Italian Tuna & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

Italian Tuna & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta SaladIt’s officially September, so lots of bloggers are slowly starting to pull out the fall recipes, but it’s still above 90 degrees here in Texas, so I’m not letting go of the cold pasta salads just yet. I’ve been really excited about this post for a couple of reasons –> 1) this recipe is so delicious, and you are going to love it and 2) I get to tell you guys about this really fun partnership that I’m doing with Costco.

Italian Tuna & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

Italian Tuna & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta SaladRecently, I’ve partnered with Costco to do some recipe development for them by using some of their Kirkland Signature items. Kirkland Signature is Costco’s generic brand, and they are wanting to show their customers that their brand is just as high quality (if not better) than the ‘brand name’ items in their store.

Italian Tuna & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad Now, you guys know that I would never endorse something that I didn’t truly love, so that is why I jumped at the chance to do this because I have already been buying TONS of Kirkland Signature items from Costco for a long time now. No joke, my almond butter, coconut oil, olive oil and maple syrup are just a few of the items that I already buy myself. The almond butter is mine and Kenny’s ALL-TIME favorite almond butter. Ever. But I digress, that is for another recipe post next month.

Italian Tuna & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta SaladEach month, I will be posting a recipe that showcases different Kirkland Signature products, and I’m so excited for you guys to go out and try them! Today’s recipe is this delicious Italian tuna and sun-dried tomato pasta salad. It is perfect for days when you are craving pasta but it’s just too hot for a huge bowl of warm spaghetti. And the best part is that it is ridiculously easy. The only thing you actually have to cook is the pasta, everything else is done for you. Score.

The Kirkland Signature organic extra virgin olive oil has a great taste, and I always use it to whip up homemade dressings. I just lightly dressed this salad with a red wine vinaigrette that has some Italian seasoning thrown in there. It goes perfectly with the sun-dried tomatoes, because the ones I used were packed in olive oil and Italian seasoning. When I took them out of the jar to chop them, the kitchen instantly smelt like pizza. And we all know that pizza smells are the best smells.

I love that you are also getting a good dose of protein in here to go with those carbs. This has to be one of the best canned tunas I’ve ever tried, when you open the can, there is SO little water in there. I didn’t really even have to drain the tuna, it was crazy. Once all of these simple ingredients come together, you are going to be in pasta salad Heaven. Just trust me. We are still holding on to summer for as long as possible, long live cold pasta salads!

Italian Tuna & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta SaladIf you guys make this, I want to see! Show me on Instagram and hashtag #thewheatlesskitchen.

Italian Tuna & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

Yield: Serves 8

Ingredients

  • 16 oz pkg gluten-free penne pasta
  • 4 (7oz) cans white albacore tuna
  • 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 packed cup of spinach
  • Red Wine Vinaigrette
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • small pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dried italian seasoning

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and season with salt. Drop the pasta in the water and cook according to the package instructions.
  2. Once pasta is done cooking, drain the water, transfer it to a large mixing bowl and set it in the fridge to cool.
  3. Drain any water off of the tuna and remove the stems and roughly chop the spinach.
  4. If there is too much oil on the tomatoes, then drain some of that off by squeezing them with your hand over a fine mesh strainer. Roughly chop them into smaller pieces.
  5. Once the pasta is chilled, add the tuna, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes and toss it all together.
  6. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients, and drizzle the vinaigrette over the pasta mixture. Toss again to evenly coat everything with the dressing.
  7. You can serve it at room temperature immediately, or let it get cold in the fridge before serving.
https://www.thewheatlesskitchen.com/italian-tuna-sun-dried-tomato-pasta-salad/

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