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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.
- 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 fresh 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.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Best tuna Iโve ever made. The only thing I do differently is add a few chopped boiled eggs bits thatโs just preference. The recipe itself is great!
So glad you love it, Suzanne! Thank you! – Meggan
I added 3 chopped up hard-boiled eggs
Yum! Sounds great! – Meggan
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YUM! This was delicious! I typically just do mayo and minced onion with my tuna. But was looking for a way to add some zing and this definitely delivered! I added some red pepper flakes for a little kick! ๐ I had it with crackers, but will for sure try a tuna melt! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Belรฉn! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! – Meggan
Love making tuna melts with this and topping with capers! Thanks for the recipe ๐
You’re welcome, Marlena! I’m also a big fan of tuna melts. Take care! – Meggan
Thank you for this recipe. It was delicious and easy to make in a pinch!
You’re welcome, Cindy! Take care! ๐ – Meggan
I can’t really complain, this was pretty good! I like the idea of having the ingredients finely chopped. Normally, I don’t use a recipe for tuna sandwiches, but decided to just for fun! I mix 2 large cans of tuna, enough mayo so it is the consistency that I like (1 cup is good), a lot of chopped celery (about 1/4 inch, probablyaround 1/2 cup or more), either sweet relish, dill, or chopped pickles (1/4-1/2 cup), and pepper (as if I was seasoning ground beef). The secret to a good tuna sandwich is pepper! If all I have is tuna, pickles, and pepper I have a tasty mix for my tuna sandwich. The main take away from this recipe that I may add to my own is mincing a couple tablespoons of onion to add to my mix. In the past I diced them up normally but mincing them adds more flavor throughout. I also let this recipe sit in the fridge for an hour to let the flavors mingle.
Hi Adriane! Thanks for sharing. Take care! – Meggan
Ok. Tuna salad is the most basic of recipes. It should not take more then 5 minutes to make. This recipe is way over done for what it delivers. Its edible but nothing special. Just mix some tuna with mayo and add a little shredded cheese with salt and pepper. Done. And perfect!
Sorry you didn’t care for it, Daryl. Sounds like you prefer it differently. – Meggan
Very rude. This recipe is delightful โฆ so if you like making it your way, why not just do that and keep it 100?