Here’s a quick mid-week recipe that you can whip up in a couple minutes flat. This Healthy Mediterranean Tuna Salad is full of flavor. I add fresh lemon juice for tartness, fresh basil for an herby flavor, and celery for crunch. Olive oil replaces heavy, and often processed, mayonnaise. Season the mixture generously with salt and pepper, and you’ve got a fresh tuna salad with a twist. You won’t miss the mayo!
Growing up I would take a brown bag lunch to school, and I always looked forward to my mom’s tuna sandwich on white bread with mayo. Now that I have my own kitchen, I often make tuna salad to add a protein boost to my lunch. Over the years I came up with a lighter, more Mediterranean-style preparation to change things up. I still love Mom’s mayonnaise tuna salad, but this version is equally crave-worthy in its own way.
This tuna salad works great with a Mediterranean diet, or for those who are going low carb. I like to serve it on top of a kale salad, or as an open-faced sandwich on whole grain or pumpernickel toast. Spread a piece of bread with a thin layer of hummus, then top with lettuce, tomato, and tuna salad. Oh the possibilities!
Ditch the mayo for a lighter, fresher take on tuna. Super filling, heart healthy and so tasty! Your body and your taste buds will both say “thank you.”
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Healthy Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ounces olive oil packed tuna, drained (if you're watching your fat intake, use water-packed tuna)
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
- 1/2 stalk celery, minced
- 1 finely chopped scallion - green part only (optional)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or more to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pour the tuna in a small mixing bowl. Use a fork to break the tuna chunks into very small pieces.
- Add the basil, celery, scallions and lemon juice to the bowl. Use the fork to stir all the ingredients together till well mixed.
- Add extra virgin olive oil to moisten the tuna to your liking. I usually use between 1 and 2 tbsp. Season with salt and pepper to taste; sea salt and freshly ground pepper is best. Serve.
Nutrition
Thank you for sharing this recipe. For anyone craving the creaminess of mayo in a tuna salad, add a can of white beans (cannelini) instead. It not only mimics the mouth feel of mayo, it also adds extra protein and fiber to the salad. I also include some finely chopped red onion and a bit more lemon juice and olive oil.
Sounds like a great recipe! I sometimes mash up a bit of avocado in with the tuna in place of mayo and it’s super yummy. Avocado is a “good” fat, right?
Right Cheryl! 🙂 That’s a yummy idea, I’m going to try it for lunch today.
This is such a tasty version. I added olives to mine…now that I have given up dairy this version will be my go-to prep style.
This sounds delicious! I am in college, and now that I have total freedom to buy my own groceries I am becoming an amateur health nut, if you will; so being in college, I am concerned with this: How long would a batch of this last refridgerated in a tupperware?
Hi Jared, I have already answered that question. Please read the comment directly below. 🙂
This looks great! I like to prepare food ahead when I can – how long do you think this would last in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Emily, while tuna generally tastes best freshly prepared (the flavor tends to get fishy over time), it should hold up for 24-48 hours in the fridge. You may need to add a bit more olive oil to refresh it after refrigeration. Try to make it fresh if you can, though. Enjoy!
Oh my gosh- this is fabulous! Didn’t have fresh basil so I used the Tuscan Herb Olive Oil I had and fell in love with this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
Great idea on the her olive oil Gloria! Glad you liked it 🙂
I hate mayo, so this was an awesome find. I absolutely loved it!
Happy to hear that Tabitha! It’s a great alternative for those who aren’t into mayo.
Love this recipe! Thanks!
You’re welcome Anne!
Thanks for the recipe. I have food allergies and am on a special diet with no soy or eggs, so normal mayo was out of the question. Oh, and it gives me a good excuse to use some fresh basil. Yum.
I made this today for lunch; it is yummy!
I put chopped dill in my tuna salad. It gives it great flavor.
Great idea Rhona!
I’m not Jewish but my ex was, and he couldn’t have Mayo so I would use Miracle Whip. Also I put an hard boiled egg in and that helps hold it together along with celery and us a reminder you can also used your differnt spices. It does make it yummy.
This will surely be a hit, healthy and easy. Gotta try out this salad.
This sounds just wonderful. I love the addition of the olive oil. I can’t wait to try it.
What, there’s such a thing as tuna salad without mayo? The lemon and celery are such a great addition to tuna salad. Yum!
I often add chopped olives & walnuts to our tuna salad; anxious to substitute olive oil for the mayo.
Mmmm, walnuts… we add them to all kinds of dishes in our home! They add a warm, nutty flavor to so many dishes. I bet they’d be heaven in tuna salad!
My mother’s tuna salad was so delicious, other kids in my class used to trade me their lunches for it. For years as an adult, I wondered why my own tuna salad wasn’t as good as I remembered from my childhood! Finally I figured it out — water-packed tuna just doesn’t cut it. I went back to oil-packed — specifically, Genova Tonno brand “solid light tuna in olive oil,” and what a difference! It’s so tasty I even like it plain.
Hi Nina, I totally agree with you! The olive oil packed tuna is fantastic. However, using the water packed allows people to add the olive oil to taste and gives more control over the fat content. That said, if fat content is not an issue, then the olive oil packed tuna is the way to go! I especially like the Italian jarred varieties. 🙂
Nice! Sometimes I use cottage cheese blended up smooth to make the dressing – just enough to create some “stick” without a gloppy mayo feel.
That’s a good tuna salad – medeterranean-y for sure.
If you don’t like med. you can do a more traditional
tuna salad and use plain (unflavored) yogurt for most of the mayo. I’ve found that very satisfactory.
I love this recipe but since I can’t have citrus ( Lemon) I am wondering what I could substitute? I too love Mayo but gave up all fatty foods many years ago and have had Tuna mostly) plain/ except for the occasional cut up Vadilia Onion and a bit of celery on Matzo…….Thanks for the great recipes
I’ve used plain non-fat greek yogurt in place of mayo – tastes great! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Try substituting seasoned rice vinegar.
I second the idea of using plain yogurt. It will give you that little bit of tartness that lemon would have, with the creaminess of mayo
Maybe some vinegar might do the trick.
Can you eat vinegar? White balsamic maybe? or any other infused balsamic would be a nice substitute. Even rice vinegar would work well.
try red wine vinegar its amazing!
If the various vinegary suggestions are unsuitable for you, try the Middle Eastern spice sumac. It has a good lemony zing (along with other fruit aromatics) and is completely unrelated to the rue/citrus family, gaining its main flavors from malic acid (the same kind of acid found in tart apples).
To compensate for the lack of liquid just add about 1/2 to 3/4 ounces of water or apple juice, mixed into a slurry with a rounded teaspoon of sumac. Let it sit and absorb all the liquid for about 10 minutes before adding. This substitution *may* taste odd with regular basil, but could go well with lemon, licorice or cinnamon basils. These can most often be found fresh in local farmer’s markets, especially in areas with sizable Vietnamese, Cambodian or Laotian communities; for year-round use they can be chopped and frozen with water in ice cube trays and then be removed and stored in freezer bags to use at any time. And of course there’s always tried and true chopped cilantro!
I like Tori’s recipe as is, with only three additions for my taste: a small spoon of drained capers, some finely chopped kalamata olives (maybe 8-10 small or 5-6 medium), and a tiny bit of either harissa (Moroccan chili paste) or Aleppo pepper flakes.