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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, 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.
Meghan, this recipe will be my new go-to tuna salad recipe for sweltering hot summer days! The crunch add-ins along with fresh squeezed lemon juice make it a classic winner. Thank you for sharing.
Ps. I aim to make it open-faced and lace it with home grown lettuce.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, you’re welcome! – Meggan
Sounds fresh, cold and perfect! Looking forward to trying this tuna salad. Thank you for sharing!
You’re so welcome, Debi! Hope you love it! – Meggan
This will be my go-to recipe from now on
I’m so happy you love it, Linda! – Meggan
I made this for our salad meal on a very hot day adding tomatoes, cucumbers and veggie lettuce blend. I chilled the mixture for a few hours and it was the best I’ve ever made. Thank you for this recipe.
You’re so welcome, Pam! Sounds refreshing! – Meggan
Great tuna salad, thank you for sharing. Lemon was a new addition for me. Very good!
So glad you liked it, Angela. Thanks for trying it 🙂 – Meggan
I have never liked tuna, hot/warm tuna makes me gag. The only way I have ever been able to eat it even a little is as a tuna salad with crackers. That said, I actually LIKED this! I made it for my son who is tuna obsessed, it makes for some interesting times with him loving it and me gaging over it lol. I usually just buy him the little ready made tuna salad pouches so he can have it whenever he wants but I had 4 cans of the chunk light in water left over from when we were stocked up for quarantine that were going to expire in July. So I decided to use them up, the quickest way possible, and found this recipe to try. I did double up on all the add in’s, more like 1/4cup onion and sweet relish, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, and 2/3 cup minced celery. It was perfect for me! I will actually eat some of it and my son already told me he isn’t going to want to go back to the prepared stuff anymore lol…. It is heavy on the mayo, but I need it that way personally. I left it in the fridge overnight before letting him dig in. And ounce per ounce its much cheaper this way. I think this is going to become a staple in our routine for after school food, and summertime quick eats along with the egg salad I usually have made up a couple of times a month.
Isn’t it great that you’re able to enjoy this with your tuna obsessed! But I apologize that now you have to put the work in to make it instead of just picking up a can when you’re at the store haha I love your comment and appreciate the story behind it. Thank you so much! – Meggan
Sounds tasty and alike like mine except I and chopped hard boiled eggs and I’ve never tried with lemon juice. But I will try it. Thank you.
Come back once you do and let me know what you think, Vicki! Thank you 🙂 – Meggan
Absolutely 5 stars! Made with 11 oz. Tuna, was a little light handed on the ingredients, used chopped, zesty, bread and butter pickles and it came out “make again” worthy. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Mickey! “Make again” worthy is great!!! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 – Meggan
I PLAN TO TRY THIS WEEKEND!
Did you? How did it go? I’d love to hear 🙂 – Meggan
Delicious!
Thank you, Kaitlyn! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 – Meggan