Classic Tuna Salad is the PERFECT combo of creamy and crunchy, made with tuna, mayo, celery, mustard, and seasoning, ready in no time at all!
We’re all about fast and easy lunches, and this month we’re prepping our Classic Chicken Salad, Crab Salad (Seafood Salad), and Macaroni Salad!
CLASSIC TUNA SALAD
Classic Tuna Salad is the PERFECT choice for an easy and quick lunch, made out of savory tuna and crunchy celery, mixed with mayo, mustard, and relish, and a dash of lemon juice. I like to make a big batch of this on Friday, so we have quick lunches all weekend.
You can serve this tuna on top of a salad, or on a sandwich with lettuce and sliced red onion. I also like to make this with a side of crackers, or with some Perfectly Easy Dinner Rolls.
HOW LONG IS TUNA SALAD GOOD FOR?
Tuna Salad will last in a sealed container refrigerated for 2-3 days. I don’t like to freeze tuna salad because the mayo will not defrost well.
MORE EASY LUNCH RECIPES
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU MIX WITH TUNA SALAD?
- Sliced cherry tomatoes
- Chickpeas
- Apple
- Red onion
- Avocado
- Hard boiled egg
- Bell pepper
- Sun dried tomatoes
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HOW TO SERVE TUNA SALAD
- I like to serve tuna salad on toasted bread. This way the bread holds up better and doesn’t get too soft with the moisture from the tuna and mayo.
- If I serve this on top of salad greens, I like to include tomato slices and extra wedges of lemon for flavor and pops of color on the tray.
- Hollow out tomatoes and serve tuna inside for an easy brunch recipe that looks like you spent forever making it!
- Serve tuna salad topped with fresh dill, parsley, or chopped green onions.
- Hollow out an avocado and add to the tuna salad, then serve inside of the avocado shell.
HOW TO MAKE SOUTHERN TUNA SALAD
Southern tuna salad is basically tuna salad with the addition of relish and hard boiled eggs. This recipe already calls for relish to get a satisfying salty crunch, so all you’d have to add is chopped hardboiled egg.
TIPS FOR MAKING TUNA SALAD
- Lighten this recipe up by using greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, and get tuna packed in water instead of oil.
- Add spices like curry powder or celery seed to add some variation to your tuna salad recipe.
- Make this spicy by substituting dijon with spicy mustard, and adding some diced jalapeno peppers.
- Add healthier fats to make this an avocado tuna salad, by replacing some of the mayo with pureed avocado. Or just add cut up avocado pieces to the tuna salad.
- For a healthier version, you can also add chopped veggies to this dish. Try cucumber, fennel, or jicama.
- If you don’t have relish, add chopped dill pickle with a splash of pickle juice to the tuna salad.
- This recipe is typically made with canned tuna, but if you have fresh you can cook it through, allow to cool, then chop into pieces and follow the recipe as usual.
- You can use this recipe to make a tuna melt sandwich. Place on toasted bread with lettuce and tomato on a baking sheet with a slice of Swiss or provolone cheese on top, and broil for 1 minute. You can also do this in a toaster oven.
Classic Tuna Salad
Classic Tuna Salad is the PERFECT combo of creamy and crunchy, made with tuna, mayo, celery, mustard, and seasoning, ready in no time at all!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons sweet relish
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 18 ounces tuna drained well
- 1/2 cup celery minced
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, mustard, relish, pepper and lemon juice to a large bowl and mix well before adding in the tuna and celery and mix well again.
Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Recipe Notes
Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
I made this today so I could have a tuna salad sandwich for lunch. I used the Wild Planet 5oz cans of albacore and used three of them, so it was 15oz instead of 18oz. I also added one hardboiled egg, which seemed to soak up some of the excess moisture and left it super thick and creamy. It tastes wonderful! This is the perfect base recipe that leaves plenty of room for modification; I added a large amount of dried dill and paprika to mine for a bit of added flavor. The batch is rather large and I didn’t pay attention to that when making it — oops! I guess that just means I’ll be having a lot of tuna over the next few days. I’m not mad about it. 🙂
Great taste and easy and no time to make