Tomato, Shallot and Tuna Pasta

A pasta dish with canned tuna, sautéed shallot and garlic and sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes is a great way to use simple pantry ingredients to create a delicious and fresh weeknight meal.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bella Portofino Tuna. Thank you so much for working with me!

A well-stocked pantry is the secret to fantastic homemade dinners that you can whip up any night, even when things don’t go as planned or you didn’t have a menu plan. One of my staples that I keep in my pantry all the time is Bella Portofino Tuna. It’s perfect to make a quick sandwich or salad and it’s one of my staples as a stay at home Mom. In our family, we love taking tuna sandwiches on spontaneous picnics to the beach too. The seagulls love the tuna sandwiches too and try to steal them every time.

It doesn’t stop there though. This vibrant pasta dish tastes so fresh and flavorful, made with all my pantry staples. My absolute favorite tuna is yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil. It’s so much more flavorful and is much juicier. You’ll really notice the difference. I shared this tip with my sister, Milana, a few years ago, and she was just as amazed as I was and that’s what we’ve both been buying ever since, so I was really excited to work with Bella Portofino because I’ve already been loving canned yellowfin tuna for a few years now.

Bella Portofino Tuna is a great choice because it is made with only hand-selected, wild-caught Albacore and Yellowfin tuna. The cans have tuna, extra virgin olive oil and salt, nothing else. The flavor is tender and mellow and perfect for any quick recipe.

The cherry tomatoes become even sweeter as they cook and caramelize and the sautéed shallots and garlic add so much depth and aroma to the sauce. The tuna breaks up as you toss the sauce with the pasta, ensuring a forkful of flaky tuna in each bite. Freshly squeezed lime juice and and fresh herbs make this simple weeknight dinner extra special.

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta

1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots, minced

3-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dry herbs

salt, ground black pepper, to taste

1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes, (you can also use regular tomatoes, chopped)

1 Tablespoon lime juice

2 (4.5 oz each) cans Bella Portofino yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil

1 – 1 1/2 Tablespoons parsley and basil, chopped

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to how you like it. (I used rigatoni, but you can use any type of pasta that you like.) Save about a cup of the pasta water to thin out the sauce later.

While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking, heat about 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the minced shallots and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender. Add the tomatoes, seasoning with salt, ground black pepper and a mixture of dry herbs, such as dry parsley, oregano, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, etc. Adding dry herbs also gives another level of flavor and the red pepper flakes brings a bit of heat to the sauce as well.

Cook the tomatoes until they are softened and even a bit charred in some spots, about 5-7 minutes. This will also add a lot of flavor. Pour in 1/4-1/2 cup of pasta water to the sauce, scraping the bottom of the skillet to deglaze the pan and to extract all the lovely flavors.

Flake the tuna a bit with a fork and then add to the sauce, cooking for another minute, just to heat the tuna through.

Add the fresh herbs and the lime juice.

Add the sauce with the pasta, mixing to combine. If you want to, you can use the remaining pasta water to loosen up the pasta, if it needs it. This pasta dish would taste phenomenal with Garlic Bread or Garlic Knots.

Instead of using cherry tomatoes, you can use chopped up fresh tomatoes or even canned diced tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bella Portofino Tuna.

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Tomato, Shallot and Tuna Pasta

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A pasta dish with canned tuna, sautéed shallot and garlic and sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes is a great way to use simple pantry ingredients to create a delicious and fresh weeknight meal. 

  • Author: Olga's Flavor Factory
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
  • Category: Entree

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb pasta
  • 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 35 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dry herbs
  • salt, ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes, (you can also use regular tomatoes, chopped)
  • 1 Tablespoon lime juice
  • 2 (4.5 oz each) cans Bella Portofino yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil
  • 11 1/2 Tablespoons parsley and basil, chopped

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to how you like it. (I used rigatoni, but you can use any type of pasta that you like.) Save about a cup of the pasta water to thin out the sauce later.
  2. While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking, heat about 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the minced shallots and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender. Add the tomatoes, seasoning with salt, ground black pepper and a mixture of dry herbs, such as dry parsley, oregano, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, etc. Adding dry herbs also gives another level of flavor and the red pepper flakes brings a bit of heat to the sauce as well.
  3. Cook the tomatoes until they are softened and even a bit charred in some spots, about 5-7 minutes. This will also add a lot of flavor. Pour in 1/4-1/2 cup of pasta water to the sauce, scraping the bottom of the skillet to deglaze the pan and to extract all the lovely flavors.
  4. Flake the tuna a bit with a fork and then add to the sauce, cooking for another minute, just to heart the tuna through.
  5. Add the fresh herbs and the lime juice.
  6. Add the sauce with the pasta, mixing to combine. If you want to, you can use the remaining pasta water to loosen up the pasta, if it needs it. This pasta dish would taste phenomenal with Garlic Bread or Garlic Knots.
  7. Instead of using cherry tomatoes, you can use chopped up fresh tomatoes or even canned diced tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes.

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9 Comments

  • Vitaliya

    Thank you so much for the tip about the tuna! I’m always standing next to all the different variety of canned tunas and never know which is best so I just grab whatever but I’ll be looking out for these! Where do you buy yours? Does Publix carry it?

    • olgak7

      I know what you mean, Vitaliya. It took me many years to find this one.
      I actually don’t remember if Publix carries it, but if you can’t find this particular brand, there are other brands that are great too, just look for the yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil.

  • Milana

    Wow! This recipe looks delicious and I love tuna! Never tried tuna with pasta but this is a perfect combination! I’m excited to give this a go.

  • Kitti

    I’m embarrassed to admit that “tuna pasta helper” was a staple in my kitchen when I was first married. We just loved the pasta, tuna, peas and creamy sauce… So glad to see that tuna pasta is a real grown up dish that I can make from scratch! Still on the hunt for a great GF pasta though.

    • olgak7

      Hi Kitti,
      No need to be embarrassed:). It sounds like it was a very sweet memory for you and now you can try a different version of it. I hope you enjoy it too.
      Have you tried brown rice pasta? It’s a pretty decent GF variety, in my opinion, especially when you’re using some sort of sauce, not plain pasta on its own.

      • Kitti

        You know Olga… I feel like I’ve tried them all and they’re just not the same as good old fashioned wheat pasta! My hubby does enjoy any GF pasta since he so seldom has starchy foods but I am limited when we are entertaining because there is a very specific taste to GF pasta. Thanks for the feedback!

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