Scarlett’s Tuna Salad Recipe (2024)

Red pickled onions will last for much longer than a week in your refrigerator- I basically keep a constant jar going- adding new red onions slices when I only need half an onion in a recipe. They are delicious on so many things- sandwiches, lox, cream cheese and bagels.

I've made similar salads with canned mackerel instead of tuna. Mackerel belong to the same family as tuna, with many of the same biological traits, including fat-burning red belly muscle that keeps its body temperature considerably higher than its environment. Apart from costing about half as much as tuna, it is also sustainable (and tastes pretty good, too).

Use a pint jar. After you put the onions in the jar, make up a second batch of brine, pour over the onions to cover, cool, put on the lid, and refrigerate until ready to use. A clove or two of peeled garlic pressed down into the jar of brined onions wouldn't hurt.

Tasty. Easy - even pickling the onions which was a first for me. Wanted more greens so doubled the basil, cilantro and mint. Used 2 avocados. Next time don’t add additional pickling juice to salad. Too tart. Maybe add half a lemon, less half lime juice for more balanced acidic taste. Next will use slightly less olive oil at the end. Because cherry tomatoes are so delicious right now added a handful to the salad. Healthy salad for a hot summer night.

i do the same, but i use the smitten kitchen method where there is no boiling water or hot water required. just equal parts red wine vinegar & cold water, a tablespoon of sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of diamond crystal kosher salt, a couple shots of hot sauce. shake it up and then throw in the onions. i also often add razor thin slices of jalapeno to the mix as well. a staple in our fridge!

Ortiz Bonito del Norte is expensive but wonderful. Genova yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil is more affordable and you can find it in many supermarkets. It is also available at Amazon where you can buy it by the case.

With a few slight adjustments after following the recipe the first time (less lime juice, more avocado, less olive oil) this is one of the best salads I’ve ever eaten, and its become a regular lunch for me. Big jar of pickled onions in the fridge, great on many things, And Italian tuna in olive oil has such a distinctive taste and texture, it’s the only tuna I buy now for anything. Great recipe!

the tuna most likely to end up in cans. While skipjack is not yet overfished, if fishing continues at current rates it won’t be able to sustain itself. What’s more, the methods used to net skipjack all too often catch young yellowfin and bigeye, threatening these species further.

Tuna from wildplanetfoods.com is highly rated on most, if not all, food-related websites. Available at Safeway or on the aforementioned website. Makes a quick and delicious add-on to potato salad as well.

Tonnino tuna filets packed in olive oil will make this sing. It's pretty expensive but worth every penny.

Her brief does not call for cans of chunk light or solid albacore in water, the kinds of tuna that take to mayonnaise as a drowning man does a life ring. (Though those can be pretty good, with chopped celery and capers, a little lemon juice, a little red pepper.) Instead, Tejal champions line-caught fish packed in olive oil, the kind of preparation favored by the Italians who first brought canned tuna to American shores, in the 19th century, the kind that at its best is labeled “ventresca” — me

Wildplanet Foods brand (which is simply packed in its own juice - no oil or water) is also available at Costco.

What types/brands of canned tuna count as “high quality”?

I agree they will last much longer than a week, and they truly are delicious. Using your method, however, it seems that there is no insurance that any individual onion slice is reasonably fresh, or that a small introduced contamination won't remain and grow. Am I missing something?

As someone noted, avocado has a lot of carbs - but most of that is in the form of fiber. So if you count net carbs, there are very few in avocado.

loved this! oil-packed tuna in a jar is so delish! I added arugula under everything. I made the lime juice and olive oil into a vinaigrette to drizzle over the top. wish I would have tasted the oil from the tuna. might have used it instead of the regular olive oil

Wonderfully delicious, easy, and fast. (Cheated and used store-bought pickled red onions.) Will be making this often through the summer.

This was so good, kind of reminded me of ceviche. I was lazy and hungry so didn’t follow the directions for the pickled onions…I just did a 5 minute quick pickle and was still great. Also didn’t add olive oil at end, because I forgot about it. but it was so flavourful already, didn’t feel like I needed it!

Incredible and so easy

This is the best tuna salad ever! I did an ersatz job of the pickling & it still came out great.

This was wonderful, a "keeper," as they say. As we were finishing up the last delicious bites, I suddenly realized I'd forgotten to drizzle on the olive oil at the end. But it seemed perfect just as it was, and I'm thinking I'll continue to serve it that way.

For those interested in not eating flesh, drain and rinse canned garbanzo beans, then crush (leaving some barely crushed) and follow the recipe from here!

I made this as written except for adding a couple of radishes. Just two of us so laid it out in two serving bowls. It was simple, delicious and a perfect light summertime dinner!

What a wonderful salad! Perfect exactly as the recipe calls for, and fortunately for me I already had pickled onions in the refrigerator. Also very easy and refreshing.

Subbed in canned heart of palm for the avocado. Turned out great!

This was delicious! I skipped the olive oil at the end and don't think I missed it. Used jarred Tonnino tuna and it was worth it. Pickled red onions are such a great accompaniment to so many things, but I simplified the preparation by heating the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolved, then pouring that over the onions and let cool. I love the leftovers on breakfast tacos. I assembled this in the morning and brought to work. It didn't suffer from sitting at room temp before eating.

Add Pearl couscous! Delicious.

Red pickled onions will last for much longer than a week in your refrigerator.I've made similar salads with canned mackerel instead of tuna.Tasty. Easy - even pickling the onions which was a first for me. Wanted more greens so doubled the basil, cilantro and mint. Used 2 avocados. Next time don’t add additional pickling juice to salad. Too tart. Maybe add half a lemon, less half lime juice for more balanced acidic taste. Next will use slightly less olive oil at the end.Wildplanet Foods brand

What's the best substitute for rice-WINE vinegar? I haven't found this at Asian nor gourmet groceries near me in a foodie city.

Made without pickling onions still good!