Classic Mayo-Dressed Tuna Salad Sandwiches Recipe

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Senior Culinary Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated Nov. 09, 2018
20160614-tuna-salad-sandwich-vicky-wasik-7.jpg
Photograph: Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Briefly soaking the diced red onion in red wine vinegar tames its pungency and gives it a pop of tartness.
  • Shredding the tuna finely prevents the salad from ending up with any dry bits.
  • A splash of fish sauce or minced anchovy adds a subtle savory hit.

Classic in every way, but with a couple of subtle twists to amp up its flavor and texture, the tuna salad on these sandwiches is packed with bits of celery, rapid-pickled red onion, parsley, and a small dose of fish sauce (or anchovy) for a deeper, more savory flavor.

Recipe Facts

5

(5)

Active: 25 mins
Total: 25 mins
Serves: 4 servings

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Ingredients

  • 1 medium red onion (about 8 ounces; 225g), cut into 1/4-inch dice

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) red wine vinegar

  • 4 (5-ounce; 140g) cans oil-packed tuna, drained

  • 2 stalks celery (about 6 ounces; 170g total), cut into 1/4-inch dice

  • 1 cup (240ml) mayonnaise, plus more as needed

  • 1 ounce (about 10 stalks) flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, minced (about 1/4 packed cup)

  • 1/2 teaspoon (3g) Asian fish sauce or very finely minced oil-packed anchovy fillets (about 2 small fillets)

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 8 slices sandwich bread, very lightly toasted

  • Romaine lettuce leaves, torn, for garnish

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, combine onion and vinegar (vinegar should just cover onion; add more if it does not) and let stand 15 minutes.

  2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine tuna and mayonnaise and mix very well with a spoon until tuna is reduced to very small shreds.

  3. Drain onion well, then add to tuna along with celery, parsley, and fish sauce or anchovy. Mix until well incorporated, then season with salt and pepper. Add more mayo, 1 tablespoon at a time, if desired.

  4. Spoon tuna salad onto 4 bread slices, top with lettuce leaves, then close sandwiches. Serve right away.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
801 Calories
48g Fat
39g Carbs
49g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 801
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 48g 62%
Saturated Fat 8g 38%
Cholesterol 90mg 30%
Sodium 993mg 43%
Total Carbohydrate 39g 14%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 49g
Vitamin C 10mg 50%
Calcium 142mg 11%
Iron 4mg 25%
Potassium 1117mg 24%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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