Perfect Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe

The “perfect tuna salad sandwich recipe” is all over the internet, so it comes down to personal taste and preference.  I love a classic tuna sandwich and thought adding mine to the blog made sense.  I feel like everyone grows up eating a tuna recipe and I’m no different.  Over the years mine has evolved and changed depending on my mood, but at its core, it is the same.  Some non-negotiables that I will not add to my recipe are hard-boiled eggs and miracle whip.  Please don’t take offense if you love these two things, I just don’t care for them so they are a hard no!  My recipe calls for canned tuna, chopped celery, green onion, diced dill pickles, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and fresh lemon juice.  These simple ingredients put together make the best tuna salad sandwich. (in my opinion!) 

Here’s what you need to make the perfect tuna salad sandwich:

Tuna- Two cans of tuna.  

I like the solid white albacore tuna from Trader Joe’s.  But any brand will work.  I prefer a water-packed tuna over oil-packed tuna.  One of the most important things I recommend is to drain the tuna very well.  You want it pretty dry because if there is extra water it will make the tuna salad wet. The dryer it is the easier it will be to flake with a fork. 

Fresh Ingredients

• Fresh Lemon- One small lemon, juiced.  

I think it is important to use fresh lemon over the kind you buy in a bottle.  

• Celery- One celery stalk, finely chopped.

This is what gives the tuna salad the crunch it needs.  I think texture is always important.  But if you hate celery like both my girls, then feel free to leave it out.

• Green Onion- One green onion, finely chopped.  

I do not like an oniony tuna sandwich.  So I don’t add a bunch to the salad itself and I chose a green onion for its mild flavor.  If you really love onion, then add red onion slices to the sandwich or you can dice up about 1/4 cup and add it to the tuna mixture instead of the green onion. This is a personal preference many people myself included have a hard time with raw onion so I’d rather add it to the sandwich itself than mix it into the tuna fish salad. 

• Pickles-  Three dill pickle rounds, finely diced. Plus a few more to add to the sandwiches. 

I love the Grillo brand of pickles,  They can be found in the cold section where other pickles are found. If you can’t find this brand any brand will work.  However, I do not use sweet pickles, sweet relish, or sweet pickle relish.  I stack 3 or 4 rounds and dice them up.  I also reserve a few extra for those pickle lovers and add them to the sandwich as well.  

Condiments & Spices

• Mayonnaise– One tablespoon of mayonnaise plus more for the sandwiches. I use Best Foods mayonnaise (Hellman’s in some parts of the country). 
• Dijon Mustard- One tablespoon of Dijon mustard plus more for the sandwiches.   If you do not care for Dijon, you could substitute yellow mustard instead. 
• Salt and Pepper to taste 
• Optional for extra spice add 1/2 tsp red pepper chili flakes. 

Additional ingredients for tuna sandwiches

• Bread–  One sandwich calls for two slices of bread.  So if you are making four sandwiches you will need a total of eight slices of bread.  

Any kind of sandwich bread will work.  I love hearty grain bread or wheat bread, sourdough is always good.  Whatever you like you should use.  I also like my bread toasted.  Again, it’s the texture that I’m going for.  Crunchy bread with creamy tuna salad goes well together.  

• Lettuce- Four pieces of iceberg lettuce.  Hearts of Romaine is also a good choice. 

I like a crisp lettuce that has a bite to it so I don’t love mixed greens or butter lettuce because it’s too soft and delicate.  

• Swiss Cheese- Four slices of Swiss cheese.   Havarti cheese is also a favorite of mine.  

I love to buy my cheese from Trader Joe’s.  The cheese selection is good and affordable.  

How to make the best tuna salad recipe:

One thing I like when eating tuna salad sandwiches is that the ratio of crunch and creamy is even.  This is why I love adding celery to the tuna, toasting the bread adding crisp lettuce it balances the sandwich making each bite perfect for me.  So here’s how to make my tuna recipe.

Prep the ingredients

Begin, by opening and draining two cans of tuna.  As I said above, you must drain the tuna well and get as much liquid out as possible. If there is excess liquid the tuna salad will be watery.   Next, add the tuna to a medium bowl.  Using a fork,  break the solid tuna apart and flake into small pieces.  After that, thinly slice the green onion and finely dice the celery.  When cutting the celery I slice the stalk in half length-wise and then dice it.  Cut the pickles by stacking them and then cut them into small strips and then across so they make very small dice.  

Make the tuna salad

Add everything to the bowl with the tuna.  To the bowl add the mayo, dijon, and lemon juice.  Stir the whole thing until all the ingredients are fully combined.  Taste and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper plus a little bit of pickle juice.  Now the tuna salad is ready to go.  You can use it to make a classic tuna salad sandwich or you could serve it with crackers.  Another option would be to make lettuce wraps or scoop it on top of your favorite salad. If you have the time make a tuna melt on rye bread- This is my all-time favorite thing to order at any diner.  

Make a sandwich

Lightly toast your bread.  Once toasted, add a thin layer of mayo to one slice of bread and dijon to the other slice.  Add a scoop of tuna to one side about a third of a cup.  Then top with pickles and lettuce leaves.  Add a slice of cheese and close the sandwich up.  Cut in half and serve with potato chips and fruit.  

I hope you try my recipe for the perfect tuna salad sandwich.  If you do try it, let me know how you liked it.  Feel free to comment or share a review!

More recipes to try!

Tuna Melt on English Muffin

Tuna Pasta Salad

Chickpea Avocado Sandwich

French Dip Sandwich