This recipe makes me feel all the feelings! Do you all have that one recipe that just reminds you of your childhood? The ones where you can almost just smell where you were the moment you ate it the first time? This recipe is one of those for me. It reminds me of summer nights, bare foot, out on our patio eating this with fresh watermelon from farmers market. The watermelon juice sneaking its way to the tuna salad on the plate & having to quickly push it to not have them mix… however was inevitable at times & I just ate it anyways. It was just that good! I cannot wait to share The Best Tuna Noodle Pasta.
It was one of my favorite childhood meals because it was so easy to help my mom with. It is a family meal that signals happiness, comfort & fun moments ahead.. summer time! So I really have been wanting to post this for months now, because I always make it when I need that feel of my childhood.. that happiness! So we made it this past week & it did the trick. NOT TO MENTION….. the easy factor. It can be ready as quick as your pasta cooks. I do recommend letting it sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour to let flavors meld. Below I make more than enough dressing so that then you can add more the next day, because pasta really absorbs that dressing. Also in the dressing we use our family’s secret seasoning. It use to be sold in stores all over, but now it is very rare to find. Therefore, we re created it at home & I am beyond excited to share it with you all!
The Special Seasoning is Beyond Special
My dad grew up being very close to high grandfather, Daddy Hinkle— which is what they called him. His grandparents lived on a farm in Oklahoma and he loved more than anything to visit there. One of things he loved about going there was not only milking the cows, but Daddy Hinkle’s cooking. He use to make this special seasoning they put on everything.
When Daddy Hinkle passed away they found his seasoning recipe in his belongings. In memory of him they decided to create this seasoning and share it! That is where Daddy Hinkle’s seasoning comes from. However, a few of the cousins drove it into the ground and it can hardly be found anymore.
Growing up we used Daddy Hinkle seasoning ON EVERYTHING. That seasoning reminds me 10000000000 % of childhood. We would use that seasoning in our mayo/Greek Yogurt based sauce and it is so stinking good! Therefore, my dad and I took to the kitchen to recreate the seasoning, because I wanted to finally share it with you guys, since chances are you don’t have access to the store bought Daddy Hinkle’s.
Results?? WE NAILED IT! I am not kidding you when I say we were jumping up and down with happiness. I am so excited to share a recipe and seasoning that is so near and dear to my heart to you guys.
What Ingredients Will I Need For The Best Tuna Noodle Pasta
Pasta Ingredients
- Elbow Macaroni Noodles
- Sliced Cheese of choice
- Peas
- Canned Tuna
Daddy Hinkle’s Seasoning + Sauce Ingredients
- Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Flakes
- Paprika
- Pepper
- Celery Seed
- Turmeric
- Cayenne Pepper
- Cane Sugar
- Greek Yogurt
- Mayo of choice
Let’s Make the Secret Sauce for the Pasta!
I recommend making these portions and saving half of it for the leftovers. Once the pasta sits for the day, the noodles soak up more of the sauce. That way you have some to freshen it up for another weekly meal or lunches! It is even better the next day after marinating if that’s possible 🙂
Ingredients:
1 tsp salt, 1 tsp onion flakes, 1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cane sugar, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp celery seed, 1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp red pepper
1 cup Mayo of choice
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt of choice
Directions:
- In a large mixing bowl add in the Mayo and Greek Yogurt. Whisk well until fully incorporated
- In a small mixing bowl add salt, onion flakes, garlic powder, cane sugar, paprika, celery seed, pepper, turmeric and red pepper. Take a fork and whisk it together vigorously until fully combined. Add more seasoning if you feel it needs it. EEK so excited for you guys to try this!!
- Then you will pour 1/2 of it over the tuna mixture that I will teach you how to make below! Super easy!!
What Other HGHF Dinner Recipes Will I Love?
Simply Spicy Tuna Lunch Bowls
Healthy and Easy Tuna Salad
Grilled Salmon with Gruyere Creamed Spinach
The Best Healthy Teriyaki Glazed Salmon
Can I use any kind of cheese to make The Best Tuna Noodle Pasta?
Of course! I recommend using sliced cheese, but whatever kind of that you’d like. The slices are the perfect thickness to go with the other ingredients. Too big of blocks can take away from the rest of the flavors.
Am I able to use gluten free elbow noodles or whole wheat?
Yes! You can use whatever elbow noodles your heart desires!
How long does it stay fresh?
I would store The Best Tuna Noodle Pasta no more that 7 days in the fridge
What is the best way to store The Best Tuna Noodle Pasta?
In an air tight container and in the refrigerator
Can I use dairy free Greek Yogurt and Mayo for the sauce?
I have not tried DF Greek Yogurt or Mayo, but I don’t see why not! Please let me know when you do!
