Healthy and easy tuna salad recipe (whole30)
This easy tuna salad recipe is super simple to make, it’s healthy and can be served in any number of ways. Eat it for lunch with a cracker or make it part of a meal. My favorite way to eat this tuna salad is simply scooping it up with some lettuce leaves but making tuna salad sandwiches is also really good!
Easy tuna salad recipe
I’ve been trying to get my head around a “classic tuna salad recipe”. I mean; what is classic, when it comes to tuna right? I have honestly no idea so I’m just sharing my favorite tuna salad recipe with you here. It’s made with a can of tuna and you can very easily vary the recipe by adding little things. I sometimes even make it with just a bit of mayonnaise. So drain the can, add the mayo and done. But for this version I do add a bit more ingredients.
Table of Contents
What do you need for the tuna salad?
The basics for making a tuna salad are obviously tuna cans. I like to use the ones in olive oil, but you can definitely use the ones in water too. Canned tuna is super versatile too and it’s always a good idea to have a few on hand.
Other than that you need the following:
- fresh herbs
- green onions
- lettuce wraps
- black pepper
- hard boiled eggs
- pickles
- mayonnaise
In terms of spices I like to add some ground ginger and chili but you can easily change this to your liking.
How to make the tuna salad
Now putting it all together is basically all you need to do to make the salad. It’s as simple as that. As I said it is an easy recipe with simple ingredients! You drain the cans of tuna and place it in a large bowl. Using a fork break up the tuna a bit and add the chopped parsley, the ground spices, spring onion, chopped hard boiled egg and the mayonnaise. Stir everything through and add salt and pepper if you want. It kind of depends what your favorite kind of mayo is. I tend to use Hellmann which is relatively salty, so I never add any extra salt. But another brand might be sweeter, so make sure to taste the result.
Additions and variations
Now the fun part about this tuna salad is the fact that you can easily vary it. I am not a huge fan of raw onions in my salad (or anywhere really) but if you’re not like me you could add some finely chopped red onion. Dill pickles or a bit of dijon mustard are also perfect for adding. And some avocado cubes make it even creamier. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice is delicious if you want to freshen things up a bit. Also if you are looking to decrease the caloric content of the tuna salad you could swap some of the mayonaise for plain Greek yogurt. Also make sure to use the water-packed tuna in that case.
Another good addition would be to add a bit of finely chopped red bell pepper. Or use smoked red bell pepper. A bit of fresh dill on top is also delicious.
What can you do with the tuna salad?
Now as easy it is to vary with this recipe it’s also super easy to change what you use it for or with. If you’re looking for a whole30 recipe than keep it as is. But if you’re not restricted by anything, the sky is the limit.
You can use the salad for a tuna pasta salad for instance or make it into a tuna sandwich. Or turn it into creamy tuna melts. So good! I love making tuna melt anyway. I remember the first time hearing about the concept of adding cheese to tuna and I was sceptical. To say the least. But it turns out it’s a great combination!
Maybe not so average, but you can also scoop up the tuna with some potato chips and use it as dip. My favorite way of eating it is with lettuce cups!
How long can you keep the tuna salad fresh?
I like to save the tuna salad in an airtight container in the fridge for a maximum of 1-2 days. I do find that the moisture content kind of starts to separate a bit. That’s not a reason not to eat it, but mix it through again, drain some of the moisture if necessary and refresh the salad with an extra tablespoon of mayo.
What is good to serve with tuna salad?
You can serve the tuna salad with sandwiches, crackers, along side a green salad, on lettuce wraps, but also as part of a delicious bowl. Make a bowl – for instance – with sweet potatoes, edamame, fresh tomatoes, avocado and add a good scoop of the salad to it. It’s an easy lunch full of healthy fats. Or scoop it inside pita bread. You can even serve it inside avocado halves as I did here.
Tuna salad
Ingredients
- 2 can tuna
- 2 tsp capers
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 50 g cherry tomatoes
- pinch smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground chili
- 1 spring onion chopped
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- little gem for serving
How to make the tuna salad
- Cook the eggs to your liking, peel them and chop them into smaller bits.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters and slice the spring onion.
- Put the tuna into a bowl and use a fork to break it apart somewhat. Add the capers, tomatoes, spring onion and the eggs. Stir to mix it all.
- Add the mayonnaise and the spices and stir through the tuna salad. Taste if it needs anything else.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
