The best easy Tuna Salad has a creamy dressing, olive-oil-packed tuna, and crunchy veggies. Just 15 minutes of prep, and you’ll be hooked!
Once you’ve tried this recipe, check out other reader favorites like chicken salad, cucumber salad, and quinoa salad.
Tuna Salad Makes A Great Lunch!
I’ve mentioned before that tuna is one of my go-to lunches during the week. It’s quick to make, delicious, and packed with protein! I usually alternate between making this very recipe, avocado tuna salad, or tuna white bean salad.
I love how easy tuna recipes are to make and how flavorful they can be with a few simple additions. Plus, tuna makes a great, satisfying lunch. With all the protein, it usually holds me over until dinner—though I might grab a few energy bites in between.
Ingredients In Tuna Salad
- Tuna: I prefer tuna packed in olive oil but tuna packed in water works just fine. Thoroughly drain before using.
- Veggies: Adds texture, crunch, sweetness, and freshness. For a milder flavor, soak red onions in cold water for 10-15 minutes before adding to the salad.
- Dressing: The dressing makes the salad creamy and flavorful. Adjust the amount of mayo depending on how creamy you want it!
How To Make Tuna Salad
- Drain and flake the tuna. Thoroughly drain the tuna to avoid a watered-down salad.
- Combine. After you’ve drained the tuna, add it to a bowl with the red onion, pickle relish, freshly chopped parsley, mayo (I use an avocado-based mayo), Dijon mustard, sliced celery, fresh lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt + pepper.
- Toss. Mix it all together and it’s ready to go!
How to tune up the tuna flavor
- Start with good, canned tuna. I highly recommend tuna that has been packed in extra-virgin olive oil; this makes a huge difference to the overall taste of the salad. Our favorite is Genova’s® canned tuna (not sponsored).
- Toss the tuna with good quality mayo. Hellman’s/Best Foods® (not sponsored) is my favorite in this recipe — it’s got a great consistency, texture, and perfect amount of sweetness.
- Add crunchy ingredients. Bread-and-butter pickles or pickle relish adds a great tangy, sweet and salty flavor with a wonderful crunch. The celery also adds a nice crunch and contrasting flavor to the tuna.
Tuna Salad FAQs
A lot of people who are looking to lose weight are advised to eat tuna because of its high protein level. For just 3 ounces of tuna, you’re getting a whopping 20g of protein and only 100 calories. Tuna is great to eat while trying to follow a lower carb/lower calorie diet. As long as you are aware of how much mayo you are adding (mayo will add the most calories) you will have a great low-calorie meal.
This recipe is much healthier than most you’ll find because we use quite a few other ingredients in the dressing, not just a ton of mayo. The Dijon mustard, pickle relish, parsley, lemon juice, and seasonings add loads of flavor with virtually no added calories. Tuna is a great protein to consume, you can read more about the health benefits here.
- On a lettuce wrap with some avocado
- In a sandwich with some lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado
- Alongside a veggie filled soup like this broccoli cheddar soup or tomato basil soup
- With fresh fruit or this fruit salad recipe
- As a dip with pita chips and fresh veggies
I highly recommend mayo in this recipe.
You can use an avocado-based mayo instead of regular or light mayo as opposed to full-fat mayo.
If you’re really against using mayo, you can use plain Greek yogurt, but it will taste slightly different. Alternatively, give this Avocado Tuna Salad a try; it replaces some of the mayo with mashed avocado.
3 to 5 days. If you store the tuna salad in airtight containers in the fridge it will last 3-5 days. I usually make this Monday morning and eat it through Wednesday or Thursday for lunches.
More Canned Tuna Recipes
- Creamy Tuna Pasta made in one skillet
- Our favorite Tuna Macaroni Salad with a creamy dressing
- Sriracha Tuna Salad Wraps with fresh veggies
- Tuna Stacks with a mango-cucumber salad
- Cheesy Tuna Pasta with peas
Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cans (5 oz. EACH) tuna, drained and flaked with a fork Note 1
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion Note 2
- 2 tablespoons pickle relish (or finely chopped bread and butter pickles)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/3 cup mayo (we love Hellman's/Best Foods) Use up to 1/2 cup for "creamier" tuna.
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Serving Suggestion Ideas
- Croissants or bread, lettuce, bread & butter pickles
- Serve in a lettuce wrap alongside fresh veggies such as cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, sliced bell peppers, snap peas, broccoli, etc.
- Serve with pita chips, crackers, or whole-grain bread
Instructions
- SALAD: Thoroughly drain the tuna and place in a large bowl. Add the finely chopped celery and red onion (drained, if you soaked in water), pickle relish, parsley, mayo, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt + pepper to taste. I add a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
- SERVE: Stir to combine and enjoy immediately as is or loaded in a sandwich with lettuce, in a lettuce wrap, or with chips/crackers/etc.
- STORAGE: Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Stir before serving and add a touch more mayo if needed.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If I may ask, why do you insist on draining the oil from the tuna if you are going to add oil after?
Controlling the amount! 🙂 Each tuna is canned a little differently with how much oil is added
DELICIOUS! I will be making this more often. Thank you!
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Stephanie! 🙂
What is the green herb in the photo?
Parsley 🙂
hey girl- this tuna salad looks oh so yummy!