Best Tuna Salad Recipe
Seriously, no joke, this is the best tuna salad recipe. It’s the one my mom, and before that, my grandma has made for years. It’s a classic recipe with simple, delicious ingredients. Flaky tuna is mixed with boiled eggs, crisp celery, onions, sweet pickles, and a creamy mayo dressing. Perfect for sandwiches or creamy tuna melts with some potato chips on the side!
This tuna salad recipe is sponsored by StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.®
Classic Tuna Salad
A classic tuna salad recipe is one of my go-to easy lunches. Not only does it make for a super delicious meal, but it’s packed with protein and keeps me satisfied for hours. Also, there’s no complicated methods or ingredients needed. And meal prep’s a cinch. I often make a batch of this salad on Sunday to enjoy for a meal and a snack on Monday and Tuesday.
With just a few basic ingredients probably already in the fridge and pantry, you can whip up a salad or sandwiches or even scoop it into half an avocado or lettuce wraps for a fancy (and low carb) dish!
How To Make Tuna Salad
To make this recipe, you’ll need pouches of StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.®, boiled eggs, celery, sweet pickle, onion, and mayo.
- Tuna: Drain the pouches of tuna. Put the tuna into a bowl and use a fork to separate the pieces.
- Mix-ins: Add chopped boiled egg, diced celery, chopped sweet pickles, diced onion and mix well. These all add great flavor and crunch, you can add in your own favorite including dill pickles, green onion or even diced cucumber. Feel free to leave out any ingredient you don’t like.
- Dressing: Gently fold in the mayonnaise. If you’d like to decrease the calories and fat, replace some of the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt. Add a little salt and pepper to taste and serve cold. If you’ve got fresh herbs on hand, add them in. Also, feel free to get creative and stir in a dash of your favorite spice mix.
My favorite way to serve tuna salad sandwiches is on fluffy, buttery croissants, but I also often enjoy my tuna salad sandwich with whole wheat bread or crackers.
What Type Of Tuna Is Best For Tuna Fish Salad?
All Starkist® Tuna and Salmon are Wild Caught, which is exactly what I look for when I’m making anything with tuna. I always use StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Pouches for this salad. I love that the tuna comes in flavor-fresh pouches that are perfect for taking to work or for a quick lunch at home. The pouches come in all different varieties; sometimes I use salmon pouches instead of tuna in this recipe!
StarKist Selects E.V.O.O.® Pouches are packed in cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, which gives the tuna and salmon a rich, mellow flavor and tender texture.
How Long Does Tuna Salad Last?
Tuna fish salad is a great make-ahead lunch because it will keep in the fridge for a few days. Because it has fish and mayonnaise in it, be careful to not leave it out on the counter for too long.
Once you’ve made your tuna fish sandwich, put the tuna salad back in the fridge in an airtight container to keep it as fresh as possible.
How To Make A Tuna Melt
Looking for new ways to serve this tuna recipe? Make it a melt!
My kids LOVE tuna melts! A tuna melt is basically a grilled cheese sandwich with tuna in it. You can even add sliced tomato and bacon. Yum!
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, butter each side of two slices of bread. Choose white or wheat bread with lots of toast-able surface area.
- Lay one piece of bread in the skillet and top it with a thick layer of your tuna fish salad.
- Top with a piece of cheese (any favorite variety) and a second piece of bread (butter-side up).
- After about 4-5 minutes and when the bottom bread is golden brown, carefully flip the entire tuna melt.
- Continue cooking until the second side is browned. Remove and enjoy!
Other Recipe Ideas
This is a traditional recipe without too much effort. But there are so many ways to get creative and make this recipe your own. Here are some ideas for what to add to your tuna salad to make it really shine:
- Apples: Add a small amount of diced crunchy apple. It gives it a lovely sweetness and fresh crunch that’s absolutely delicious.
- Tuna pasta salad: Add cooked pasta, like bowtie or penne to the tuna salad. It adds texture and heartiness.
- Capers: Salty, briny capers add tons of complex flavor.
- No mayo: If you want a mayo-free tuna salad recipe, try making it with plain or Greek yogurt instead. You can even try making it with a simple vinaigrette. I use the juice of one large lemon, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
- Avocado: Replace the mayo with a large mashed avocado. I’ve made this recipe from The Healthy Maven several times and it’s delicious!
TRY THESE OTHER FAVORITE TUNA SALAD IDEAS!
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A classic tuna salad recipe with simple, delicious ingredients. Flaky tuna is mixed with boiled eggs, crisp celery, onions, sweet pickles, and a creamy mayo dressing. Perfect for sandwiches or creamy tuna melts with some potato chips on the side!
- 4 (2.6 ounce) single serve pouches tuna or 2 (5 ounce) cans tuna, drained
- 2 boiled eggs, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 2 small sweet pickles, diced
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise, Miracle Whip or Greek yogurt
- Salt & pepper to taste
Add all tuna salad ingredients to a medium to large size mixing bowl. Stir together, gently, until all ingredients are fully combined.
- Spoon tuna salad onto bread for sandwiches, spread it on crackers or use it as a dip for chips. Enjoy!
Feel free to use as much or as little of the above ingredients. If you like a creamier tuna salad, feel free to add more mayo. If you're not found of celery, leave it out. This tuna salad recipe is very forgiving. Make it your own!
Did you make this recipe?
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Tuna melts are my new favorite and also my go to lunch. I haven’t tried the Starkist pouches yet but I love trying new products.
This is such a classic recipe and I love your suggestions of additional add-ins to change it up. A great lunch option!
Looks perfect. I am adding it to my list of breakfast must-haves. Thanks for sharing!
This tuna salad is wow!!!
Could not help but say “yummy” out loud when I saw your pictures 🙂 A great classic that never gets old! Love this!
This one is perfect for holiday entertaining! I am thinking Thanksgiving – as an appetizer!
I have been craving tuna salad, and this looks like the perfect recipe to try! Thanks so much for sharing!
I love a good ol fashioned classic Tuna Salad. I will have to try it your way soon!
Tuna salad makes a great, easy lunch. I love that this one is filled with such yummy ingredients like hard-boiled eggs. It makes it even more filling and delicious.
Sounds like an easy and yum tuna salad recipe! Will try it out for lunch tomorrow.
Handed-down recipes are the best. Sounds like a great sandwich filling.
I love a good tuna salad and this one looks great Kim. The croissant is the perfect way to serve it. Great to know it will keep for a few days in the fridge. Cheers
This salad looks fantastic. A must try recipe.
I love tuna salad! I think making it with Greek yogurt is such a good idea as my partner hates mayo. Thanks for sharing!
Love that this is made with pickles! What a brilliant addition to tuna salad!