Tuna Macaroni salad might seem ho-hum, but this recipe is far from it. This is not just tuna, mayonnaise and pasta. This salad has the perfect balance of apple cider vingear, the crunch of apples, celery and shallots. The dressing isn’t loaded with mayonnaise, because it has whole milk as well, and there’s just enough cider vinegar to give a little “tang”. This yields a dressing that gives a creamy salad that will have you digging in for seconds.
I know I’ve been radio silent for over a month. The honest truth as to why I haven’t been posting is that my heart is breaking over the skyrocketing people who are unemployed. I found myself feeling guilty that we are eating well– thanks to my tendency to stock up on pantry items. Yes, I have a mini-grocery store, with staples that I often use. I look forward to the day when I can go back into this recipe post and delete this very paragraph.
Here we are, in the midst of the COVID-19 Shelter in Place, and I have noticed so many recipes circulating the internet that uses common pantry ingredients. Tuna Macaroni salad uses common ingredients that I hope you have on hand.
I love a tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread. Since we are both working at home, I was going to make some for lunch. I had a few cans of Albacore tuna, and then I got an idea. Why not adapt my Hawaiian Macaroni salad recipe, and add tuna to it?
Let’s talk about tuna, for a moment. Yes, it costs a whole lot more, but White Albacore Tuna in Water is far better tasting then Chunk Light Tuna. You’ll be pleased if you take my advise, I promise! I have quite the collection of pasta in my pantry, so I measured out 2 cups of elbow macaroni (you need about 1/2 pound). What’s interesting is that you cook the pasta past the “al dente” stage– you want them well cooked and soft. This will make more sense once the vinegar and dressing is added.
I love the crunch of celery in my macaroni salads, and then I spotted some Fuji apples in our fridge. Perfect! After dicing the apples, I coated them with lemon juice (so they wouldn’t brown).
Instead of using onion, I chose a shallot– because they have a milder flavor. So, now I have all the “crunchy components” ready to go.
The pasta has cooked, and been well drained. I immediately added cider vinegar and gave this a good stir. (By adding the vinegar to hot pasta, it will absorb much better.) Let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
The dressing is a mixture of mayonnaise and whole milk, a little bit of brown sugar and pepper. Half of it is reserved in the fridge. The pasta is still warm when the other half is poured onto the pasta.
All of the crunchy components are added, and given a good mix.
The final ingredient– the drained, flaked tuna. Give it all a good stir, cover and chill for at least an hour. When it’s time to stir, you’ll notice that most of the dressing has been absorbed– and the salad might appear a bit dry. That’s what the reserved dressing is for! See? Nice and creamy! Dig in!
TASTING NOTES: The salad is super creamy, but it doesn’t feel like it’s fatty. I love the slight tartness from the cider vinegar, that complements the apple. I can taste the tuna, but it doesn’t overpower the dressing. The whole salad took about 30 minutes of prep. The real wait time was for the pasta salad to chill. Once it did, we dug in and really enjoyed it. By the way, I can see substituting cooked baby shrimp instead of tuna. I’d bet that would be good– maybe with a little fresh tarragon added in.
Tuna and Apple Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cans White Albacore Tuna in water 5 oz. each, drained; for the best results, buy the best quality you can find.
- 1 cup whole milk low fat milk is not recommeded, as it will make the dressing too thin
- 1 cups mayonnaise low-fat mayonnaise is not recommended
- 1 ½ tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- ½ teaspoon table salt plus salt for cooking pasta
- 1 pound elbow macaroni (2 cups)
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 1 small shallot finely minced
- 1 small apple I used Fuji
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 celery ribs chopped fine
Instructions
- Drain the tuna and separate the chunks with a fork. Set aside.
- Whisk milk, mayonnaise, sugar, pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt together in bowl. Reserve and refrigerate 1 cup dressing for finishing salad. Set both aside.
- Dice the celery and shallots. Dice the apples, then coat them with fresh lemon juice (to prevent browning.)
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta and cook until very soft, about 15 minutes. Drain pasta in colander and shake to remove excess water. Transfer pasta to large bowl, add vinegar, and toss until vinegar is absorbed. Let pasta cool for 10 minutes.
- Stir remaining dressing (larger portion) into pasta mixture until combined. Stir in shallots, apple, and celery until combined. Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled, about 1 hour. Stir in reserved 1 cup dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
To "refresh" the salad
- If there are leftovers, the following day, whisk together a little milk and mayo and gently told back into the salad.
Notes
The tuna salad looks very good Debbie and Bev puts apples in most salads lately so I’m sure we would enjoy this.