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Here’s the very best tuna salad sandwich you’ll have! This classic recipe is creamy, zingy, and full of flavor. (Plus, a few variations to mix it up.)

Tuna salad

One taste of this tuna salad sandwich, and it will become your go-to. Yes, tuna salad is something you can wing with the ingredients you have on hand. BUT! If you’re looking for the best tuna salad sandwich on the internet, you’ve come to the right place. It’s perfectly creamy, bright and tangy, with just the right crunch from the vegetables. Make your sandwich dreams come true with this recipe! We can’t stop making it. (Truth.)

Ingredients for the best tuna salad sandwich

You’ll only need a few veggies on hand to make a tuna salad sandwich: the rest are pantry ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Canned tuna: Use either water-packed or oil packed: we prefer water packed here since you’re mixing it with lots of flavorings.
  • Greek yogurt + mayo combination: The key to the creamiest, best tuna salad! It tastes savory and creamy, but using some Greek yogurt helps to keep it less calorie-laden and rich. It’s just perfect. Or swap these out for avocado (see below).
  • Celery, red onion & dill pickles: A good tuna salad must have pickles! After extensive testing, we found it was the key to bringing in a tangy and lightly sweet element.
  • Lemon juice & Dijon mustard: Both are essential to making this taste like deli-style tuna salad.

4 variations: tuna salad sandwich recipes!

Once you’ve mastered the classic, there are a few variations to keep variety in your tuna salad sandwich! Here are the three sandwich recipes to try:

Another variation on tuna salad? Pasta salad! Try this Classic Tuna Pasta Salad, a creamy pasta salad perfect for a quick dinner or easy lunch.

Step it up with a sprinkle of Parmesan

If you really want to step up your tuna salad: add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese! It really makes for the best savory flavor. Alex and I did a taste test of before and after, and you really can tell the difference! Of course if you’re making up this tuna salad sandwich as a quick pantry dinner and don’t have Parmesan on hand, it’s still incredible without it.

A vegan variation: chickpea salad!

Want to make a vegan tuna salad sandwich? Use chickpeas! While it doesn’t quite have the flavor of tuna, this Chickpea Salad Sandwich is full of incredible flavor using chickpeas instead of tuna. It’s got most of the same players, and you’ll mash the chickpeas until they integrate into the texture. It’s a tasty plant-based version of this standard, and has become a fan-favorite!

Tuna salad with egg

Use best-quality bread or homemade

The final key to a great tuna salad sandwich: the bread! Try to find the best bread you can: most grocery stores have options for artisan-style bread loaves vs the standard sandwich loaf. To up the ante you can lightly toast the bread, which adds a nice crunchy contrast to the salad.

Or if you have the time, try homemade bread! Here are a few of our best bread recipes to try:

Avocado tuna salad

This tuna salad sandwich recipe is…

Pescatarian. For dairy-free, use the Avocado Tuna Salad option.

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Tuna salad sandwich

Ultimate Tuna Salad Sandwich


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 2 sandwiches 1x

Description

Here’s the very best tuna salad sandwich you’ll have! This classic recipe is creamy, zingy, and full of flavor. (Plus, 2 variations to mix it up.)


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 5-ounce can white meat tuna
  • ¼ cup finely chopped celery
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
  • ¼ cup finely chopped dill pickles
  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or 1/2 ripe avocado; see Step 3)
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
  • 1 chopped hard boiled egg (optional)
  • 4 slices bread, for serving (like artisan, no knead, whole wheat, sandwich, or sourdough)

Instructions

  1. Drain the tuna. Place it in a bowl and use a fork to break apart any large clumps.
  2. Finely chop the celery, red onion, and dill pickles.
  3. For Classic Tuna Salad, use a fork to mix together the tuna and chopped vegetables with the Greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and kosher salt. Add shredded Parmesan if desired (it really steps it up a notch!). For Tuna Salad with Egg, add chopped hard boiled egg. For Avocado Tuna Salad, use ½ chopped ripe avocado instead of the Greek yogurt and mayo, and skip the Parmesan.
  4. Lightly toast the bread, if desired. Spoon the tuna salad onto the bread and serve.
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stirred
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: Tuna Salad Sandwich

More great sandwich recipes

Looking for more incredible sandwiches? Here are a few sandwich recipes to try:

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you’ll want to make again and again.

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