Lunch High protein No reheat

Lemony tuna pasta salad

Name: Lemony tuna pasta salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Meal prep
Ingredients: 12 oz short pasta; 3 cans tuna (5 oz), drained; 1½ cups frozen peas; 2 celery stalks, diced; ¼ red onion, finely diced; ½ cup plain Greek yogurt; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 lemon, zested and juiced; salt and pepper

A yogurt and lemon dressing in place of heavy mayonnaise. Ready before the pasta water cools.

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Ingredients

4 servings

12 oz short pasta
3 cans tuna (5 oz), drained
1½ cups frozen peas
2 celery stalks, diced
¼ red onion, finely diced
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced
salt and pepper

About $8.68 for 4 servings.

Contains: fish, milk, wheat. Packaged foods vary, so check the labels of what you buy.

How the cost and nutrition are worked out

Ingredient	Weight	Cost	kcal	Protein
short pasta	340 g	$1.12	1,262	44.2 g
tuna (5 oz), drained	339 g	$3.87	393	86.4 g
frozen peas	201 g	$1.06	155	10.5 g
celery stalks, diced	80 g	$0.44	11	0.6 g
red onion, finely diced	38 g	$0.20	15	0.4 g
plain Greek yogurt	123 g	$0.74	89	12.1 g
olive oil	27 g	$0.47	239	0.0 g
lemon, zested and juiced	48 g	$0.79	11	0.2 g

Totals divided by 4 servings. Salt, pepper, water and a film of oil for the pan are not counted. Prices are estimated US supermarket prices (October 2026), charged for the amount used rather than the whole pack; nutrition is from USDA FoodData Central. Our method.

Method

Cook the pasta following the packet. Add the peas for the last minute.
Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well.
Whisk the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Fold in the pasta, peas, tuna, celery and onion.
Divide between 4 containers.

Storing

Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, in shallow sealed containers. Keeps 3 days in the fridge by US guidance; UK guidance is stricter and says eat cooked leftovers within 2 days. Not suited to freezing.

Reheating

Eat cold. Loosen with a squeeze of lemon if it has tightened up.

Worth knowing

Rinse the pasta properly. Warm pasta makes the yogurt dressing split.

Food safety figures follow USDA leftovers guidance, the FoodSafety.gov storage chart and safe cooking temperatures, UK chilling and freezing guidance.

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