This healthy avocado tuna salad came about in the spring of 2020. Like everyone else, I was home during the quarantine with a pantry full of canned tuna to use up. I love cooking, but prepping breakfast, lunch, and dinner on repeat got tiresome, and I craved a lunch that needed no cooking. I'm also just not a mayo person, and I wanted something lighter that felt like real, whole food, so I mashed an avocado into the tuna instead. It turned out creamy and fresh, and it's been my go-to ever since.
It's a healthy tuna salad with no mayo, no cooking, one bowl, and about 5 minutes of work, or however long it takes you to cut up some radishes and cucumber. Mashed avocado replaces the mayonnaise, cucumber and radishes add crunch, and lemon and cilantro keep it bright. It's also perfect for work lunches and busy days. Serve it on bread, in a wrap, over greens, or with rye thin crackers on the side. It's best fresh, but you can make it a day ahead.
Tuna salad ingredients
- Tuna: canned or pouch, water-packed. Drain well. I like the Wild Planet Tuna
- Avocado: ripe, mashed. This creamy base replaces mayonnaise.
- Cucumbers and radishes: give the salad crunch. The radishes add a peppery bite.
- Lemon: brightens the salad, brings the flavors together, and slows avocado from browning.
- Fresh herbs: cilantro, parsley, or mint work well.
- Everything but the bagel seasoning: adds salt and crunch. You can leave it out and use salt instead.
Allergens:
Sesame, Fish
How to make tuna salad?
This healthy lunch salad is as simple as mixing everything in a bowl.
- Drain the tuna and break it up into smaller pieces in a bowl.
- Slice an avocado in half, mash it with a fork, and mix it into the tuna. The mashed avocado works as the binder, instead of traditional mayonnaise.
- Juice half a lemon to bring it all together.
- Season with salt. Skip if your everything bagel seasoning already has salt in it.
- Add diced cucumber and radishes.
- Add fresh cilantro or another herb you like (parsley or mint would work nicely) and sprinkle with everything but the bagel seasoning.
What to serve with tuna salad
Here are a few easy ways to serve it:
- Grab a fork and dig in, right out of the bowl.
- Top with a boiled egg and a side of crackers.
- Serve in a wrap, on sourdough, or with rye crackers.
- Keeping it gluten-free or low-carb? Wrap it in lettuce or collard greens, or use cassava tortillas.
recipe tips
- Keep the avocado from browning: Mix the lemon (or lime) juice in right away, since the acid helps slow browning. If you're making it ahead, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It's best fresh, but it holds up well for a day.
- Use a ripe avocado: It should give slightly when you press it. A ripe avocado mashes easily and makes the salad creamy, while an underripe one stays chunky.
- Drain the tuna well: Extra liquid makes the salad watery and thins out the avocado.
- Taste before adding salt: Everything bagel seasoning is already salty, so add the seasoning first and salt only if you need it.
- Seasoning: I like Everything but the Bagel from Trader Joe's, but it's easy to make your own. Maria from Two Peas & Their Pod has a recipe from scratch.
- Allergy note: Most everything bagel blends contain sesame. If sesame is a concern, check the label, or leave it out and use salt instead.
recipe FAQ
Yes. Mashed avocado is what I use instead of mayonnaise here, and it makes the salad creamy without any dairy. If you'd like a different base, plain Greek yogurt or a drizzle of olive oil with a little Dijon mustard also work.
It's best fresh, but you can make it a day ahead. The lemon (or lime) juice helps keep the avocado from browning. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. This isn't a recipe to meal prep for the whole week, because the avocado will brown.
Yes. It needs no cooking and no reheating, and it comes together in about 5 minutes. Make it that morning or the night before, and pack it with bread, a tortilla, crackers, or lettuce leaves and assemble at lunchtime so nothing gets soggy.
The salad itself is. Serve it in lettuce wraps or on gluten-free bread, and check the label on your everything-bagel seasoning.
more No-Mayo recipes
If you're not a mayo person either, here are two more of my favorites:
Healthy egg salad without mayo - creamy and high-protein, made with Greek yogurt instead of mayo.
Broccoli apple slaw with no mayo - crunchy and nut-free, with a dressing that skips mayo.
More Salad Recipes
Healthy Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can tuna, drained
- 1 avocado, mashed
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 3 radishes, diced
- ½ small lemon, juiced
- handful cilantro, chopped into small pieces
- salt
- everything but the bagel spice
Instructions
- In a bowl, mash up an avocado. Mix tuna with avocado in a bowl, until well coated.
- Add cucumber, radishes, and juice of a lemon and mix.
- Season with salt, everything but the bagel spice and sprinkle with cilantro.
Kathryn says
As someone else who abhors mayonnaise, this recipe is right up my alley! I have two packs of tuna waiting for this recipe in my pantry!
Alla says
Glad to know there are more of us. Can't beat quick and easy!
Inna Rosenfeld says
Thank you for this great recipe
Alla says
So glad you enjoyed it!