This Tuna Salad NO Mayo dish starts with olive oil-packed tuna, crisp cucumbers, creamy avocado, and garlicky chives dressed in a grainy mustard vinaigrette. Trust me, you won’t miss the mayo here! This salad is fresh, vibrant, and nutritious.
This Tuna Salad No Mayo Meal is part of our Back-To-School Lifesavers — a series of recipes that are intended to have little (or no) veggie chopping, minimal prep time, around 10 ingredients, or less (not including pantry staples), and use kid-friendly ingredients. Click here to see all the recipes in the series!
Tuna Salad NO Mayo
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of mayo. And truthfully, I adore a good mayo-filled tuna salad (our favorite here). But sometimes, I’m craving something a bit lighter and fresher. That’s where this salad comes in and I can not get enough of it!
It’s got all the perfect textures with a bright and tangy lemon-dijon vinaigrette that ties everything together perfectly. My husband loves this tuna salad in a sandwich with toasted sourdough bread (with mayo -ha!), greens, and tomatoes. My kids like it best with crackers and truthfully I like it straight out of the bowl best!
Serving Suggestions
In true back-to-school lifesaver form, this is a meal that can be made however you like and whatever is easiest. Enjoy it right out of the bowl, added to bread for a sandwich, added to a bed of mixed greens, make it into tuna melts, use it as a filling for lettuce wraps, stuff it in avocados, etc.
What Is A Good Substitute For Mayo In Tuna Salad?
A light vinaigrette! This dressing is the perfect complement to the tuna and veggies in this mayo-less tuna salad. It’s bright, citrusy, and tangy. If you love dijon and grainy mustard, you will be obsessed!
Here’s a quick breakdown of the ingredients for this Tuna Salad no mayo needed vinaigrette:
- Dijon mustard. We love Grey Poupon® Dijon best. Make sure to use Dijon, not yellow mustard.
- Stone-ground mustard. If you aren’t familiar with this type of mustard, it’s made by grinding brown mustard seeds with vinegar and water to become a coarse textured spread. It adds a strong flavor and subtle texture in this salad. Typically you’ll find it right next to Dijon in the grocery store.
- Lemon juice. This ingredient really makes the flavors pop. Be sure to use fresh lemon, not bottled for the best flavor.
- Olive oil. We recommend extra virgin olive oil for this recipe. Better oil = better flavor.
- Red Wine Vinegar. This vinegar adds even more tang to the salad.
- Salt & pepper. Every dressing needs salt and pepper, and this vinaigrette is no exception. Add to taste preference, and keep in mind that canned tuna can vary in saltiness.
What Can I Mix Canned Tuna With?
Beyond the vinaigrette, we mix canned tuna with avocado, cucumber, jalapeño, and chives.
More Details On The Additions To This Tuna Salad No Mayo Dish:
- Avocado: This tuna salad recipe with no mayo depends on a ripe avocado to add that creaminess that mayo typically adds. To tell if an avocado is ripe, press gently; they should yield slightly (think: touching the tip of your nose).
- Chives: The chives add a nice herby element and garlicky flavor. Feel free to leave them out replace them with parsley or basil.
- Cucumbers: We love and highly recommend English or Persian cucumbers (sometimes labeled as mini cucumbers) which have a wonderful texture and superior flavor.
- Jalapeños: Totally optional ingredient, but a nice hit of spice. Add more of the jalapeño for a spicier salad; or add slowly if you’re worried about the heat. (Wrinkly jalapeños are going to be spicier than smooth jalapeños.)
Quick Tip
For this no mayo Tuna Salad, we recommend using a canned tuna packed in olive oil for the best flavor. My personal favorite is Genova’s® albacore tuna. Tuna packed in olive oil is richer and has a fresher flavor.
Storage
Tuna Salad No Mayo: Storage
This salad lasts pretty nicely for about 24 hours (we love making it in the afternoon and enjoying it chilled for dinner). Beyond that, it doesn’t store very well (everything will taste a bit fishy after sitting for an extended period of time. Additionally, the avocados begin to break down and brown.)
More Tuna Recipes:
- Tuna Patties with a quick tartar sauce
- Tuna Macaroni Salad with the best creamy dressing
- Avocado Tuna Salad with pickles and red onions
- Tuna-White Bean Salad with sun-dried tomatoes
- Tuna Casserole made in one pan
Tuna Salad NO Mayo
Equipment
- Medium bowl
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard see note 1
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon celery seed optional
Salad
- 1-1/2 tablespoons finely minced and seeded jalapeño optional, 1 jalapeño
- 1/4 cup diced chives
- 1-1/2 cups diced Persian cucumbers or English cucumber
- 1 medium ripe avocado diced
- 2 (5-ounce) cans tuna packed in olive oil well-drained
- Salt and pepper
- Serving suggestions see note 2
Instructions
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Use a whisk to briskly whisk until smooth and emulsified.
- Thoroughly drain the tuna and add to the bowl on top of the vinaigrette.
- Finely mince jalapeño (see note 3), dice chives, dice cucumber(s), and dice avocado. Add to the dressing bowl. Gently mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I add 1/4 up to 1/2 teaspoon of each).
- Chill for 10–15 minutes if time permits, otherwise dig in right away—either straight from the bowl, with crackers, in a sandwich/melt, in a lettuce wrap, or whatever you’d like! Always re-stir leftovers.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is my mother’s favorite. She’s not back to school (lol), but she always asks me to make this. I use one can of tuna in oil and the other in water and that work well!
Haha, so thrilled to hear this! Thanks Stephanie! 🙂