Mediterranean Tuna Salad is a no mayo twist on traditional tuna salad. With albacore tuna, red peppers, artichokes, black olives, & pickled onions, this tuna salad is anything but boring!
February is American Heart Month. It’s a month to raise awareness about heart health and urge those around you to prevent heart disease. #OurHearts are healthier together. Throughout this month I’ve been doing presentations about the nutrition changes we can make in order to improve our heart health: increase whole grains, decrease saturated fat intake, eat 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies daily, decrease added sugar intake, decrease sodium intake, eat more seafood, and drink alcohol in moderation.
One of the recommendations by the American Heart Association is to eat a variety of fish at least twice a week, especially fish containing omega-3 fatty acids (i.e. salmon, trout, and herring). And as a vegetarian, technically a pescatarian, I will eat tuna, salmon, and shrimp occasionally.
Side note: I started including seafood occasionally three years ago when I was training for my marathon. It took some of the effort out of having to get 20g of protein at a meal. I go through phases of eating seafood, but do regularly include salmon, shrimp, and tuna! Although this parmesan crusted flounder is my recent favorite!
Ingredients: Mediterranean Tuna Salad
- Albacore Tuna– This is the tuna I prefer. You can use chunk light or albacore. Buy ‘in water’ so you’re able to add in the vinaigrette and season on your own. These days they even sell ‘low sodium’ tuna as well. Even better for your heart!
- Artichokes, Red Pepper, Black Olives – Everything you add in is a personal choice. The add-ins I used here are commonly used in Mediterranean cuisine. I could’ve added a little feta cheese, cucumber, or even sun-dried tomatoes. It’s the beauty of this recipe, you really can add in as much or as little as you like!
- Pickled Red Onions – Raw onions wreak havoc on not only my breath but also my reflux. Pickle an onion and we’re talking a different story! If you don’t have time to do this ‘quick pickle‘ recipe, you can soak the red onion in cold water to take a bit of the bite out of them. Highly recommend you make these pickled red onions: they’re a great addition to so many dishes: tacos, grain bowls, and more!
- Lemon Vinaigrette: Lemon juice, olive oil, shallot, garlic, smidge of honey. If you’re not able to mix this all together, olive oil and lemon juice would work in a pinch!
One thing that I will say about sandwiches is that it takes a good bread in order to make the sandwich taste great, in my honest humble opinion. Enter Zak the Baker bread here in Miami. Legit one of the best breads in town. Unless I’m making my own. Just look at it! Stunning, right?
How To Make Mediterranean Tuna Salad
No mayo tuna salad: not only heart healthy but also delicious. This twist on the typical tuna salad combines a lot of veggies with a simple lemon vinaigrette. Grab your favorite bread and lunch is served!
- Make the Vinaigrette: Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice & zest, honey, shallots, garlic, and black pepper. You can make the vinaigrette a day or two in advance and keep it in the fridge in a mason jar.
- Drain the tuna: Drain and add the tuna to a large bowl.
- Cut: For your red pepper, black olives, and artichokes, cut into tiny pieces. I used about 1/4 cup of each. Feel free to add more or less to your liking. Add these to the large bowl with tuna.
- Drizzle: Start with 1 tablespoon of lemon vinaigrette per can of tuna. Always start with less and add more later, if needed.
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Mediterranean Tuna Salad is a no mayo twist on traditional tuna salad. With albacore tuna, red peppers, artichokes, black olives, & pickled onions, this tuna salad is anything but boring!
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Tuna
- 3 cans (5-oz) albacore tuna, in water
- 1/4 cup red pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained, diced
- 1/4 cup black olives, diced
Lemon Vinaigrette
- 1/2 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon shallot, finely minced
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Dressing – Add all the ingredients to a glass jar. Secure the lid and shake until combined. I use 1 tablespoon of the dressing per can of tuna (5-ounce size). And then drizzle more on the sandwich when I’m ready to eat it. The rest of the dressing is used for salads during the week!
- Combine – in a bowl the tuna with the red pepper, black olives, artichoke hearts, and 3 tablespoons of the dressing (again, 1 tablespoon for each can – and again, you taste test to see if it needs more or less).
- Stir until combined.
Notes
*Sandwiches are either made (or not made) by the bread you choose. So choose wisely! I toast my bread to give it a semi tuna melt feel – you can always add cheese to the bread as well. I just don’t like my tuna hot.
*I added a few sun-dried tomatoes to the bread and then a scoop of the tuna salad, along with my pickled onions. All that’s missing is a little lettuce (arugula would go nice!).
*Tuna salad with just the celery and mayo is always a go-to standard if I’m in a rush. If I have a little more time I put a spin on the flavors – and while I might only eat tuna every few months, it’s always good to have variety. Sometimes I add a few dried cranberries in and even some avocado for creaminess (and that way you can use less mayo). Get creative and try a few different combos! I’m thinking to do a sesame oil version with rice wine vinegar, diced cucumber, and mango for almost a combo you’d see with sushi, only deconstructed. Creative juices are flowing now – the combinations really are endless!
*Last but not least, I try to add in a few herbs and spices that I have on hand. It’s a great way to use up any fresh herbs I’ve bought for the week – this week it just happened to be a sprig of basil that I had leftover – but parsley adds a bright freshness that you might just be surprised! So, get creative with your tuna – those little packets they sell in the store pre-packaged and pre-flavored are all over the internet as ‘trending’ with just a few minutes you’ll have your own go-to tuna for the week at a fraction of the cost!
- Prep Time: 5
- Category: Main
2 thoughts on “Mediterranean Tuna Salad”
Can I try this with chickpeas instead of tuna? Love the flavors here!
Love this spin on a traditional tuna!