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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.
This is a great recipe. I also sometimes add sunflower seeds and/or chopped pecans or walnuts
Delish! Only did about a tbsp of Mayo per can of tuna and a squirt of Dijon. Really, really good 🙂
Very delicious never had it prepared like this. YUMMY 😋 I saved recipe
Thanks
This is definitely a great base recipe. I’m outta celery unfortunately, and the crunch is a must for me. so, im using a can of Diced waterchesnuts and
celery salt in placeof. Also adding some Dijon, a bit of paprika, and at least 4 roughly chopped hard boiled eggs for sure!! Can’t wait to slather this between two toasted slices of brioche bread just like mortar between two bricks…just comparing the textures and assembly method, not the taste of course. Forgive me, I’ve been doing alot of home improvement projects lately….. can ya tell?? Lol
This was fantastic! Thank you.
Very good recipes love to eat in a tomato
oops I meant to enter the 5 Star rating!
OMGosh – I LOVE this recipe – I always double it, with 4 (5oz) cans ‘Light’ tuna, and about 4 (5oz) cans of Albacore tuna. Remember, as Meggan states, you can also freeze tuna. The recipe is fabulous as is, but of course depends on individual tastes as to quantities. For double, I DO NOT double the mayo – I found for the double recipe, 1 1/3 c mayo perfect (if too mayonaissey- gets too liquid-y in fridge). I may use a little more red onion, and sweet pickle relish (oh so good), as today when I used 1/2 c each. I used 1/2 t garlic powder instead of garlic clove, juice of 1 medium whole lemon, 1t salt, 1/2 t pepper, and ALSO ADDED about 3T Italian spices (1T Basil, 1T Oregano, 1T Parsley, or other you prefer) (I added the latter as per another popular recipe). This is my GOTO for tuna salad – delish!!
This looks great! I plan to try this Friday for lent
This recipe is good, but I also like making tuna salad with tuna, mayo, onion, jalapeno, tomatoes, canned corn, and cilantro.
Gotta add boiled eggs and mustard