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow macaroni noodles GF option
- 4 5 oz cans of albacore tuna
- 1 cup Mayo
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 7-10 slices of cheese of choice cheddar or Monterey Jack suggested
- 1 1/2 cup of frozen peas
Hinkle Seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp red pepper
Instructions
- Place your 1 1/2 cups of peas into the strainer you are going to pour your pasta onto ( this is a fun tip to steam the peas right then & there!) Then cook your pasta per directions on bag/box then drain the pasta in the strainer with the peas. Rinse with cool water & set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add in the the cans of tuna drained & broken apart well with fork. Then add in the diced slices of cheese
- After pour in the noodles & peas into the large mixing bowl.With 2 large spoons toss the pasta mixture until the peas, tuna, cheese are all incorporated.
- In small bowl add in your mayo, greek yogurt whisk until throughly combined. Then in a small bowl add in your salt, onion flakes, garlic powder, cane sugar, paprika, pepper, celery seed, turmeric and pepper. Whisk together until fully combined. Then add 1 tbsp of seasoning into the Greek Yogurt and Mayo Mixture. Now whisk that until throughly combined.
- Then pour 1/2 to 3/4 of the dressing & continue to toss with the spoons. Reserve the rest for tomorrows left overs!
- Let the flavors meld in fridge for at least 30 minutes to an hour ( HOWEVER, I have eaten it many times before that hahah, just the flavors have a chance to meld, bringing out a stronger more powerful yummy taste, so your call!) Enjoy!
I made this and ate over the course of a few days, taking it with me for lunch at work! I adapted it a little-I used sour cream (no Greek yogurt in the house) and cubed Cheddar cheese, because it’s my fave! I forgot to not add in all of the dressing, so it was a little dry but that’s all on me and I won’t forget that in the future! Thanks for helping me overcome my tuna phobia!
Ah yay Lydia!! I am so so so happy to hear that!! I love the idea of sour cream and cubed cheddar. Thank you so much for that suggestion!!
Ok I just made this and it is soooo good. I used can peas and shredded cheese since that is what I had and I also added some celery since I needed to get rid of it and this dish takes me back to childhood dinners made by my dad! Love it so much and I am such a tuna advocate lol. Seriously super easy and low key lunch.
Thanks Alaina xxx
yay!! I am so happy!! Thanks so much for making & commenting!
Ok I just made this and it is soooo good. I used can peas and shredded cheese since that is what I had and I also added some celery since I needed to get rid of it and this dish takes me back to childhood dinners made by my dad! Love it so much and I am such a tuna advocate lol. Seriously super easy and low key lunch.
Thanks Alaina xx
I made this for my parents. It is really easy to make with simple ingredients. It makes a LARGE batch so plan accordingly. We are for several days. Delicious! Thanks.
ah yay!! I am so glad everyone enjoyed!! I always think it will be around several days then somehow it disappears!! 😉 Thanks so much for commenting and sharing!! have the best week!
Really tasty! The only changes I made were using sour cream instead of Greek yogurt and adding a bit of Dijon mustard in the mix. It came together really quickly and easily, and looking forward to leftovers for lunches!
Ah what wonderful substitutions and add ins!Thank you so much for sharing this, I would love Dijon Mustard with it! Yay!! I am so glad! Leftovers are the best 🙂 Thank you for commenting!
I will never make the warm version again. This is far easier and way tastier. The tuna is not rubbery like it is when you bake it in traditional tuna noodle casserole.
Ah yay Elizabeth! I am so glad to hear that :)! That is so true about when you bake it, I never thought of it that way. I agree with you! Thanks so much for sharing and commenting! Enjoy!
We have made this 2 times now! I LOVE it just a tiny bit warm – like not cold, but 10 seconds in the microwave warm. We also subbed shredded cheese because it was what we had and it was fantastic. Honestly one of our favorite recipes now!
Ah yay Arin!! thanks so much for commenting :)! I love that idea of heating it up just a tad— give that cheese a bit of melt but not too much. Love this suggestion, thank you so much!
We just made the tuna pasta salad for lunch today. We’ll absolutely have leftovers for tomorrow. We split the dressing in half, but we both went back for more dressing to make it a bit wetter. We still have 1/4 of the dressing leftover, but we may end up making more for the leftovers. Good thing the recipe for the Hinkle seasoning made more than what was needed, so we have extra already made.
Next time we make this, we want to try pimento cheese instead of sliced cheddar.
ah yay Mary I am so glad that you guys found the extra seasoning more helpful too!! Also there are other recipes on site like the chuck roast that uses the seasoning too 🙂 Also good idea bout pimento cheese– oh my goodness what a delicious idea, let me know how that is!!
This was very tasty! I’m always looking for foods to take to my kids’ baseball games. This was just perfect to take to the ball games. I added red onion to mine, but otherwise, I made this same recipe.
ah yay Adrienne!! I am so glad to hear!!! What a great idea to add red onion! I will do that now!