Mediterranean Tuna Salad with Mayo: A Fresh, Flavorful, and Easy Recipe for Any Meal
If you’re searching for a vibrant, fresh, and incredibly delicious tuna salad that offers a delightful twist on the classic, you’ve found your perfect recipe! This Mediterranean Tuna Salad with Mayo is a culinary gem, bursting with a medley of colorful vegetables, hearty beans, succulent albacore tuna, and tangy feta cheese. What truly sets it apart is our homemade, creamy herbed lemon dressing, crafted with rich mayonnaise for an unparalleled flavor experience. It’s an ideal choice for a light yet satisfying lunch or a quick dinner, making it a fantastic addition to your weekly meal rotation or a perfect meal during Lent.
Why You’ll Love This Mediterranean Tuna Salad
This isn’t just any tuna salad; it’s a celebration of Mediterranean flavors brought together with a creamy, zesty dressing. While many Mediterranean salads opt for oil and vinegar, our unique mayo-based dressing adds a luxurious richness and smooth texture that perfectly complements the fresh ingredients. It transforms a simple tuna salad into a gourmet experience that’s still incredibly easy to prepare. Whether you serve it as a stand-alone dish, a filling for wraps or pitas, or a topping for crisp crackers, its versatility and refreshing taste make it a crowd-pleaser.
Choosing the Best Tuna for Tuna Salad
Selecting the right canned tuna is paramount to achieving the perfect texture and flavor for your tuna salad. With a myriad of options available, it can sometimes feel overwhelming. For this Mediterranean Tuna Salad, I strongly recommend using canned albacore tuna packed in water. Albacore tuna stands out due to its superior qualities:
- Meatier Texture: Albacore offers a firm, substantial texture that holds up well in a salad, providing satisfying chunks rather than a mushy consistency often found with chunk light tuna.
- Mild, Clean Flavor: Its delicate flavor profile ensures it doesn’t overpower the fresh herbs and vegetables in the Mediterranean mix, allowing all the ingredients to shine harmoniously.
- Flakes Beautifully: When gently flaked, albacore separates into lovely, distinct pieces, enhancing the visual appeal and eating experience of the salad.
While albacore is typically a bit pricier than chunk light tuna, its quality justifies the slight increase in cost. It remains more affordable than premium yellowfin tuna, striking a perfect balance between quality and value. Always ensure your tuna is thoroughly drained of its canning liquid to prevent a watery salad. For more insights on tuna varieties, you can explore resources like picking the best canned tuna. If you enjoy experimenting with different tuna salad variations, you might also like our Buffalo Tuna Salad.
Crafting the Irresistible Creamy Herbed Lemon Dressing with Mayo
The dressing is the secret weapon of this Mediterranean Tuna Salad, making it truly distinctive. Unlike many traditional Mediterranean recipes that rely solely on olive oil and vinegar, our version embraces the creamy richness of mayonnaise, elevated with fresh herbs and zesty lemon. I’ve experimented with Greek yogurt in tuna recipes, but I find that mayo offers a superior texture and stability. Greek yogurt can sometimes become watery as it sits, compromising the salad’s consistency, whereas mayo maintains its luscious creaminess. Plus, I simply adore the taste of a well-made mayo!
Our mayo-based dressing is jazzed up with an exquisite blend of fresh parsley and basil, aromatic garlic, earthy oregano, and the bright tang of fresh-squeezed lemon juice. While bottled lemon juice can be used in a pinch, fresh lemon juice truly makes a significant difference, infusing the salad with a brighter, fresher, and more vibrant flavor. To prepare this delightful dressing, simply toss all the ingredients into your food processor or blender and blitz until smooth and beautifully combined. If you don’t have a food processor, finely chop the herbs and garlic, then whisk all ingredients together vigorously until emulsified.
*If you prefer to avoid mayonnaise entirely, a fantastic alternative is to substitute with an equal amount of well-mashed avocado for a similarly creamy texture and added healthy fats. Alternatively, for a slightly healthier option that still offers creaminess, try using half mayo and half Greek yogurt.
Prepping Your Ingredients for Perfection
Most of the effort in creating this salad lies in the meticulous preparation and chopping of your fresh vegetables and canned goods. Proper preparation ensures the best texture and prevents your salad from becoming watery. Here are key tips:
- Drain Canned Ingredients Thoroughly: For the canned tuna, cannellini beans, and artichoke hearts, it is super important to drain them as thoroughly as possible. For the beans, give them a good rinse under cold water after draining to remove excess sodium and starchy canning liquid. You can even gently squeeze excess liquid from the artichoke hearts. This step prevents your salad from becoming soggy.
- Seed Cucumbers and Tomatoes: I highly recommend seeding both your cucumbers and tomatoes. The watery pulp within these vegetables can release a lot of liquid as the salad sits, making it watery and diminishing the crispness. Removing the seeds helps maintain the salad’s fresh texture.
