The Happy Home Cook: Easy Tuna Pasta with Vegetables

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Easy Tuna Pasta with Vegetables (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)

This Easy Tuna Pasta with Vegetables takes minutes to make, including opening the can and boiling the pasta. The results were superb. Salty and citrus tuna flakes coated the languid fettuccine pasta noodles, with a smattering of leafy baby spinach and juicy tomatoes.

If you have a can of tuna and a box of pasta in your pantry you can make this now. Cook the pasta and sauté the tuna with vegetables. Then, sprinkle with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. Whether it's a weeknight or weekend, this is the kind of meal you can serve all year round. Twirl the forks around the pasta and you’ll wonder why you didn’t cook this sooner. This recipe previously published on AsianInAmericaMag.com.

Prep Time: 11 mins
Cook Time: 13 mins
Total Time: 24 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Asian, Filipino
Keyword: Canned Tuna Pasta Vegetables

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

8 ounces fettuccine pasta

1 teaspoon salt for boiling pasta

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter unsalted

2 cloves garlic minced

2 pieces shallots halved, sliced

1 can (6.4 oz/180 g) tuna flakes in oil, drained

1 Tablespoon calamansi or lemon juice

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in halves

2 cups fresh baby spinach

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

1.  Fill a large stockpot with water. Add the salt. Over high heat, let the water boil. When water is boiling, cook pasta according to package directions. 

Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and set aside. Drain rest of water and set pasta aside.

2. In a large skillet, add the extra virgin olive oil and butter.

When oil is hot and butter has melted, sauté garlic and shallots for 1 to 2 minutes.

3.  Drain the oil from the canned tuna. Add the tuna flakes to the skillet.

Pour the lemon juice and soy sauce. Combine ingredients. Cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add the cherry tomatoes and mix well.

Pour the pasta water and blend.

5.  Add the cooked pasta with the rest of the ingredients in the skillet.

Mix in the spinach and cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and black pepper.

6.  Sprinkle freshly-grated Parmesan before serving. Garnish with parsley. Serve warm.

Cook's comments

1.  I used fettuccine pasta for this recipe. Feel free to use other types of pasta preferred. Simply follow package directions for cooking time. 

You can also substitute the spinach with other vegetables in season.

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Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Elizabeth Ann Quirino, based in New Jersey is a journalist and author of the “Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Philippine Food In a Multicooker Pot” Cookbook. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and blogs about Filipino home cooking on her site AsianInAmericaMag.com.

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