Folks, we can honestly say, lunch never tasted so good!
Our Best-Ever Chicken Salad is our most popular recipe on the blog, and when you try it, we think you’ll understand why. We have worked on this tuna recipe for many iterations, and we’re certain it rivals our chicken salad. We think you’ll agree. Even picky eaters love it! And it is so easy to prepare!
How To Make Tuna Salad
There’s a lot to love about this dish. It’s easy, it is scrumptious, but you can also easily adapt it your own tastes!
There’s really very little prep work, too!
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The Ingredients You Will Need
As mentioned, we’ve tweaked this recipe over and over until we found what we think is the perfect combination of flavors. But, you can add or subtract any ingredients to fit your tastes and likes!
Here’s What You’ll Need to Have on Hand
Tuna – Canned tuna is perfectly fine. Go with quality, though. We love skipjack tuna. It’s deeply flavorful, loaded with nutrients, and low in mercury.
Red onion – Chopped.
Apple cider vinegar – For briefly pickling the onion. Not 100% necessary, but it mellows the onion nicely.
Dried fruit – We highly recommend dried cranberries. So good!
Celery – Finely diced.
Capers – Drained. They are salty and briny and match wonderfully against the slightly sweet cranberries.
Dill – Fresh. This herb is key to this salad. We recommend using fresh dill, but dried can be used in a pinch. Just go with a teaspoon.
Parsley – Fresh is best.
Mayonnaise – Homemade is wonderful, but good quality store-bought is just fine.
Dijon mustard – Another key ingredient for this salad.
Lemon juice – From the juice of 1 lemon. Brightens the salad wonderfully.
Seasonings – Kosher salt and pepper is all you need.
Tips for Making the Best-Ever Tuna Salad
Use Quality Canned Tuna – We like going with top-notch tuna that is packed in water, rather than oil. Our favorite brand is Wild Planet.
Go with Fresh Herbs – We can’t stress this enough. The fresh dill and parsley are what set this tuna salad apart from other recipes.
Let the Flavors Meld – Once you’ve mixed the salad together, you can serve it immediately, but, we find that if you allow the salad to chill in the fridge for at least an hour, the flavors meld together. It’s amazing served the next day!
EXPERT TIP: The dressing can be made up to several days in advance. Once you’ve prepped all of the dry ingredients, simply pour in the dressing and mix to coat.
How To Serve
This tuna salad is ideal for serving at a special occasion, such as a bridal or baby shower, potluck at the church, or just a lovely brunch with dear friends.
We often will double (or triple) the recipe and place it in a nice serving bowl. Be sure to have slider buns or dinner rolls so folks can build a sandwich.
Or, for a beautiful presentation, make the sandwiches before guests arrive and place on a large platter or cutting board. We add a layer of green leaf lettuce on the bottom of each sandwich.
You can also serve this wrapped in leaves of lettuce. Carb free, beautiful, and so delicious!
Other Classic Mayo-Based Salads to Try
We love this tuna salad so much, but these other salads are really wonderful, too. Give them a try! We’re pretty sure you’ll be happy that you did!
Best-Ever Chicken Salad
Curry Chicken Salad
Grilled Chicken Salad
Best-Ever Egg Salad
Fresh Lobster Salad
Chinese Chicken Salad with Mandarin
Tzatziki Cucumber Salad
These are all classic in their own right, but, in the meantime, isn’t this calling your name?
This has become one of our most popular recipes on the blog.
And can we tell you, this salad makes an amazing Tuna Melt that is one for the record books.
We have family members who do not like any kind of seafood at all, but always go back for seconds for this dish. It’s really that delicious!
Every single bite is a true taste sensation.
Ready to make the best tuna sandwich this side of the Atlantic Ocean? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Best-Ever Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup red onion finely chopped
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 5 oz. can albacore tuna in water we love Wild Planet, drained
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- ¼ cup capers drained
- 2 tbsp dill fresh, chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley fresh, chopped
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 1 large lemon the juice from
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Kosher salt start with 1/2 teaspoon, then add more, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the red onions in a small bowl and cover with apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 15 minutes, and then drain.½ cup red onion, ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- In a large bowl, add the drained tuna, pickled onions, cranberries, celery, capers, dill and parsley.2 5 oz. can albacore tuna in water, ½ cup dried cranberries, 2 celery ribs, ¼ cup capers, 2 tbsp dill, 1 tbsp parsley
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper (add the salt in 1/2 teaspoon increments, to taste).¾ cup mayonnaise, 1 large lemon, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp Kosher salt, Freshly ground black pepper
- Add the mayo mixture to the tuna mixture, and using a large wooden spoon, stir the salad to fully incorporate all ingredients.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hours before serving. (Can be prepared 24 hours in advance of serving).
- Serve on a bed of greens or as sandwiches.
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in April 2018, but was updated with improved tweaks to the recipe with new tips and photography and a fabulous new video in August 2023!
I have made this recipe a number of times. It was always a hit. The capers, marinated red onions and dried cranberries take this recipe to a new level. Keep sharing your recipes.
Hi Dwight! We can’t even begin to tell you how much this means to us! We are so so happy you enjoy this tuna salad recipe and our others, too! Thank you so so much for sharing and for the awesome review! That means the world to us! Please stay in touch! Kris & Wesley
OMG, I am saving this. I usually like to add grapes and walnuts, but the grapes contribute a lot of water when leftovers are stored.
