The best tuna salad recipe is an easy and satisfying combination of creamy mayo, crunchy vegetables, and fresh tuna fish for a classic favorite!
Table of Contents
An old-fashioned tuna salad sandwich sends me instantly back to my mom’s kitchen table. She’s known for her tuna salad recipe — a favorite lunch or a light dinner that friends and family always look forward to! If you love these classic deli salad recipes as well, be sure to try our favorite Southern chicken salad recipe, this egg salad, a popular seafood salad, and this easy ham salad recipe, too!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- I prefer the texture of solid white albacore tuna in water. Look for a dolphin-safe brand, such as StarKist or Bumble Bee. You can also use chunk light tuna or the tuna sold in pouches, if that’s your preference. Just make sure that the total comes to about 15 ounces.
- For an herby tuna salad, add 1 tablespoon each of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, fresh dill, and fresh chives. The fresh herbs really brighten up the salad!
- We keep it simple with the addition of celery for great flavor and crunch, but you can add other fresh veggies as well. Good mix-ins include minced red onion, sweet bell peppers, minced or grated carrots, chopped cucumber, and chopped cherry tomatoes.
- Jazz up the mayo dressing by including a dollop of Dijon mustard, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, or a little bit of vinegar, hot sauce, garlic powder, curry powder, or paprika. The options are endless!
- For a lighter tuna salad, replace about half of the mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt.
- Some folks love to add chopped hardboiled eggs to the salad, too.
How to Make a Classic Tuna Salad Recipe
This easy tuna salad recipe comes together in just minutes with a few pantry staples! In fact, the beauty is in its simplicity. You can certainly jazz it up with the mix-ins of your choice, but we think it’s perfect exactly as written. You’ll find detailed measurements in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Drain the water-packed tuna fish really well so that it doesn’t water-down the salad. Use a fork to break up the fish into smaller pieces.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the tuna, celery, mayo, pickle relish, salt, and pepper. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. This is also a good opportunity to mix in some extra seasonings, spices, or herbs to taste.
- Serve the tuna salad right away, or cover and chill in the fridge for a couple of days until you need it. This is the ultimate make-ahead lunch or dinner option for your busiest days!
Serving Suggestions
A classic tuna fish salad recipe is such a versatile option to have in your back pocket! It’s delicious for lunch when scooped up with crackers, rolled in a lettuce wrap or tortilla, or tucked inside pita pockets. And it’s tough to beat a tuna salad sandwich on toasted bread or a buttery croissant with fresh lettuce leaves. For dinner, try this tuna melt recipe — a heartier, warmer version with cheese!
On the side, pair a tuna salad sandwich with crunchy potato chips, a crisp dill pickle, marinated cucumbers, this cucumber tomato onion salad, carrot sticks, celery sticks, and bell pepper slices with ranch dip, this marinated vegetable salad, a fresh fruit salad tossed with this honey lemon fruit salad dressing, or bowls of tomato basil soup.
Did you make this recipe?
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Easy Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 3 (5 ounce) cans tuna fish in water, drained well and flaked (we like solid white albacore tuna in water)
- ½ cup finely diced celery (about 1 medium celery stalk)
- ½ cup mayonnaise (we prefer Duke's mayo)
- 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish (or sub with dill pickle relish)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Combine tuna, celery, mayonnaise, pickle relish, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Serve immediately or cover and chill for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
More Deli Salad Recipes to Try
Southern Macaroni Salad
2 hours hrs 28 minutes mins
Tuna Pasta Salad
50 minutes mins
Aunt Bee’s Shrimp Pasta Salad
50 minutes mins
How did you toast your bread that is shown in the picture?
Hi, Debi! I just toasted it right on the racks in my toaster oven. 🙂