- Finely Chop Shallots: Shallots add a delicate, pungent flavor without the harshness of a raw onion. Finely chopping them ensures they distribute evenly throughout the salad without overpowering other ingredients.
Once your ingredients are prepped, gently combine everything in a large bowl with the dressing, taking care not to over-mix or mash the tuna into tiny pieces. We want those beautiful, flaky chunks of albacore!
Suggested Additions and Substitutions for Your Mediterranean Tuna Salad
One of the beauties of this Mediterranean Tuna Salad recipe is its flexibility. Feel free to customize the ingredients to suit your personal tastes or utilize what you already have on hand. Here are some fantastic suggestions to inspire your culinary creativity:
- Red Onion: For a sharper, more pungent bite, finely diced red onion can be a wonderful addition, especially if you enjoy a stronger allium flavor than shallots provide.
- Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas): These add another layer of protein, fiber, and a nutty flavor. They integrate perfectly with the Mediterranean theme and contribute to a more substantial salad.
- Capers: For an extra burst of briny, salty flavor, capers are an excellent choice. Their distinct taste complements tuna beautifully.
- Bell Peppers: Diced red, yellow, or orange bell peppers can add more sweetness, crunch, and a vibrant splash of color. They’re also packed with vitamins.
- Roasted Red Peppers: Jarred roasted red peppers (drained and chopped) offer a smoky, sweet depth that contrasts wonderfully with the fresh vegetables and creamy dressing.
- Pepperoncini: If you like a little heat and tang, sliced pepperoncini can introduce a delightful kick and a distinct pickled flavor.
- Avocado: Creamy diced avocado adds healthy fats and a smooth texture. Add it just before serving to prevent browning.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Chop oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes for an intense, sweet-tart flavor that truly enhances the Mediterranean profile.
- Celery: A classic tuna salad ingredient, finely diced celery adds a refreshing crunch and a subtle earthy note.
Serving Suggestions for Every Occasion
This Mediterranean Tuna Salad is incredibly versatile, making it suitable for a wide array of serving options:
- Stand-Alone Meal: Enjoy it straight from the bowl for a fulfilling, low-carb meal.
- Wraps and Pitas: It makes a fantastic, flavorful filling for warm pita bread pockets or soft tortillas, perfect for a grab-and-go lunch.
- Crackers or Crostini: Spoon it onto your favorite crackers or toasted baguette slices for a delightful appetizer or snack.
- Salad Bed: Serve it over a bed of fresh mixed spring greens, spinach, or chopped romaine for an extra boost of vegetables and a light presentation.
*If you plan to make this salad ahead of time for meal prep or a future gathering, it’s crucial to wait until just before serving to add the dressing. This simple step helps maintain the freshest flavors, prevents the vegetables from becoming soggy, and ensures the tuna doesn’t absorb too much of the dressing, preserving the perfect balance of ingredients. Store the undressed salad and dressing separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator.
Explore More Delicious Salad Recipes
If you’re a fan of fresh, vibrant salads, be sure to check out some of our other simple yet flavorful recipes:
- Sriracha Shrimp Pasta Salad
- Old Fashioned Kidney Bean Salad
- Curried Couscous Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
Mediterranean Tuna Salad with Mayo
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Ingredients
Creamy Lemon Herb Mayonnaise Dressing
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
- 3-4 fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Salad
- 1 12 ounce can albacore tuna
- 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans*
- 1 13.75 can quartered artichoke hearts
- 1 english cucumber
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 2 shallots*
- 1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives
- 2 ounces feta cheese crumbles
Instructions
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Add all the ingredients for the Creamy Lemon Herb Mayonnaise dressing to a food processor or blender and whizz until well blended. If you don’t have either of these kitchen tools, finely chop the herbs and whisk the dressing together until well blended. Set aside.
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Drain the canned items well and rinse the canning liquid from the beans. You may squeeze out any extra liquid from the artichokes.
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Seed and chop the cucumbers and tomatoes.
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Finely chop the shallot.
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Add all the ingredients to large bowl and combine with the dressing taking care not to mash the tuna into tiny pieces.
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Serve by itself or in a pita bread.
Notes
*Garbanzo beans may be substituted for the cannellini beans.
*1/4 cup chopped red onion may be substituted for the shallots.
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This Mediterranean Tuna Salad with Mayo is more than just a meal; it’s a testament to how simple ingredients can come together to create something truly extraordinary. With its vibrant colors, fresh flavors, and satisfying textures, it promises to be a staple in your kitchen. Enjoy the ease of preparation and the delicious results that will transport your taste buds straight to the Mediterranean coast. Don’t forget to share your creations and feedback!