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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.
Yum! Gotta have that pickle on the side when having a tuna sandwich! I used a dill pickle instead of sweet for the relish (personal preference), but it was delicious! What kind of pickles do you usually prefer? I like Bubbies because they don’t use vinegar in their brine. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sam! I’m super delinquent in replying to your comment. I ADORE Bubbies products, I always have the kraut in my fridge. A spoonful a day for gut health at minimum, or it’s the easiest way to add a side of vegetables to my plate without any prep at all. I love the pickles too! So much better than the shelf-stable ones (gross). Do you ever work with bloggers? I love you guys. Have a great day! 😀 -Meggan
I am probably really late to the party but I love a good tuna sandwich. I am on board with most of this but the sodium content is a bit high for me. I also meal prep my lunches for the week and had to think of ways to keep my tuna from becoming too watery over the course of a couple of days. I borrowed an idea from subway. I use tuna in water but take the draining of the water a bit further than most so that I get the tuna very dry and very well mixed. Their technique is on youtube & it works very well for the water I always seemed to have at the bottom of my mixing bowl.. I also add only lemon or lime, celery and mayo. However, i am experimenting with using both greek yogurt and mayo for the extra nutrient boost. For the yogurt I will try to drain it of whey so that it does not become watery over the couple of days it takes for me to consume the tuna salad. I also add the veggies to the sandwich as toppings. I typically add spinach, lettuce, bell pepper, red onion, shredded carrot & mushroom. For the meal prepped sandwiches for lunch I add a slice of cheese (preferably a cheese with a lower so sodium content and as few additives as possible) & little Dijon to the bread and pack that separate from the tuna. The veggies are also packed separately in either a baggie or reusable container.
This is a little extra work when I am ready to eat at lunch but allows me to get a serving of veggies in a D.C. Meal prep my lunches for a couple of days at the same time.
FOr the grilled sandwich I recently read that using mayo instead of butter works very well. Ive not tried that yet but I’d like to try mayo made with olive oil for this’d technique as it would be slightly be lower in saturated fat.
Will definitely add minced garlic to this.
One last thing finely chopped dried fruit like tart cherries or cranberries are also great additions.
I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I love your recipes. However, I do have to modify them for sodium & fat as I am on a weight loss journey. I like the flavor profiles of your recipes. 🙂
Thank you so much for your wonderful posts.
Great great recipe! I usually add dash or 2 of curry powder…..try it!
Such a great idea! I make curried chicken salad on a weekly basis, I’ve never tried adding it to tuna salad. I’m sure I will love it. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks Barbara. 😀 -Meggan
Just made your tuna salad recipe. Wasn’t in the mood for bread so used butter lettuce to wrap. May never eat it any other way! Thank you!
Hmm. Thanks for the advice as I never thought of adding pickle relish
or lemon juice
& garlic. It taste Great already…
Now for the tuna, are there not more omega 3’s in oil pack tuna?
Well I grabbed my cans of whitefish & tuna as only had that lying around, but just before adding I finally realized that its Friskies tuna n whitefish :-O
A close call but at least the cat is happy. I’ll have to wait till I get to the store tomorrow so I can be happy 🙁
Wonderful recipe! I am a bit finicky when it comes to tuna salad but the ratios and flavours in your recipe were PERFECT!
Hi Meggan,
. I Love a good Tuna Salad but I lost my receipe over the years. I came across yours online and decided to give it a try. I did make a few modifications though. I pretty much followed your receipe as you have it. What I did change, was I finely chopped sweet pickles in the processor instead of Sweet pickle relish. I used the same amount as your receipe called for. I also added 2 Hard Boiled Eggs, finely chopped. I used 1/2 cup of Miracle Whip and 1/3 cup Kraft Mayo, instead of 1 cup of Mayo.
I’ve been told that this is THE best Tuna Salad I’ve ever made. Thank you very much for getting me back on track with Tuna Salad. Very Sincerely, Teddy
Hello Meggan,
I’m old, like really old. Growing up and until I think like the 80’s all tuna was packed in oil. Then someone figured out packing it in water. Now you can buy either way. I prefer the oil packed as I grew up with it. I just take the tuna out of the can in my hands (well washed) and squeeze the heck out of the tuna over the sink. Then I make whatever I want with it. Like your yummy tuna salad recipe. I think the oil gives the tuna more flavor. But everyone can decide for themselves. My grandchildren swear they only like water packed tuna. But they gobble down my oil packed tuna every time. I think I’ll wait a few years to tell them.
Hilarious, Nora! And actually, I’m obsessed with oil-packed tuna now. I finally tried it. And it makes sense because more fat, and fat is DELICIOUS. So yes. I’m a changed woman. 🙂 I appreciate your comment!
I used dill pickle
Relish and not sweet relish very good also do you have a melt recipe
Hi Joe! I like both kinds of relish, glad you made it to your taste. To make a melt, spread butter on two pieces of bread (1 side of the bread). Take 1 piece of bread and place it butter-side down on a pan over medium-high heat. Add a piece of cheese and 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup of tuna salad. Top with a second piece of buttered bread (butter side out). When the bottom piece is golden brown, flip it over and cook the other side. I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! Take care.
Thanks for the recipe by any chance do you have a recipe foe these Mina melts