When the hot weather hits, a pasta salad recipe is the perfect thing to cook, that is, of course, if you love tuna. Not only is this dish refreshing, but you can pack it with so many different types of vegetables to make a healthy and nutritious meal.

Cooking expert Chelsea of Chelsea's Messy Apron blog has the perfect tuna pasta salad recipe that cooks in 10 minutes and takes 30 minutes to prep. However, there is one slight twist with her recipe. While traditional tuna pasta salad recipes call for mayonnaise, Chelsea adds in a "secret ingredient" that "adds so much more flavour". She said: "This salad ranks as one of my favourite creamy pasta salads. It's creamy, richly flavoured, and has loads of texture.

"We are completely convinced this is the best of the best as far as tuna macaroni salads go!"

The cook noted that Caesar salad dressing is the ingredient for your tuna pasta salad to "taste better".

She said: "I know, it's a little unique, but it's a game changer! It complements the tuna so nicely and keeps the salad from tasting like plain mayo (like so many tuna mac salads you've probably had in the past!).

"The Caesar salad dressing adds a lot of seasonings and flavour, so you don't need to add too many other ingredients. It's a convenient shortcut for loads of flavour."

23g pasta

129g frozen peas

284g tuna, preferably in olive oil

198g Caesar salad dressing

151g sour cream

salt and pepper, to taste

3g garlic powder

94g pickles

Half of a red bell pepper

Two celery stalks

77g carrots

72g red onion, diced

Start by preparing the pasta according to package directions. Generously salt the water, or the whole salad will taste under-seasoned.

Add frozen peas with the pasta for the last minute of boiling. Drain pasta and peas, rinse under cold water, let cool, and let dry.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine all dressing ingredients: Caesar salad dressing, sour cream, salt and pepper to taste and garlic powder.

Measure veggies after dicing: dice pickles, bell pepper, celery, onion, and carrots.

Add the pasta and peas to a large bowl. Top with all salad veggie toppings and the thoroughly drained tuna.

Add the dressing and gently mix everything to combine. Stir until ingredients are well coated, then taste and season again.

At this point, you may need to add more salt, but it depends on how salty the Caesar salad dressing is.