My family received many delicious home-cooked meals when my dear father-in-law passed away at the end of 2023. Recently, my husband Reggie and I reminisced about how great a tuna pasta salad with mayo was. Tanya, a friend from church, had made it for us.

Thankfully, Tanya was willing to share her recipe. She’s a great, natural cook and noted that it wasn’t a “true recipe”. I played around with the measurements and recreated her delicious dish.

Tanya’s Tuna Pasta Salad With Mayo

Tuna Pasta Salad

Ingredients

16 oz box of elbow macaroni   
1 tbsp sugar
3 cans of solid white tuna (liquid drained)

6 boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup small onions chopped fine
1 cup mayonnaise

1 and 1/4 cup sweet relish
Adobo to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook the elbow noodles according to the directions on the package .    
Drain the noodles and place them in a large bowl or pan.  
Sprinkle the sugar on the hot noodles.

Flake the tuna with a fork before mixing it into the pasta.
Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing everything well.

Recipe Notes   

-You can use whatever brand of tuna and mayonnaise that you like. I used Tanya’s recommendations, though – Bumblee tuna and Hellmann’s mayonnaise.

-You will only need a light sprinkle of pepper and Adobo because the other ingredients already add a lot of flavor.

-You can eat this dish immediately but it tastes better if you refrigerate it for a few hours. (If you can chill it overnight, that is best.)

This dish was delicious. Initially, I thought it was a lot of food and best for group gatherings. My guys gobbled it up though and it was all gone in two days. I’m sure that your family will enjoy it too!