2 Pasta With Canned Tuna

Both of these recipes contain pasta and canned tuna, but the results are as different as summer and winter. The tuna pomodoro is a tomato sauce served over whole wheat spaghetti, while the second recipe is a baked mac and cheese with broccoli and tuna.

pomodoro tuna

This dish is light, delicious, and filling, and I think it’s the best pasta in the pantry. In a recipe with so few ingredients, it will be noticeable if you try substitutions like tuna in water instead of tuna in oil. I know from personal experience that it will not taste the same.

• 8 oz whole wheat angel hair pasta
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red bell pepper
• one 14.5 can Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes in Sauce, undrained
• a 5 oz can of tuna in oil
• dried basil, to taste

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Salt the water and add the spaghetti. Cook according to package directions and drain well.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. (If you like, you can save the oil from the tuna when you drain it from the can and use 2 tablespoons of that oil.)
3. Add the minced garlic and crushed red pepper, and sauté for a quick minute.
4. Add the canned tomatoes with the juices to the pot, lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the drained tuna and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add several generous drops of dried basil. Stir to incorporate the ingredients. Serve with whole wheat spaghetti.

macaroni with tuna and cheese

For weeks, I had a craving for tuna. Then the weather turned cold and I wanted broccoli soup. Since I regularly make mac and cheese, test and develop recipes for my website, I thought I’d combine all of these things together. The cheese sauce for these macaroni is made from canned soup.

• 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
• 1 can tuna, drained (I used 5 ounces, but you can use more if you like)
• half a 12 oz bag of frozen broccoli
• one 10.5 oz can broccoli or cheddar cheese soup
• 2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated or crumbled
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup of milk
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Place the broccoli in a colander and pour the hot water and pasta over the vegetables while draining the water.
3. Return drained pasta and broccoli to pot. Add canned soup, mustard, tuna, 2 cups cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, and milk. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a greased saucepan. Bake for 15 minutes, top with the rest of the cheese and bake for another 5 minutes.