Cheesy Tuna Pesto Pasta Bake

A different take on a family-favourite – Tuna Pasta Bake! The dish is transformed with the addition of pesto, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Simple to make, budget-friendly and certainly full of flavour, our Tuna Pesto Pasta Bake is a fancier take on a more traditional pasta dinner!

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Humble Tin of Tuna

Tinned tuna is something we always have at home. There are so many things you can do with it:

• traditional Tuna Pasta Bake
• jacket potatoes
• sandwiches
• a lovely Nicoise salad
• Tuna Fishcakes
• Tuna and Grapefruit Rice Salad

So many recipes in our repertoire, but this tuna and pesto pasta bake has to be one of Seb’s favourites!

Does Pesto Go With Tuna?

Pesto somewhat enhances the flavour of the fish, so this recipe is definitely for people who don’t mind strong-tasting fish. We love the pasta with the sheer amount of spring onions, mixed with rich basil pesto and topped with melted stringy mozzarella.

The idea to first make this dish was born when I tried a lovely salmon and pesto lasagne dish on our holiday in Venice. Fish and pesto was never a combination I used, but it seems to work perfectly with any oilier fish. I’ve opted for a simple bake to show off the amazing combination of tinned tuna and pesto. So here’s our 7-ingredient tuna pesto pasta bake!

Ingredients and Substitutes

• pasta: choose the shape of pasta that has lots of nooks and crannies to catch all that pesto. We like fusilli or conchiglie, but penne will work too!
• tuna: tinned tuna chunks in spring water or brine. Avoid tuna in oil.
• lemon: you will use zest and juice, so choose unwaxed lemons.
• green pesto: we used basil pesto.
• cherry tomatoes: or baby plum tomatoes, cut in half
• spring onions: finely sliced. Omit the spring onions if you don’t like onion flavour, or substitute with other fresh herbs, such as a mixture of parsley, chives and basil.
• mozzarella ball: drained

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than stated on the packet and drain, reserving approximately 100ml of starchy pasta water.

Whilst the pasta is cooking, drain the tuna and tip it into a large mixing bowl. Halve your cherry tomatoes and add to the tuna. Zest and juice the lemon into the same bowl too. Finely slice all of your spring onions, but only add about ⅔ to the tuna bowl. Reserve the rest for later. Finally add the pesto, some seasoning and mix.

Once cooked, mix in the pasta and 100ml of pasta water.

Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish. Tear the mozzarella ball into pieces and scatter it across the top. Finally, scatter the remaining spring onions on top. Bake the tuna pesto pasta for 20 minutes until mozzarella melts and starts to brown slightly!

What To Serve With Tuna Pesto Pasta Bake?

If you are looking for side dishes for tuna pesto pasta, we have you covered. Try it with:

• Lemon and Garlic Tenderstem Broccoli
• Courgette Ribbon Salad
• Garlic Bread

Other Delicious Pasta Recipes

If you like making pasta dishes for weekday dinners, you may be tempted by our other simple but delicious recipes. Looking for something rich and meaty? Try our Pasta Al Forno!

• Tagliatelle Pasta with Feta, Broccoli & Fried Lemon
• Squid Ink Seafood Pasta in White Wine Sauce
• Easy Lentil ‘Meatballs’ and Spaghetti

If you want something a bit fancier, try making pasta yourself – here’re a couple of articles to get you started:

• Filled Pasta: How to Make Ravioli, Tortellini & Other Shapes at Home?
• Home-Made Pasta: Three Easy Pasta Dough Recipes & Ten Different Shapes

Recipe Card

Cheesy Tuna Pesto Pasta Bake

A different take on a family-favourite – Tuna Pasta Bake! The dish is transformed with an addition of pesto, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Simple to make, budget-friendly and certainly full of flavour, our Tuna and Pesto Pasta Bake is a fancier take on a more traditional pasta dinner!

5 from 11 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine British, Italian

Servings 4 portions

Calories 615 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 280 g pasta fusilli, penne, or conchiglie
• 320 g tinned tuna chunks in spring water or brine (2 tins) drained
• 1 lemon zest and juice
• 190 g green pesto
• 200 g cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 100 g spring onions (approx 6-7) finely sliced
• 125 g mozzarella ball drained

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than stated on the packet and drain, reserving approx 100ml of pasta water.
• In a large bowl, mix the tuna, lemon juice, zest, pesto, halved tomatoes and ⅔ of spring onions. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the cooked pasta and 100ml of pasta water.
• Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish. Tear the mozzarella ball into pieces and scatter across the top. Finally, add the remaining spring onions. Bake for 20 minutes until mozzarella melts and starts to brown slightly.

Nutrition

Calories: 615kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 34gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 678mgPotassium: 515mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1503IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 247mgIron: 3mg

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