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I never get tired of an excellent Tuna Salad Recipe, and of the hundreds of versions I’ve made, this version is the best. Serve on toast, crackers, a bed of greens, or grilled as a very delicious tuna melt.
No matter how you mix it, making tuna salad at home is one of the easiest, most satisfying meals you can whip up from pantry ingredients.
Start with my recipe and enjoy it just as it is, or throw in your own favorite must-haves. It’s ready in minutes and always handy to have when hunger strikes.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Tuna: I prefer tuna packed in water with a dolphin-safe label. I usually buy cans, but you can use packets instead. Or, substitute oil-packed tuna (feel free to decrease the amount of mayonnaise if you do).
- Mayonnaise: This recipe is heavy on the mayonnaise. Start with ¼ cup if you prefer and add more to taste.
- Sweet pickle relish: Or substitute dill relish or minced dill pickles if you prefer that flavor.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a medium bowl, add tuna, mayonnaise, celery, onion, relish, lemon juice, and garlic.
- Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Serve immediately or cover and chill until serving.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 3 cups of tuna salad, enough for 6 sandwiches (½ cup per sandwich).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- More mix-ins: Add a small amount of cut apples (Granny Smith would be perfect), a handful of thawed peas, or a couple of chopped hard-boiled eggs to your tuna salad.
- Tuna Melt: Add melty cheese, juicy tomatoes, and golden brown, buttery grilled bread for the perfect tuna melt.
- Lettuce wraps: Tuna salad is delicious wrapped in lettuce leaves or piled on a bed of lettuce.
- Tuna pasta salad: Make a tasty tuna pasta salad by adding cooked macaroni, rotini, or your other favorite small pasta.
- Stuffed tomatoes: Hollow out juicy tomatoes and fill with tuna salad for an old-fashioned and super-delicious lunch entrée.
- Ahi Tuna Salad: Is the Ahi tuna looking fabulous at the fish market, or have you got an extra bit of Ahi tuna from last night’s dinner? Splurge and make tuna salad with it. Cook it through, then flake it up in this recipe.
- More deli salads: If you love this Tuna Salad, you might also love my Chicken Salad, Turkey Salad, Egg Salad, Ham Salad, classic Potato Salad, and my favorite Macaroni Salad.
Recipe FAQs
Instead of mayonnaise, you can make tuna salad dressing with plain yogurt or whipped silken tofu. You can also add lemon vinaigrette (¼ cup olive oil, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard, fresh herbs like dill, parsley, or chives and salt and pepper to taste).
Yes, oil-packed tuna tastes great in tuna salad (feel free to decrease the amount of mayonnaise if you do).
If you prefer water-packed tuna but only have access to oil-packed, you can remove the oil yourself. Add the tuna to a fine-mesh sieve, rinse vigorously with cold water, and press with a spatula to extract all of the liquid out of the fish.
More delicious salads
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The Best Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 4 (5-ounce) cans tuna packed in water drained (see note 1)
- 1 cup mayonnaise or less to taste (see note 2)
- 1/3 cup celery finely chopped (about 1 rib)
- 2 tablespoons red onion minced, about 2 small slices
- 2 tablespoon sweet pickle relish (see note 3)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine tuna, mayonnaise, celery, onion, relish, lemon juice, and garlic.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Serve immediately or cover and chill until serving.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Tuna: I prefer tuna packed in water with a dolphin-safe label. I usually buy cans, but you can use packets instead. Or, substitute oil-packed tuna (feel free to decrease the amount of mayonnaise if you do).
- Mayonnaise: This recipe is heavy on the mayonnaise. Start with ¼ cup if you prefer and add more to taste.
- Sweet pickle relish: Or substitute dill relish or minced dill pickles if you prefer that flavor.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 3 cups of tuna salad, enough for 6 sandwiches (½ cup per sandwich).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
I always use red wine vinegar for tuna melts (swiss cheese, too) I have often found that my tuna fish salad ends up runny no matter what I use in it, I’m thinking it’s the celery? Love your version and will try it this weekend. Wish me luck, no matter how much I drain the tuna or towel dry the celery, it ends up with watery salad the next day.
Hi Vicky! I hope you love our recipe but if it separates, just give it a stir! I always make it ahead and it’s fine, but now the pressure is on. I hope you love it! -Meggan
Perhaps the extra LIQUID vinegar is making it runny, rather than the dry celery.
Delicious! Added a good handful of chopped parsley and a dessertspoon of chopped capers. Didn’t have pickle relish so used one large pickle finely chopped instead. Then decided to go all out and finely grated the zest of half a lemon. Glad there’s leftovers!!!
Hi CK, that variation sounds great! Glad you enjoyed. -Meggan
Wow! That is the BEST tuna salad recipe!! Had it on wheat toast with avocado slices and lettuce, yum!!!!
Thank you Tanya! Sounds delicious! -Meggan
Perfect! I made it with dill relish instead of sweet because I’m cutting carbs and this was DELICIOUS
OK. I am just one person with one can of tuna. I cut the recipe by 1/4 but I forgot to read the note about heavy on the mayo. That was way too much 1/4 cup per can of tuna. I don’t even have a 1/4 cup measuring cup. My smallest is 1/3 so I filled it about 2/3 full. I could have used more onion and relish, but perhaps the mayo drowned it out. If I attempt this again I will try 1 tablespoon of mayo and more onions and relish.
Hi Birder, I’m sorry about your tuna. I would definitely recommend starting with less mayo if you’re sensitive to the taste. I hope your next tuna salad is better. – Meggan
Awesome recipe but simple to make
I had a tuna wrap from a deli while we were traveling. I have been trying to replicate it for awhile now. This is it!! So delicious.
Tasty. We used Famous Dave’s pickles instead of the sweet pickle relish and it was really delicious.
Purrfect!!!
Very good recipe. Added a tablespoon of dijon and a some extra celery and relish to add a bit more flavor