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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.
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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 added 2 boiled eggs since I only have 2 cans of (5 oz) of albacore tuna and cut down to 3/4 of mayo, came out perfect on toasted whole sprouted grain bread, oh my so delicious! Thank you so much Megan for this amazing recipe.
You’re so welcome, Nikki! I’m so happy you were able to make it work with what you had on hand! – Meggan
Amazing recipe! I did a savory slant by subbing out the sweet pickles with 2 tablespoons of capers with their brine. I steeped the red onion and the garlic in the lemon juice and capers/brine to take some of the sharpness out. Delish! Thank you!
You’re so welcome, Ravi! Thanks for sharing your tips! – Meggan
This recipe is one of my favorites. I added only 1/2 cup of mayo and it was still delicious. I used toasted wheat bread to add some crunch to the sandwich. Served with chips and slices of cucumber.
I’m so happy you love it, Regina! Take care! – Meggan
Delicious! I cut the recipe in half and used 2 tins of the small Rio lemon flavored tuna like another poster suggested and 1 regular sized can tuna. Added the onions, celery, and chopped pickles with S & P. I made sandwiches with sourdough sprouted grain bread that my local grocery store makes. I was dipping crackers and using it as a dip with the left overs. Will definitely be making this again.
That sounds delicious, Heather! Thanks for writing, take care! – Meggan
For a southern recipe touch, I added 1/3 shredded cheese, & 1 red apple, diced. For flavor, I substituted 1 of the 5 oz tuna cans for 2 packets of lemon pepper tuna instead of using lemon juice…SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Great recipe to learn from! Thank you for sharing!
You’re so welcome, Kelly! Thanks for sharing your tips! – Meggan
Just made! Love the addition of relish
I’m so happy you loved it, Megan! – Meggan
This is my favorite tuna salad recipe. I have to go searching for it every time because I always forget to save it so I finally wrote it on a recipe card. Thank you for helping keep me fed when I have had little money.
You’re so welcome, Jay. Having it written on a card is a great idea! I’m happy to be able to help through some challenging times. Happy New Year! – Meggan
Does not tell you how much of each ingredient to put in…..isn’t that one of the most important parts of a recipe? I guess not.
Hi Bob, there is a recipe that includes the ingredients and directions a little above the box where you wrote this comment. It seems you may have missed it while scrolling, sorry about that! You can access it by clicking the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page, clicking “The Best Tuna Salad Recipe” in the Table of Contents, clicking the link below the photo of the ingredients, or scolling down the page. Sorry again and I hope you try this recipe. Take care! – Meggan
Knowing how to use a website is very important to finding recipes online. I thought most people knew how to do that in 2023… I guess not.
Hey Bob.One of the most important parts of the recipe is to be thorough when you read something like this.Obviously “operator error” on your part.You should apologize IMO.
I love this tuna salad! It is truly the Best Tuna Salad I’ve ever had! It beats any homemade or commercial salad. I made a big batch for a family reunion, and it disappeared in no time. Everyone copied the recipe, and are still raving! Thank you so much, Meggan!!!
I used albacore packed in oil, added some zest from the lemon, one boiled egg and dukes mayo. It is now my go to recipe. The lemon, lemon zest and fresh garlic are new additions to my previous tuna salad, I must say they are all delicious additions.
GREAT RECIPE
Thank you so much, Dan! I’m glad you love it! Take care! – Meggan