My Classic Tuna Salad recipe has all the basics plus a few upgrades!

The result is a creamy tuna salad with the perfect balance of texture, brightness, and savory flavors in every bite. I’ll eat this tuna salad with a spoon straight from the bowl, top a green salad with it, stuff it into a pita, roll it into a wrap, or smear it between two slices of bread.

All recipes are rigorously tested in our Nashville Test Kitchen to ensure they are easy, affordable, and delicious. “This is my go to tuna salad. It’s so crisp and refreshing yet filling.”

Easy Tuna Salad Recipe

In my opinion, to make a good tuna salad, you want to use good tuna, make a dressing that has flavor dynamic, and add in some crunchies to give the salad some texture…something to chew on. I use chunk light tuna to keep things budget-friendly, mayo, simple seasonings, and lemon juice for the dressing, and I mix in plenty of celery, walnuts, and green onions for crunch.

No more bland mush!

Budget-Saving Tip

If you’re looking to save a little, go with chunk light tuna. It’s usually one of the most affordable options and works great in this recipe.

It has smaller, more shredded pieces, but once it’s mixed with the dressing and add-ins, you won’t miss the bigger chunks. Solid albacore is more expensive, but you’ll get nice, big, solid chunks of fish that give your salad more texture.

However, for everyday meals, chunk light gets the job done without stretching your grocery budget.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (100 g) celery (diced, (about 2 ribs), $0.35)
• ¼ cup (30 g) walnuts (chopped, $0.30)
• ½ cup (100 g) mayonnaise ($0.40**)

How to Make Classic Tuna Salad Step-by-Step Photos

Gather all of your ingredients. Combine the ingredients: Drain two 12 oz. cans of chunk light tuna in water.

Finely dice about one cup of celery, chop ¼ cup walnuts, and slice two green onions. Add the tuna, celery, walnuts, green onions to a bowl with ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper.

Stir the ingredients well to combine. Serve: Now it’s ready to serve!

I do like my salad a little bit dry, so if you prefer, you can always add an extra tablespoon or two of mayonnaise to make it a little “softer.”

Serving Suggestions

There are several ways I like to serve this salad. We’re all familiar with the classic tuna salad sandwich, which is often built on toast with lettuce.

You could also serve it without bread over a bed of greens, like in a Niçoise salad. Sometimes, I eat it with just some crackers or veggies for dipping, or you can stuff it into a pita or wrap to make a tuna wrap, which is a little lighter than eating the tuna as a sandwich.

Our cottage cheese wraps are a great option if you’re gluten-free or want extra protein in your diet! Also, check out my tuna salad lunch box. Lots of options, all delicious!

how to make a tuna sandwich To turn this tuna salad into a proper sandwich, I like to start with two slices of basic sandwich bread, like honey wheat bread.

The slight sweetness of the bread pairs well with the savoriness of the tuna. If you aren’t up for the task of making your own bread, store-bought sandwich bread is fine too.

To ensure the bread doesn’t get soggy, I’ll add a layer of cheese or lettuce in between the tuna and the bread. This recipe yields 4 sandwiches if you use about 1 cup of tuna salad per sandwich. What Else Can I Add?

There are several things you can add to your tuna salad to add texture and flavor. I like to add celery and walnuts.

They each have their own “brand” of crunch that really adds to the interest. All of these will add another layer of texture, and depending on which you choose, you’ll get either an additional burst of savory (shredded radish, pickled carrots) or a hint of sweetness (dried cranberries, pickle relish).

If you opt for more protein (beans, eggs), you’ll have a heartier sandwich.

• Sunflower seeds
• Shredded carrots
• Pickle relish
• Shredded radish
• Pickled carrots
• Olives
• Capers
• Dried cranberries
• White beans
• Hard boiled eggs

Storage Instructions

Tuna salad is definitely best served fresh, while the celery is nice and crunchy, but you could also meal-prep it for lunch.

Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I find it best to prepare the sandwich just before I want to eat it. While you can store an assembled sandwich in the fridge for a day or two, the bread will get softer the longer it sits.

I don’t recommend freezing tuna sandwiches; the texture will just not be the same.