Spaghetti Tonno e Burro (Spaghetti with Tuna and Butter)

Square overhead photo of spaghetti tonno e burro.

5 from 6 votes

Spaghetti Tonno e Burro (Spaghetti with Tuna and Butter)

This 10-minute, three-ingredient recipe will have you (and your tastebuds!) jumping for joy. It's incredibly easy, minimalist, and delicious in its simplicity. All you need is some olive-oil packed tuna, butter, and spaghetti. The warm spaghetti is tossed with the tuna (and its oil), along with cut up butter, until the butter melts and the tuna gently warms.

Prep Time3

Cook Time7

Total Time10

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 377kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

Ingredients

8 oz. spaghetti see notes for other pasta shapes
5-7 oz. tuna packed in oil canned or jarred
4 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted is fine, see notes
black pepper as needed
salt as needed

Instructions

Cook the 8 oz. spaghetti in heavily salted water according to package instructions until al dente.
In a large bowl, add the 5-7 oz. tuna packed in oil (do not drain first) and flake apart with a fork. Add the 4 tablespoons butter, cubed, to the bowl, along with plenty of fresh cracked black pepper .
Transfer the cooked, warm spaghetti directly from the pot into the bowl. Add a little bit of the water from the pot using a ladle. Toss together until butter melts and a sauce forms, adding more pasta water as needed. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Serve immediately, making sure to transfer any remaining tuna and sauce from the bottom of the mixing bowl to each serving.

Video

Notes

Pasta shapes: Spaghetti is traditional here, and for a substitution I would stick with some other long thin pasta like fettuccini, linguine, or bucatini. I would not use angel hair pasta, as it won't hold up to the heaviness of the tuna in the sauce. If all you have in your pantry is penne, fusilli, or other similar pasta shapes, I say go for it!
Be sure to use good quality ingredients here. Because you are using so few ingredients, every one matters. If you are able to, now is the time to splurge!
You may need to add some salt, but this depends on how heavily you salted the pasta water, how much salt is in the tuna, and if you used salted butter or not. Taste it when you're done and see if it needs any.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days. I recommend adding just a little more pasta water to the container for leftovers to prevent it drying out.

Nutrition