Tuna Pesto Pasta with Arugula Spinach Pesto : Ugly Duckling Bakery

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This tuna pesto pasta recipe was inspired by the linguine with tuna, lemon, and rocket (Linguine al Tonno, Limone, e Rughetta) I first made with Diane Seed in Rome a decade ago. It’s a quick and simple weeknight pesto pasta with canned tuna and greens you can find any time of year.

It was only by chance that I ended up in Italy. I was supposed to go to Peru, but landslides closed Machu Picchu. And so a last minute change sent me to Rome and Venice, two cities I didn’t expect to love as much as I did. Throughout my blog, you’ll see lessons I learned during those three days of cooking one-on-one with Diane Seed in her Rome kitchen.

bowls of cavatappi with tuna pesto pasta, arugula spinach pesto, and parmesan with a navy blue napkin.

About pesto

Pesto comes from the Italian “pestare,” meaning “to pound” or “to grind.” This refers to the traditional method of making pesto using a mortar and pestle.

If you have the time, try making this arugula spinach pesto recipe the traditional way. But for a quick weeknight meal? Use a food processor.

Tips and tricks

Arugula spinach pesto ingredients

The classic pesto alla Genovese uses basil leaves, which are one of the highlights of summer produce. However, you can make winter pesto like this arugula spinach pesto any time of year.

a cutting board with arugula, spinach, garlic, lemon, walnuts, olive oil, and salt.

This arugula spinach pesto uses walnuts instead of pine nuts in this recipe for two reasons. First is that walnuts better match the astringency in the greens.

This pesto also uses walnuts because increasing demand for pine nuts has resulted in deforestation of the pine trees that these “nuts” come from and loss of important ecosystem. You can read more about that here.

For the quickest start to finish, the first thing to do is turn on your oven to toast your walnuts. Toasting nuts, whether for pesto or for baking, gives you a deeper nutty flavor.

Making the pesto

It’s easiest to get a fine chop of nuts, Parmesan, and garlic if you blitz them in the food processor without anything else.

a close up of a food processor with chopped walnuts, garlic, and Parmesan.

Then add the arugula and spinach, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and a bit of salt. Taste and add more olive oil or salt to get to your desired taste and consistency.

The nice thing about this arugula spinach pesto is that it doesn’t oxidize and go brown as quickly as does basil pesto. However, it’s still a good idea to cover it with plastic wrap if you are not going to use the pesto immediately.

Which pasta for which sauce

Tip from the wise quacker: the general rule is that your pasta should match your sauce. Use long thin noodles like spaghetti with a thinner sauce. Use long, flat noodles like fettucine with a thicker ragu. And use short, chunky shapes with chunky sauces. But as with all of these food rules, the most important rule is to ignore the rule if you prefer something else!

If you were to stay true to the original, you’d use linguine with for this tuna pesto pasta recipe. However, I like think the chunks of tuna work best with short chunky pasta shapes. Try a shape that holds the pesto, like fusilli or cavatappi. Or this might be the perfect recipe for cascatelli.

Putting it all together

Set a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Don’t salt your pasta water until it’s at a full boil, or the salt may pit your pot.

Drain the oil from your can of tuna. Tuna packed in oil is generally moister, more tender, and more flavorful than tuna packed in water, but you can certainly sub tuna packed in water if that is what you have.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain it and return it to the pot. Add the arugula spinach pesto to the warm pasta. You can serve this tuna pesto pasta warm or at room temperature, but be sure to add the pesto to warm pasta so the pasta takes up the flavors of the pesto.

What to serve with this tuna pesto pasta

Make a side salad like this rainbow salad or peach and burrata caprese salad.
Soak up the pesto on your plate with this semolina bread loaf.
For wine, go with a crisp white wine like a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. Or mix up an Aperol Negroni to sip alongside.

Variations and substitutions

Sear fresh tuna in place of canned.
Replace the tuna with cooked chicken for a chicken pesto pasta.
Use basil pesto in the summer in place of the arugula spinach pesto.
Use only arugula, as in the original Diane Seed recipe. An arugula pesto has more peppery flavor. Or use only spinach or kale if you want less of that flavor.
Substitute pine nuts or pistachios for the toasted walnuts.
Use any store-bought pesto for an even quicker pesto pasta.
Make it creamier by adding heavy cream to the pesto and warming it slightly.

a bowl of tuna pesto pasta and hand holding a fork with a piece of cavatappi.

Storage

If you have leftover pesto after making this tuna pesto pasta recipe, freeze your pesto in plastic containers. Or freeze it in ice cube trays to add small amounts to eggs or other dishes. I use pesto as a creamy pesto dressing for salad or sandwich spread, as a base for pizza, or even in a babka.

FAQs

Where can I find the original recipe?

The linguine with tuna, lemon, and rocket that inspired this tuna pesto pasta recipe can be found in The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed.

Isn’t it a no-no to put Parmesan on seafood pasta?

Well, yes. Traditionally, Italians do not use Parmesan or other cheese with seafood pasta. You can skip the Parmesan if you want to be rigid about your eating. But I think of this more as a pesto pasta with tuna than a seafood pasta, and you’d better be sure I’m adding Parmesan to my pesto pasta!