Tuna Melts

Make Tuna Melts with toasted English muffins, a simple creamy tuna mixture, and lots of melty Cheddar!

Tuna Melts

Canned tuna is a starting canvas for some of the quickest-ever meals (hello Tuna-White Bean Salad!), and when we pair it with some hearty carbs (English muffins) and loads of melty Cheddar, it makes the perfect filling, family-friendly meal.

I wanted this recipe to be as simple as possible, so instead of finely chopping a bunch of veggies like Tuna Salad recipes usually call for, we throw everything in the food processor to do the work for us!

By combining everything in the food processor and letting it whiz, the prep on these melts is ridiculously simple.

Is a Tuna Melt hot or cold?

Tuna melts are hot sandwiches, intended to be served right out of the oven. On the other hand, tuna salad sandwiches are the cold version and are intended to be served chilled.

Tuna Melt Ingredients

There aren’t too many other ingredients in this recipe, but below are a few notes about some of the other ingredients.

• Canned tuna. I highly recommend tuna that has been packed in extra-virgin olive oil; it makes a huge difference to the overall taste of the Tuna Melts. Our favorite is Genova’s® canned tuna (not sponsored).
• Mayo. The mayonnaise adds a nice creaminess and holds everything together well. We love Hellman’s/Best Foods® in this recipe.
• Bread and butter pickles. This particular variety of pickles has the best balance between sweet and tangy. They’re also very crisp!
• Flat-leaf Italian parsley. Typically there is flat-leaf Italian parsley and curly parsley in the produce section of the store. Avoid curly parsley– it’s usually used as a garnish and won’t contribute much flavor to these Tuna Melts.

Ingredients, Continued

• Dijon and lemon juice. We love the strong complementary flavors of lemon and Dijon mustard in this recipe. If you don’t love either flavor, simply leave them out.
• Red onion. If you’re sensitive to the flavor of raw red onion, soak the diced onions in salted ice water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly before using in these Tuna Melts.
• Cheese. We like sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar cheese as opposed to mild Cheddar because the flavor is so much more robust.
• English muffins. We love these Tuna Melts on English muffins, but feel free to use a different type of bread — whatever you like best.

Tuna Melt Tips

• Watch the broiler carefully. The English muffins can go from perfectly golden and toasted to burned in a matter of seconds.
• Add a tomato. A lot of tuna melts recipes add in a sliced tomato between the tuna mixture and the cheese. It adds a nice flavor and texture, so add one if you’d like!
• Add mayo to preference. After adding the mayo to the tuna mixture, feel free to add a touch more for a creamier consistency.
• Slice the Cheddar very thinly. If the Cheddar slices are too thick, they won’t melt as nicely and the flavor becomes a bit overpowering.
• Eat right out of the oven. Tuna Melts aren’t great after sitting out and they don’t store well — they get soggy quickly. Call your family for dinner a minute before you pull them out and enjoy them quickly!

More tuna recipes:

• Tuna Stack with mashed avocado
• Mediterranean Tuna Salad with a lemon vinaigrette
• Tuna Pasta made in one skillet!
• Tuna Macaroni Salad with pickles, pepper, and celery
• Avocado Tuna Salad with an avocado-based dressing

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5 from 3 votes

Tuna Melts

By Chelsea Lords

Tuna Melts start with toasted English muffins, piled with a creamy tuna mixture, and topped with melty Cheddar cheese. It’s a satisfying meal that’s easy to whip up for lunch or dinner!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Equipment

• Food Processor

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 English muffins split in half, or 4 slices of rye/sourdough bread
• ▢ Softened unsalted butter optional, for the muffins
• ▢ 3 (5-ounce) cans tuna drained and flaked with a fork, see note 1
• ▢ 1/3 cup celery
• ▢ 1/3 cup flat-leaf fresh parsley
• ▢ 1/4 cup bread and butter pickles
• ▢ 1/4 cup red onion
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1/3 cup mayo
• ▢ 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• ▢ 6 slices shredded sharp Cheddar cheese or extra sharp Cheddar cheese; or 1 cup

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Coarsely chop celery into 2-inch pieces, rip off parsley from the bunch, and coarsely chop red onion. Add these ingredients along with the drained pickles to a food processor. Pulse to chop until finely chopped, about 20–30 seconds. Use a spoon to scrape down edges if needed and pulse again. Transfer to a bowl and add drained and flaked tuna, mayo, lemon, mustard, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.) Stir, adding more mayo if a creamier consistency is desired.
• If desired, butter and toast each English muffin (in the toaster or under the broiler). Leave on oven.
• Divide tuna mixture evenly among the English muffins. Add a thin slice of Cheddar or a few tablespoons grated cheese. Place in oven and bake 5 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted on top. Enjoy immediately!

Recipe Notes

Storage: It’s best not to store completed tuna melts. If you need to, they can stay in the fridge for up to one day in an airtight container. You can mix the tuna, celery, parsley, pickles, red onion, lemon juice, mayo, olive oil, and mustard up to 2 days before and keep in the fridge in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 653kcal | Carbohydrates: 39.7g | Protein: 42.4g | Fat: 36g | Cholesterol: 116.6mg | Sodium: 968.3mg | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 3.3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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