If you’re looking for a stellar lunch time recipe, this Simple & Sneaky Tuna Salad is your new best food buddy.
Why’s it sneaky? Well, it’s one of the ways I add super nutritious seafood into meals without anyone being any the wiser. Rather than making a straight up tuna salad, I like to mix the tuna with other canned seafood options, like sardines, mackerel or anchovies. All of which are packed with healthy omega 3s and their higher fat content helps make for a much more satisfying and satiating “tuna” salad.
This version of my sneaky tuna salad uses boneless skinless sardines as they’re really mild in flavor. You can buy them online, but they’re much cheaper to buy in stores for some reason. I find this brand inexpensively at Costco, along with the great wild caught albacore tuna that I use in this recipe.
For a quick lunch, I whip up this Simple & Sneaky Tuna Salad, pile it onto whatever salad greens I have and grab some plantain chips or sweet potato chips to serve on the side for crunch. Even better? My Lemon Garlic Plantain Chips are bomb with this!
If I’m whipping this up in advance to take on the go, or if I’m planning on having leftovers, I’ll swap out the avocado for an alternative as it will brown pretty quickly. Whisk together about 1/3 cup of coconut cream with a teaspoon or so of fresh lemon juice, plus salt and garlic powder to taste. This version of sneaky tuna salad will happily keep in the fridge overnight so you can take it for lunch the next day.
Feeling more adventurous? Try these instead of the boneless skinless sardines:
- Whole Wild Caught Sardines
- Wild Smoked Sardines
- Boneless Skinless Mackerel
- Wild White Anchovies (not to be confused with flat anchovy fillets!)
- Wild Kippers – these are smoked herring fillets
Sneaky Tuna Salad
Want a way to upgrade your usual tuna salad to something with a bit more flavor & nutrition? Make this sneaky tuna salad instead. Shhh, I won’t tell!
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 2 medium avocados, see notes for travel friendly substitution
- 1 5 oz / 143 g can of wild caught albacore tuna
- 1 3.75 oz – 4.375 / 108 g – 124 g can of boneless skinless sardines in olive oil
- 1 stick of celery, chopped finely
- Diced red onion, to taste
- Fresh lemon juice, or preservative free bottled lemon juice, to taste
- Fine sea salt, to taste
Optional garnish:
- Rinsed salted capers or non pareil capers
- Chopped cilantro, parsley or chives
To serve:
- Lettuce or mixed greens
- Sweet potato chips, plantain strips, or plantain chips
Instructions
- MASH: Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop out the avocado into a bowl and use a fork to mash them until they have no large lumps. Spoon the mashed avocado into a mixing bowl.
- FLAKE: Drain the tuna and flake it into the bowl. Flake the sardines into the bowl and add a little splash of the olive oil, discarding the rest.
- MIX: Add the chopped celery, diced onion, lemon juice and salt to the bowl. Use a fork to mash and stir until evenly combined. Taste and adjust lemon and salt again if needed.
- SERVE: Spoon the tuna salad over lettuce or greens in a bowl and garnish with capers & cilantro, if you like. Serve with a side of plantain chips for crunchy-snacky fun!
Notes
The avocados in this recipe mean it’s best eaten straight away. If you want to make your Sneaky Tuna Salad ahead of time or to save some for later, swap the mashed avocado for 1/3 cup of coconut cream whisked together until smooth with a teaspoon or so of fresh lemon juice, plus salt and garlic powder to taste.
Looking for other easy seafood lunches? Try these recipes:
Want to learn more about all the other exciting and easy canned seafood options out there?
Check out my Everything But The Tuna guide, complete with lots of easy AIP friendly recipes for everything from sardines and mackerel to smoked oysters and anchovies!
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