How To Make Better Classic Tuna Macaroni Salad

Step 1

Hard-boil the eggs if needed. There are plenty of methods for hard-boiling eggs and you can use whatever recipe is tried and true for you. Hard-boil 3 eggs, cool, peel, and chop the eggs before starting the rest of the salad.

Step 2

Marinate the vegetables for 15 minutes. Place the bell pepper, red onion, celery, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl, stir to combine, and set aside for 15 minutes to marinate. Meanwhile, cook the pasta.

Step 3

Boil the pasta. Bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and salt, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook the pasta until tender but not mushy, about 8 minutes or according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Step 4

Shock the pasta. Immediately drain the pasta into a colander and rinse under cool running water. Drain, then place the colander with the pasta in it directly into the bowl of ice water and cool for 3 minutes. Remove the colander from the ice bath and drain well. Transfer the drained pasta to the bowl of marinated vegetables.

Step 5

Make the dressing. Place the mayo, yogurt, mustard, and black pepper in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Step 6

Add the egg and tuna to the dressing. Add the chopped egg and the drained tuna into the dressing. Use a spatula to gently fold them into the dressing.

Step 7

Fold the pasta, dressing, and vegetables together. Transfer the dressing to the bowl of pasta and use the spatula to fold the dressing into the pasta and vegetables.

Step 8

Season and serve. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed before serving.