COLD tuna salad on a hot day – unbeatable!
Nancy!! We really think you’ll love this version! And we agree…cold tuna salad on a hot day is such a treat! Let us know if you make the salad and what you think! xoxo
I make this with rotisserie chicken cut into cubes instead of tuna and it is fabulous!
Hi guys. Happy 4th! I can’t believe how good wild planet tuna is! Enjoy!
This is sooo incredible!! I make it regularly & everyone raves. Thanks for such an amazing, easy, fresh & healthy recipe!!
Hi Melanie! That is so wonderful! We are thrilled you are having such great success with the tuna salad recipe and thank you SO MUCH for sharing and for the GREAT review! That means so much to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Absolutely delicious! I added half the cranberries and capers and the hint of flavor made this salad different and gourmet. The red onion made it really special, thank you.
Hi Kristin! Sounds like you made the tuna salad wonderfully! We are so so happy you enjoyed the recipe and we so appreciate you letting us know and for the wonderful review! That means so much to us!! Please stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
I’m making this recipe for the hundredth time and felt I had to comment on how perfect it is. During quarantine, I learned to make sourdough bread (like so many) and this tuna salad on top of a piece of buttered sourdough toast is everything! Tuna toast is now one of my favorite meals. I’ve brought this tuna salad with me to share on camping trips and have converted tuna salad haters. One time, I did not have cranberries and substituted dried cherries (because of course I had every other dried fruit besides cranberries) which was also good but it made me want to try your chicken salad recipe with dried cherries even more. Anyway, thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ll never need another one.
Donna!! You have no idea how happy this makes us to hear! And kudos to you for making homemade sourdough bread!! That must be a pretty amazing tuna salad sandwich! Thanks so much for letting us know! We truly appreciate that a lot! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This is way beyond delicious! Bravo!
Hi Hope!! Woo hoo!! So so so glad you loved the tuna salad. It’s one of our favs for sure!! And thanks for the great review. That means the world to us!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
What a wonderfully different tuna salad– JUST what I was looking for! Many, many thanks!
Yay!! That is awesome!! We are so so happy you enjoyed the tuna salad! And thank you for letting us know! We appreciate that so much! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Hands down , the best tuna recipe ever. This tuna is so elevated.. i have my family raving over it.
Wild
My kids, ages 5 and 8, loooove this recipe. I can’t think of higher praise. Delicious.
This is just flat out delicious! This really is the best ever tuna salad!
Jim! That is music to our ears!! Thank you so much for letting us know and for the great review! That means the world to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
I’ve always used hard boiled eggs, dill pickles, celery, green onion and green pimiento-stuffed olives in my tuna salad. Occasionally I’ll add toasted walnuts and/or chopped apple. If your readers don’t have capers, but have green olives, they may like the flavor and color. I’m really looking forward to trying your recipe soon. Just bought fresh parsley and dill at the farmers market!
Sound delicious, Lea Ann!! We love green olives!! Let us know when you make the tuna salad and what you think!! Best, Kris & Wesley
Delicious!!! I had a good bit of the yummy dressing leftover and would love suggestions on how I could use that.
Woo hoo!! It’s good mixed in with chopped up rotisserie chicken, too! We haven’t tried this, but mixed in with chopped up hard-boiled eggs would be pretty delicious, too…on toast. YUM!!! Let us know what you end up doing with it! And thanks for the great review!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This was so delicious! I would never have thought up this combination of flavors. Thanks for sharing! Even my tuna-hating husband gave it the thumbs up. And your video? So fun!
I was looking for the best tuna salad recipe, and guess what popped up? Several, but the picture of your sandwich stood out; so striking and exactly what I was looking for! I quickly scanned the ingredients, and said, “yes! that’s it!” I was so excited to make it, the explosive colors, fresh ingredients, and a variety of many other things like cranberries and capers. I made it, and took it for a birthday luncheon at work. It was an absolute hit! So delicious, everyone loved it, and delighted in the unique taste! I had doubled the recipe, but there was nothing left❣️. I am going to try all your recipes from now on! Love the videos Be yourselves, it’s so entertaining!
Joanna!! You have no idea how happy it makes us to read your note. It truly means the world to us that you had such amazing success with the tuna salad recipe. And thank you so much for the kind words and great review. And so glad you enjoy the videos! We love what we do and sharing with wonderful people, like you! Please stay in touch and stay tuned…lots more on the way!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Made this last week, and it was the best tuna salad I have ever had! Will definitely be making again. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Hi Afton!! That’s the best news we’ve heard all day! So so so glad you had success with our tuna salad recipe. We love it so much, too!! And thank you for letting us know and the great review. That means the world to us!! Stay in touch! Best, Kris & Wesley
I thought I had cornered the market on the best Tuna Salad, but I was wrong. This unique blend of flavors and textures totally blows mine out of the water. My husband is IN LOVE with this recipe. KUDOS to you guys. We are both huge fans of your recipes and videos. Thanks for all you do!
Hi Suzanne!! So so so sorry for the super delayed response here!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for letting us know about the tuna salad. That is so awesome that you and your hubby loved it so much. We just can’t thank you enough for your support. It means the world to us, truly. Please stay in touch!!! All the best!! Kris & Wesley