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Clean, simple, and classic will never lead you astray and this tuna salad is exactly that.
Healthy and filling, this recipe is bursting with flavor and comes together in no time to make a great mealtime option that is sure to satisfy.
Post Contents:
🐟❤️Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe:❤️🐟
- It comes together in 5 minutes.
- It uses clean and simple pantry staple ingredients.
- This recipe is gluten-free, keto friendly and pescatarian-diet friendly.
- It can be enjoyed in a variety of ways.
- You can customize this recipe to suit your personal taste and preference by adding or leaving out flavorings and seasonings.
- It is both healthy and nutritious with 4 oz of drained tuna containing 29g of protein, omega 3 fatty acids, no carbs and no added sugars.
To Make This Tuna Salad You’ll Need The Following Ingredients:
The great thing about Tuna Salad is that it’s essentially a “throw together” dish that is very much open to being customized to suit your personal taste. Maybe you like less mayo, maybe you prefer a kick of spice, however you enjoy your tuna salad is entirely up to you! For today’s recipe I’ll be using:
- Tuna: The star of our recipe, there are many varieties of canned tuna including skipjack, albacore, yellowfin, and bigeye that will come in either solid or chunk light, and can be stored in water, broth or oil. Today I’ll be using canned solid white albacore tuna stored in water.
- Mayonnaise: While you can use store-bought mayo, I highly recommend making your own, it’s so easy to do! I’m using some of my homemade 2-minute mayonnaise and because I’ve added a healthy touch of mustard, it adds even more flavor to the dish.
- Parsley, Spring Onion, Dill, & Onion: These herbs are all complementary and go a long way to flavoring our tuna salad by adding a clean, fresh, bright flavor.
- Pickles & Brine: I’m using my homemade pickles and brine that I’ve finely diced, you can also make this a sweet pickle relish by adding a tsp of raw cane sugar to it.
- Salt: I’m using Himalayan pink salt but you can also use sea salt if preferred.
- Pepper: Freshly ground or pre-ground black pepper works great. If you like, you can also use a touch of ground white pepper.
- Celery: I’m using celery seeds but you can also use fresh celery stalks finely diced.
- Lemon Juice: A touch of fresh lemon juice complements the tuna and the herbs used in this dish and adds a pop of bright, fresh, citrus.
But now let’s talk about some other options that you can consider adding in depending on your preference.
Optional Add-ins:
- Mustard – Stone Ground Mustard or Dijon Mustard are both great choices.
- Thyme.
- Oregano.
- Smoked paprika.
- Capers.
- Olives.
- Diced Jalapenos – fresh or pickled.
- Chopped apples.
- Cranberries or Raisins.
- Chopped fennel.
- Diced bell peppers.
- Grated carrots.
- Diced Cucumbers.
- Diced Cherry Tomatoes.
- Diced Avocado.
- Chickpeas – Canned or Cooked.
- Diced Hard Boiled Eggs.
- Cooked and Diced Potato.
Here’s How Easy This Tuna Salad Is To Throw Together:
To a bowl, add your drained tuna along with all other ingredients and mix it all together. Taste it and adjust the flavors to suit your personal preference, and then for the best results, allow your salad to rest in the fridge for at least 30-60 minutes to allow all the flavors to meld together.
Is Tuna Salad Healthy?
When enjoyed in moderation, tuna salad can be a great part of a balanced diet as it contains a lot of heart healthy vitamins, minerals and nutrients including omega fatty acids. That said, it’s important to note that tuna is known for being a fish that contains traces of mercury, so according to FDA recommendations, it’s best to enjoy between 1-3 servings a week. If this is a concern to you, opt for canned light skipjack tuna as it’s labeled as a “best choice“. Or alternatively, you can use a different kind of canned fish such as pink salmon or sockeye salmon.
If you’d like to make a lighter version of this salad, use tuna stored in water, not oil, and swap the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt!
Serving Suggestions:
You can enjoy your tuna salad by itself or you can indulge in it by using it in:
- Bread: Enjoy a thick layer of salad served between two slices of whole grain bread, or as an open-faced sandwich or as a tuna melt by adding melted provolone or sharp cheddar to the sandwich.
- With Pasta: Pair your salad with some whole grain pasta such as elbow or rigatoni for a tuna pasta salad blend!
- Wraps/Pinwheels: this salad is great for spreading onto a tortilla (corn or flour) and rolling into a wrap or slicing into pinwheels. Layered with fresh leaves of lettuce and even cheese this makes a great meal option.
- With Potato: Enjoy your salad with a side or crispy potatoes or even fries.
- Potato Wraps (??) : Combining the above two options of tortillas and potatoes into one, these wraps are a creation made out of cooked and mashed potatoes. Easy to make and very filling, it pairs perfectly with this salad!
- As a Dip: you can enjoy this salad as a dip with crackers. Rice crackers are highly recommended for a great gluten-free option. If you’d like to be extra decadent, you can zhuzh things up a bit by adding in a squirt of sriracha, some finely grated carrots, finely diced bell peppers, and a tablespoon or two of rich and creamy mascarpone cheese!
- As Appetizers: Known as an amuse-bouche, spread a dollop of tuna salad onto crackers or cucumber slices to make phenomenal one-bite appetizers. To be extra fancy, top your bites with a touch of roe/caviar and a small snip of chives.
- With Avocado: Scooped and served in avocado halves – this makes a great option that is keto-friendly.
Classic Tuna Salad - Clean and Simple!
Ingredients
- 2 5 oz canned chunk light tuna drained
- ⅓ cup Homemade Mayonnaise or Greek yogurt for a lighter version
- ¼ tsp celery seeds or 2-3 tbsp finely diced fresh celery
- ½ tsp ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh dill minced
- 2 tbsp red onion finely diced
- 2 tbsp Spring Onions sliced thin
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley minced
- ½ tbsp fresh lemon juice to taste
- 1-2 tbsp homemade pickles and brine/juice
- 1 tsp stone ground mustard optional
Instructions
- In a bowl, add your drained cans of tuna along with all other ingredients and mix everything together. Taste and adjust your seasoning to your preference.
- For the best results let your salad rest in the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes to allow the flavors to fully combine and meld together.
- Store your salad in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. It is not recommended to freeze tuna salad.
Notes
- Feel free to adjust your tuna salad's flavors and seasoning to suit your personal preference.
- If you like a creamier salad, add more mayonnaise.
- If you like a touch of sweetness in your salad, consider adding either a tsp of finely blended raw cane sugar, or small diced bits of apple or even raisins.
- If you'd like a lighter version, ensure you're using tuna in water, and swap the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt.
