Gluten Free Tuna Noodle Salad is a great make ahead dinner that can be assembled in the morning. Chill in the refrigerator until…
This tuna noodle salad is one of those recipes that’s not really a recipe. It’s a meal that my grandmother used to make us a lot in the summer — when it was too hot to cook anything.
This is a really great make ahead meal because you can cook the pasta in the morning, mix it all up, and let it chill in the fridge until dinner time.
It’s a simple, almost no-cook meal that calls for just a few ingredients. It’s basically comfort food to me, mainly because of the memories I have associated with it.
You may also see that this tuna noodle salad calls for Miracle Whip. To be clear, this is not a sponsored post — you just can’t skip the whip. It makes this tuna noodle salad. I’m not going to lie, because their trademark line is absolutely perfect — “it’s the zip that makes it good”.
The flavor of Miracle Whip is different than mayonnaise so it’s bringing a lot more to the noodle salad party. Using Miracle Whip is the reason why you don’t need a lot of ingredients in this recipe. If you absolutely canNOT do Miracle Whip, you’ll have to add some additional seasonings and spices to your mayo — which I haven’t tried. So my point is USE THE MIRACLE WHIP. I cannot guarantee delicious results if you don’t.
My grandmother never had a recipe for this. She just cooked up her macaroni and mixed in the rest of the ingredients to taste. It’s so basic though that it was not hard to recreate. I remember making this with my grandmother as a kid. We would often have it for lunch but it also makes a great light dinner. Oh, and we always had sliced cucumbers with it on the side. Don’t skip on that too 😉
And yes, I ate this as a kid. I was one of those weird kids that liked tuna fish. Luckily, my kids like tuna (and salmon, cod, and halibut!) so this is a kid-friendly meal in my house. I mean, really — I can’t complain right? My kids eat fish. That’s a major win in my book. Hollaaaa.
Enjoy!
P.S. Looking for more easy dinners? Check out my Grilled Skirt Steak or my 3-ingredient Lemon Garlic Chicken Skewers.
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Gluten Free Tuna Noodle Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Gluten Free Elbow Macaroni
- 1 5-ounce can Tuna Chunk light in water
- 1/2 cup Miracle Whip
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 3 Hard-Boiled Egg Sliced
- Fresh Chives For garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cook the macaroni to al dente according to package directions. Drain and cool to room temperature.
- Add the macaroni and tuna to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add the Miracle Whip and black pepper and stir to combine. Add more Miracle Whip until you reach your desired creaminess.
- Chill completely before serving, at least 2 hours.
- Before serving, stir in additional Miracle Whip if necessary and top with chopped fresh chives and the hard-boiled eggs.
Notes
- For best results, use a rice based pasta and cook it to al dente – DO NOT overcook it.
- This recipe can easily be doubled and can also be made with regular macaroni.