This Best-Ever Tuna Salad is an explosion of flavors, featuring the bright notes of fresh dill, the briny kick of capers, and the sweet tartness of dried cranberries, creating a truly amazing taste experience. The addition of homemade mayonnaise elevates the dish to new heights.
🐟 The Ingredients
This recipe features a delightful mix of savory and sweet ingredients that harmoniously work together to create an incredible flavor profile that is both satisfying and refreshing. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
🌿 Substitutions and Variations
- Tuna – Canned tuna is perfectly fine and the best choice. Our favorite choice is Skipjack Tuna packed in water, but almost any variety will work. We don’t recommend tuna packed in oil. Rotisserie chicken can be substituted for the tuna.
- Cranberries and Capers – These add a depth of flavor and texture to the salad that helps to elevate the flavor profile. Raisins are an excellent substitute for the cranberries, and chopped dill pickles can be used in place of the capers.
- Vegetables – The celery adds flavor and texture to the salad. Chop it finely if you don’t prefer much ‘crunch’ in the salad. Soaking the red onion in the vinegar adds a depth of flavor and mellows the onion’s taste. Scallions or chives can replace the red onions, or just omit them if you don’t like the taste of onions.
- Flavor enhancers – Fresh dill and lemon are key ingredients in this tuna salad and brighten the flavor profile. Dried dill can be used in a pinch, but fresh is best. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is ideal, but bottled lemon juice is perfectly acceptable.
See the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
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 Make Best-Ever Tuna Salad
- Step 1: Soak the onions in apple cider vinegar for 15 minutes.
- Step 2: Drain the onions and add them to a bowl with the tuna, cranberries, celery, capers, and herbs.
- Step 3: In a separate bowl, mix the mayo, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper
- Step 4: Pour the dressing over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Step 5: Chill the salad for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Step 6: Serve on a bed of greens or as a sandwich.
🍽️ How To Serve
- This tuna salad is ideal for serving at a special occasion, such as a bridal or baby shower, a 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.
- For a beautiful presentation, make the sandwiches before guests arrive and place them 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!
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
Homemade tuna salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 6 days, making it a great option for meal prep or using up leftovers. It’s even better the days after you put it together.
Yes. Tuna is loaded with nutrients and is a great source of protein. Go with plain Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise to make it even healthier.
It’s important to completely drain the canned tuna before mixing it with the other ingredients. Place it in a fine-mesh colander or sieve and press on the tuna with the back of a spatula or spoon. Sometimes the water will separate after the salad sits in the fridge. Give it a good stir before serving. If necessary, you can add another tablespoon of mayo or mustard.
😋 Other Classic Mayo-Based Salads to Try
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
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup red onion finely chopped
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 7 oz. cans tuna in water we love Wild Planet, drained
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- ¼ cup capers drained
- 2 tablespoon dill fresh, chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley fresh, chopped
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 1 large lemon the juice from
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt start with ½ 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 7 oz. cans tuna in water, ½ cup dried cranberries, 2 celery ribs, ¼ cup capers, 2 tablespoon dill, 1 tablespoon parsley
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper (add the salt in ½ teaspoon increments, to taste).¾ cup mayonnaise, 1 large lemon, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon 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!
Kristin says
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.
Kris Longwell says
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
Donna says
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.
Kris Longwell says
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
Hope says
This is way beyond delicious! Bravo!
Kris Longwell says
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
Rebecca Peebles says
What a wonderfully different tuna salad– JUST what I was looking for! Many, many thanks!
Kris Longwell says
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
Melissa says
Hands down , the best tuna recipe ever. This tuna is so elevated.. i have my family raving over it.
Wild
Beth says
My kids, ages 5 and 8, loooove this recipe. I can’t think of higher praise. Delicious.
Jim M says
This is just flat out delicious! This really is the best ever tuna salad!
Kris Longwell says
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
Lea Ann says
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!
Kris Longwell says
Sound delicious, Lea Ann!! We love green olives!! Let us know when you make the tuna salad and what you think!! Best, Kris & Wesley
C says
Delicious!!! I had a good bit of the yummy dressing leftover and would love suggestions on how I could use that.
Kris Longwell says
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
Lori says
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!
Joanna Sztuk says
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!
Kris Longwell says
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
Afton says
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!
krislongwell says
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
Suzanne says
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!
krislongwell says
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
Robin says
Forgot to rate it….
krislongwell says
Thank you so much! We’ll check out the nutrition figure. We have a program that determines that, but maybe there was a mistake. Will definitely look into and update accordingly. Thanks again! Kris & Wesley
Robin says
The calories you have listed are wrong. I put this recipe into a program (giving you credit!) for logging my food and using whole cranberries, because my dried ones are sugar free, the total nutritional breakdown for a serving is 436. Regardless, it’s delicious! I used Wild Planet Tuna and as much organic ingredients as possible. We eat as sugar free and low carb as possible. Served it on organic greens. Thanks! Just had to message about the calories because I don’t know where you arrived at that number.
Linda says
This really is the best ever tuna salad! Followed the recipe even to the point of running to the grocery store for fresh dill, the Wild Planet Tuna, and cranberries at 5:30 pm. Glad I did. We ate it soon after mixing it together and it was fabulous. Looking forward to eating the rest after the flavors meld over night. And that video…LOL. 😉
Tracy Koslicki says
Capers and cranberries – of course!!! What an excellent combo! And it’s not drenched in mayo which is usually what kills all tuna salad for me. But I adore capers and have never thought of putting it in a tuna salad – thank you for showing me the Tuna Salad way!
krislongwell says
Hi Tracy!! We just love this tuna salad and think you will, too! Let us know what you think!! xoxo Kris & Wesley