My daughter, like my husband, is a big fan of tuna salad. Instead of the typical mayo-boiled egg version I decided to make her a veggie filled tuna salad for lunch this week. I cooked and steamed the veggies so they were all small toddler friendly sizes and easy to chew. But if you like crunch feel free to add them raw! I also chose to use veggie pasta in a mixed variety of bite size shapes.
This salad is colorful and flavor packed and was a hit with my future foodie Ava!
Try making it this spring for your kiddos lunch or a picnic or potluck!
Parmesan Tuna and Veggie Pasta Salad with Greek Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 small crown of broccoli steamed and chopped into small florets
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion diced
- 1/2 red pepper seeded and diced
- 1 cup carrots steamed and chopped
- 2-3 oz can sliced black olives drained
- 6.4 oz package chunk light tuna in water drained
- 12 oz cooked pasta I like bite size varieties of veggie pasta
- 1 green onion diced
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup Sour cream
- 1 tbsp. Mayo
- 1 tbsp. Parmesan grated
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- salt/pepper to taste
- Additional grated Parmesan and chopped green onions for garnish
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium heat, sauté onions and red peppers with olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl combine cooked veggies: steamed broccoli and carrots and sautéed onions and peppers.
- Mix in black olives then toss with drained pasta.
- Add 6.4oz package of drained tuna and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate while you make the dressing.
For the dressing:
- Mix together Greek Yogurt, mayo, and sour cream until smooth.
- Add 1 tbsp. Parmesan and 1 diced green onion. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove bowl from fridge and mix in dressing until creamy. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
- Garnish with additional chopped green onions and grated Parmesan right before serving.
Notes
You can only use Greek yogurt and omit the sour cream and mayo in the dressing if you'd like but I enjoy the flavor of all three mixed together
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Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. I love using colorful (and good for you!) veggie pasta in many of my recipes.
Steam a small crown of broccoli until tender, then remove the stem and chop the florets small.
Also steam 1 cup chopped carrots until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
(I steam the broccoli and carrots together. Feel free to add any other veggies like asparagus or green beans)
In a skillet add olive oil and heat over medium. Add diced onions and red peppers and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Mix all cooked veggies together in a bowl then add sliced black olives.
Next mix in cooked and drained veggie pasta.
Use packaged tuna of your choice but I like the large packages of Chunk Light Tuna in water.
Add tuna to the bowl and mix well. Cover a refrigerate while you prepare the dressing.
For the dressing: mix together Greek yogurt, sour cream, and mayo in a small bowl.
Add 1 tbsp. Parmesan and 1 diced green onion. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix the dressing into the cold pasta salad and cover and refrigerate until serving.
I like to refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to let the flavors blend and the salad to get cool.
Top with extra grated parmesan and a couple tbsp. of diced green onions right before serving.
My little Ava kept trying to dip her graham cracker into the tuna salad while I was taking pictures. Little stink! Haha!
Perfect for a Spring picnic or potluck! Personally my favorite go to lunch for Ava and I! Healthy, delicious, and plenty for a crowd (or big eaters like my family!).
Thanks
I love this recipe Nicole! Do you know how many calories it has? I already finished the 3 Day Military diet and lost 6 pounds. I’m looking for more low carb and nutritious meals that will help in my weight loss journey. I love how you incorporate the greek yogurt and sour cream. I can’t wait to try this myself. Thank you. If you want to take a peek at the military diet and make a review of it for readers like me, here’s the link http://3daysmilitarydiet.com/diet-plan/3-day-military-diet-shopping-list.html