Healthy Tuna Salad Recipe

I always regarded tuna salad as one of those boring meals that people have because it’s “Healthy Tuna Salad Recipe” rather than because they really want to eat it. After I began stopping the practice of mixing it completely with mayonnaise and instead making it more like a real salad, I must say that regular tuna salad ended up being rather disappointing to me. This is now the version that I long for, not just one that I put up with.

The salad consists of crisp lettuce, a juicy tomato, some cool cucumber, a few salty olives, and a good bunch of parsley, all mixed together with flaked tuna and a light lemony dressing. There’s nothing concealed in the mayonnaise because each mouthful really does taste of real ingredients. I normally prepare it in the same length of time it takes me to complain about not having any lunch, that is to say, fifteen minutes at the most.

Why I Keep Making This

The problem I have with most tuna salad is that it’s essentially mayonnaise with the tuna just along for the ride. All the texture is lost, everything has the same flavour, and by the third bite you’ve generally become a bit bored of it. This recipe changes that entire situation. The vegetables aren’t just for decoration here, they’re what the dish is about.

There’s the crunchy cucumber, the juicy tomato, and that small briny hit from the olives — it’s a lot more interesting to eat. The dressing is intentionally kept simple, consisting only of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. In the past I believed that it should have more elements, but in fact it is the lemon that does most of the work — it awakens all the flavours without masking the true flavours of the food in the bowl. Well, the lemon water placed beside it isn’t there merely for the sake of the photograph; I began doing it by accident since I already had some lemon slices available for the dressing, and now it’s just… the way I do it. It’s a minor thing, but it does make the entire lunch seem a bit more purposeful, if I’m making myself clear.

Healthy Tuna Salad Recipe

The one I actually crave, not just eat because I “should.”

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Prep Time 15 days d

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

What You’ll Need

For the Salad

• 2 cans 5 oz each tuna in water, drained
• 2 cups romaine or butter lettuce chopped
• 1 medium tomato sliced or diced
• 1 small cucumber cut into half-moons
• ¼ cup black olives pitted
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
• ¼ small red onion thinly sliced (if you’re a red onion person)

For the Dressing

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
• Small pinch of dried oregano optional, but I usually throw it in

To Serve

• Lemon slices
• A glass of cold water with lemon
• Crackers or toasted pita if you want something to scoop with

Method

 

How I Put It Together

1 Really well drain the tuna.

1. This is more important than people realize. For my own part, I press it
2. against the side of the can using a fork or the lid — although it may sound fussy, it only takes ten
3. seconds, but if you omit this step you’ll end up with a watery mess at the bottom of your bowl. After it
4. has been drained, flake it with a fork so that you don’t have one sad clump left.

2 Cut all the ingredients into small pieces.

1. This includes the lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and parsley
2. — there’s no complexity involved. When using red onion, cut it very thin. I found out the hard way that
3. thick slices of red onion take over the entire mouthful and do so in an unpleasant way.

3 Arrange it rather than just putting it all in at once.

1. I started by laying down the lettuce as a base
2. and then spread the tuna, tomato, cucumber, olives, and parsley over it instead of mixing everything
3. together right away. It looks better when done this way, and in truth it makes it easier to see what
4. you’re going to get in each bite before you eat it.

4 Mix the dressing.

1. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano — if you’re using it —
2. in a small bowl or shake it in a jar if you have one available. It takes about fifteen seconds.

5 Just drizzle it on and toss it gently.

1. You should add the dressing only when you’re about to eat it,
2. not earlier. I’ve made the error of adding the dressing too early and then returning to find that the
3. salad was soggy and disappointing compared to what it had been at first. All you need is a light toss
4. — there’s no need to crush the tomatoes.

6 Eat it straight away.

1. Serve it, and if you’re feeling particular add some extra slices of lemon, pour
2. yourself a glass of lemon water and then enjoy it while it’s still crisp.

Things I’ve Picked Up Along the Way

1. Make sure the tuna is thoroughly drained. I can’t emphasize this enough since it’s the factor that
2. distinguishes a good salad from a watery disappointment.
3. Cut your vegetables fresh rather than in advance. Particularly with tomatoes, they begin to sweat
4. moisture if left for too long, and that moisture then ends up in your bowl.
5. Don’t dress the salad early. Although meal prepping may seem efficient, by lunchtime the lettuce
6. that has been dressed and left in the fridge all night is just sad lettuce.
7. Add a little salt to the vegetables before you mix them. Although it may seem like an extra step, it
8. does produce a great deal more flavour than if you salted all the vegetables at the very end.

Ways I Switch It Up

1. When I want to give the dish a more Mediterranean flavour I sometimes include some crumbled feta
2. and use a light red wine vinaigrette in place of the dressing. On other occasions I add a soft-boiled egg
3. since I’m usually hungrier, or I put in some chickpeas if I want it to be more filling. Avocado also works
4. very well if I’m after a creamier texture without putting any mayonnaise back into it. And if a bit of heat
5. is desired, a little pinch of red pepper flakes in the dressing is all that’s needed.

Leftovers

1. Actually, this dish tastes best when it’s just been prepared, but if I’m sure that I’m not going to finish it,
2. then I’ll keep the vegetables and the tuna separate from the dressing in the fridge — no more than two
3. days, perhaps, before the mixture begins to lose its freshness. By mixing it right before you eat it, it’s as
4. if you’ve just made it fresh.

What I Serve It With

1. Certain whole-grain crackers served on the side make this become a more complete meal with only a
2. little extra effort. On colder days I’ll go with a light vegetable soup. As for that lemon water? Never
3. leave it out since it just goes well.

Notes

This tuna salad is the one that has actually managed to make me come to like tuna salad once more; it’s quick, it’s fresh, and it doesn’t leave you with the feeling that you’ve eaten something simply because you had to. After preparing it in this way, switching back to the mayonnaise-heavy version seems like a step down.