Classic Tuna Fish Salad

5 simple pantry ingredients are all it takes to give you a truly amazing tuna fish salad! Healthy, light, and incredibly delicious ready in just minutes!
Tuna Fish Sandwich – one of the most underrated sandwiches out there. It’s such a classic recipe that everyone under the sun has their own version of it.

I’m pretty sure you do to so let’s hear what you put in yours!  Leave a comment below!

Tuna is that one thing we always had on hand growing up as it was super cheap, truly versatile, and lasted forever.

It wasn’t until I met Mr. Fantabulous did I truly understand just how good it was for you protein-wise. 

Growing up in my house Mom had her way of making it for the rest of the family except me. She’d put chunks of onions and celery in theirs. Mine was just tuna and mayo. I was not about that.

As I got older and traveled all around the country it was so interesting to see the various takes on tuna salad. I think the most creative/oddest I had was tuna with creme fraiche, caramelized onions, raw red peppers, capers, fresh dill, and sugar. It wasn’t bad; just different

My Favorite Tuna Fish Sandwich

About a month or so ago on Facebook, I posted a picture of a sandwich I made with potato chips on it. That single picture led to thousands of comments on other types of sandwich chips were put on.

I swear hundreds all said their favorite was tuna fish with potato chips.

I hadn’t tried that comment and all it took was one single bite for me to agree 100% with them. Chips on this tuna fish salad recipe are FANTASTIC!!!

Ingredient List

These are pretty standard ingredients that are in most pantries and refrigerators.

• Tuna – I love StarKist Chunk White Albacore Tuna in water. For this recipe, you don’t want it packed in oil.
• Mayo
• Black Pepper
• Green Onions
• Dill – I use dried but you can use fresh if you have it

Let’s Make Tuna Salad!

Gosh, this is so easy and comes together in mere minutes!

1. Open up your cans of tuna, dump into a strainer/colander, and rinse under cold water for 20-30 seconds.
2. Use the back of a spatula to GENTLY press out any remaining water

Do I have to rinse the tuna?

This is something we always did in the pizzeria and how I was raised. Rinsing it helped get rid of the liquids it was packed in.

The most critical thing is making sure the liquid is pressed out with it. If not, you’ll end up with watery tuna fish after a day or two in the fridge.

3. To a large bowl, add the mayo, pepper, tuna fish and dill.

4. At this point, if you’re adding other mix-ins, add them in now.
5. GENTLY stir to combine. You want to keep the chunks intact as that gives your tuna salad texture and body.
6. Once combined you can serve and enjoy.
7. Store leftovers covered in the fridge.

Who’s Ready For Deliciousness?

You know I can make a million different recipes from the most complex and time-consuming but there is just something perfect about a classic recipe such as Tuna Fish Salad.

Seriously, it’s so easy and SO versatile!

And ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

Tuna Salad Substitutions

Hey, I get it, we all don’t like the same things. That’s the beauty of recipes. You can adapt them for the most part to fit your diet and taste preference

• Tuna  – Not a tuna fan, go with drained/rinsed chicken, canned salmon, trout or even sardines (just make sure they are boneless/skinless and processed a bit)
• Mayo – Trust me, I have HUGE issues with mayo and 99.9% of the time won’t eat it EXCEPT in tuna fish salad. If you’re that 100% mayo hater you can use plain Greek Yogurt, mashed avocadoes, sour cream, cottage cheese, hummus … got the idea?
• No Fish – Want it without fish? Go with drained and partially mashed chickpeas or white beans.

Tuna Salad Serving Ideas

Gosh, the options are endless but here are some of my favorites:

• Crackers with cheese (I LOVE Cabot Cracker Cut Cheeses!)
• Sandwich – I love soft rye or Hawaiian sweet bread. Toasted or plain
• Dip – this is great as a dip with veggies, corn chips, pita chips or more crackers
• Wrap – this is great in a tortilla wrap
• Tuna Melt – how can you not make this into a melt? Butter 2 slices of Texas toast, and place on a heated griddle. Brown and flip adding shredded or sliced cheese, tuna salad, optional pickle/sliced tomato and finish like a grilled cheese
• Lettuce Cups – add a few spoons of this to Bib/Butter lettuce and enjoy
• Salad – add some spring mix greens down, chopped bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and place an ice cream scoop portion of tuna salad in the middle

What are some of your favorite ways to serve tuna salad?

Tuna Salad Additions

Yes, I know your Aunt Sally put everything in hers plus the kitchen sink and you loved it. That’s OK. Use this as a base recipe and add your favorite stuff.

• Egg – add 2 chopped hardboiled eggs to the mix for an even higher protein count
• Celery – add 1 rib of minced celery
• Onions – even though I have green onions in mine, add 1 minced small red or yellow/sweet onion
• Bacon – yes, bacon! Add 3 strips of chopped crispy bacon to it
• Sweet Relish/Pickles – Many delis will add up to 2 tablespoons of sweet relish or chopped pickles to their mixture
• Cheese – I love 1/2-3/4 cup freshly shredded cheese in mine when I’m putting it on warm bread. Any flavor works

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