsley and basil if desired.
Recipe Notes
This pasta is great served hot or at room temperature. It is even good cold right out of the refrigerator for breakfast. Just saying…..