My partner swears he hates heated canned tuna (cue dramatic nose scrunch), but even he admitted this zucchini tuna pasta SLAPS - so I can obviously guarantee this is good. It's light, zesty, and somehow makes canned tuna feel fancy. Bonus: it actually tastes just as good cold the next day, which makes it meal prep gold.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Seafood. This recipe uses canned tuna in a way that feels light and fresh, like my shrimp and vegetable stir fry or Mexican tuna salad without mayonnaise.
Hot or cold. Eat it warm straight from the pan or chilled from the fridge, just like my cajun chorizo orzo or chicken pesto gnocchi bake.
Spaghetti. Perfect for your Lady and the Tramp moment like spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncini or beef spaghetti bolognese with vegetables.
Ingredients
Tuna in oil. Make sure to pick the tin that says "in oil" or "olive oil blend". I've tried the recipe with the tuna in springwater and it goes dry quite quickly and you end up adding in extra olive oil anyway. It's more convenient to just have it all in the tin so it's already making the tuna moist.
Spaghetti. Holds sauce beautifully and reheats well without clumping, but you could adjust to any pasta you choose.
Zucchini. Caramelizing brings out a sweet, nutty flavor and acts as a sauce. You could use eggplant if you prefer as it will have the same vibe
Capers. Tiny salty flavor bombs that give a Mediterranean edge. Don't be scared to add some of the vinegar they come in into the dish.
Please check the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantity.
How to make tuna spaghetti
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add sliced zucchini and caramelize until golden and slightly crisp. As you'll see from the images above, you want to take the zucchini right to the edge where they start to form into a bit of a paste.
Step 2: When the zucchini is getting close to being the paste, cook spaghetti in salted water for half the packet time. Reserve a cup of pasta water.
Step 3: Add pasta water, garlic, capers, tuna, lemon and spaghetti into the zucchini. Mix well.
Step 4: Finish with chopped parsley, parmesan and freshly cracked pepper.
My Top Tips
Don't drain the tuna oil. It's flavor and moisture for your sauce.
Save pasta water. It makes the sauce clingy and luxurious.
Taste before adding salt. Capers and tuna already bring salty notes and I've found this dish doesn't actually need any salt added.
Meal prepping tuna capers spaghetti
This zucchini tuna pasta is a total winner for meal prep-affordable with tinned tuna as the protein and options for dried pasta to keep the costs down, and it actually gets better after a day as the flavors meld together.
Storing
Divide into airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Pack the pasta in shallow containers so it cools evenly and doesn't clump.
Reheating
This can be eaten cold, but it does taste best warm. Warm gently in the microwave or in a skillet with a splash of water or a light spray of olive oil to loosen up the spaghetti. Don't stir the pasta right away-give it at least 1 minute in the microwave before moving it around to avoid breaking the strands into sad little bits.
Add a sprinkle of fresh parsley and a shower of parmesan after reheating to liven things up. It's like giving your meal prep pasta a little "glow-up" before eating.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQs
You can, but the pasta will be drier. Add extra olive oil to compensate. I've tried both ways and you have to add quite a bit of olive oil to compensate, but at least with the tuna already in the oil, it's absorbed some of the moisture already.
Spaghetti is the MVP here, but linguine or tagliatelle work just as well for a slurp-worthy version. If you want shorter pasta, fusilli or penne are great because their curves and holes trap bits of caramelized zucchini and capers for perfect flavour.
Pro Tip: Avoid super delicate shapes like angel hair-they tend to overcook during reheating and turn mushy.
After cooking, toss the drained spaghetti with a light spray or drizzle of olive oil while it's still warm-this coats each strand and helps prevent sticking as it cools. This is done in the second half of cooking with the tuna in this dish, so no need to separately prepare the pasta.
You'll also want to store in shallow containers to let it cool quickly (deep containers trap heat and create clumps).
When reheating, give the pasta 1 minute in the microwave before stirring so it loosens up naturally from the steam. Stirring too soon can break the strands into little sad noodles. If it's still a bit stiff, add a splash of water or more olive oil and toss gently.
Other seafood meal prep recipes
Or, you can have a browse through my seafood recipes for more delicious eats.
Recipe
Zucchini Canned Tuna Pasta (Meal Prep)
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 g (1 teaspoon) olive oil
- 300 g (10 ½ oz) zucchini, approx.2
- 425 g (1 lb) tuna in oil, approx.1 large tin
- 300 g (10 ½ oz) spaghetti, or other pasta shape
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon, zest and juice, fresh recommended
- 80 g (½ cups) capers, see note 1
- pepper, to taste
- 50 g (½ cups) parsley, to serve, optional
- 50 g (½ cups) parmesan, to serve, optional
Instructions
Prepare
- Thinly slice 300 g zucchini. Peel and thinly dice 4 garlic cloves. Dice: 80 g (½ cups) capers
- Prepare a large pot of salted water and begin boiling on the stove.
Cook
- Heat 5 g (1 teaspoon) olive oil in a skillet. Add 300 g zucchini caramelize until golden and it has formed a bit of a paste (approx. 20 minutes). They'll go from soft to crisp and back to soft (photo in main post).
- When the zucchini is getting close to being the paste, cook 300 g (10 ½ oz) spaghetti for half the packet time. Reserve a cup of pasta water.
- Add pasta water, 425 g (1 lb) tuna in oil, 4 garlic cloves, 1 lemon juice and zest, 80 g (½ cups) capers, 300 g (10 ½ oz) spaghetti into the zucchini. Mix well.
- Finish with pepper, 50 g (½ cups) parsley, 50 g (½ cups) parmesan.
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