Tuna Melt Sliders

Total Time: 45 minutes

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A classic tuna melt goes to the next level when it’s served on a sweet Hawaiian roll and baked in garlic butter sauce! These Tuna Melt Sliders are a convenient, make ahead lunch or easy dinner recipe that the whole family will love!
Now, if you have little kids at home like I do, and if you’re not sure that you can convince them to enjoy fish, please start with this recipe! Bonus? Adults love tuna melts, too! It’s a simple meal option that pleases everyone at the table.

The easy canned tuna melt recipe is prepared ahead of time so that the sandwiches are ready when you want them! Plus, the sandwiches are assembled like a Tuna Melt Casserole, offering an easy way to feed a crowd.

How to make a Tuna Melt in the Oven:

Start by whipping up a classic tuna salad, which takes all of about 5 minutes.

Once the sandwiches are hot and melted from the oven, you can either serve them immediately, or just wrap a couple up in some foil and pack them to go. Lunch, dinner, snack, or party food…all in one recipe!

What to serve with Tuna Melt Sliders:

At this time of year, I like to serve a hot tuna melt for dinner with a warm bowl of tomato soup on the side. It’s classic comfort food…only much better!

Other options that go well with a tuna melt:

• A simple green side salad dressed with Italian Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Light and Fluffy 3-Ingredient Grape Salad
• Orange Pineapple Fluff Salad
• Potato Chips
• French fries
• Garlic Roasted Broccoli

COOK’S TIPS AND RECIPE VARIATIONS:

• What do you put in a tuna melt? Additional tuna melt toppings that you can add to your sandwiches include sliced fresh tomato, avocado, bacon, sliced apple, capers, sliced dill pickles, sliced or diced hardboiled egg.
• How do you make a healthy tuna melt? Make a tuna melt healthy by using light or nonfat mayonnaise, reduced fat cheese, and less of the garlic butter sauce.
• Do you put mayonnaise in a tuna melt? Yes, my classic tuna melt recipe calls for mayonnaise. That said, if you don’t like mayonnaise, you can make a tuna melt without mayonnaise by substituting with an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt and a bit of Dijon mustard.
• Serve Tuna Melt Canapes by offering a tray (or two) of these sliders at your next party!
• Switch up the cheese! Try making a tuna melt with Swiss, a tuna melt with provolone, or a tuna melt with cheddar cheese.
• Prefer a tuna melt without cheese? Simply omit the cheese from this recipe. The sliders will still taste amazing!
• Make a tuna melt without celery by simply omitting the celery from this recipe. You can add diced sweet bell pepper if you’d prefer an alternative crunch!

Other easy canned tuna recipes that you might enjoy:

• Easy Tuna Nicoise Salad
• 3-Ingredient Tuna Casserole
• Aunt Bee’s Famous Tuna Noodle Casserole

Did you try this recipe? Don’t forget to rate it and leave me a comment below! You can follow me on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest, and on Twitter!

5 from 1 vote

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Tuna Melt Sliders

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 6

Author The Seasoned Mom

Ingredients

For the Tuna Salad:

• 10 ounces Bumble Bee Premium Albacore Tuna or Light Tuna in Water I used 4 of the 2.5 ounce packages, but you can also use 2 of the 5 ounce packages or the Bumble Bee canned tuna instead
• ½ cup finely diced celery
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Remaining Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. 12 oz King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls, split
• 6 slices American cheese
• ½ cup butter cubed
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. To Prepare Tuna Salad: Start by draining any excess water from the tuna packets. In a medium bowl, mix the tuna, celery, mayonnaise, pickle relish, salt and pepper.
2. Spread tuna mixture on bottom of rolls. Place ½ slice of American cheese on each. Replace tops.
3. Arrange sandwiches in a single layer in a greased 9-inch-square baking pan.
4. In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until tender.
5. Whisk in the brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder. Continue whisking until brown sugar is dissolved.
6. Pour butter sauce over sandwiches.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for several hours.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake, covered, 25 minutes.
9. Remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.

This post was originally published in August, 2014. It was updated in January, 2019.