Simple Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe

We'll set the scene for you: You're 10 years old and just spent your Saturday morning playing outside with your neighborhood friends. You come inside and your mom has served up your favorite lunch: classic tuna salad sandwiches along with some apple slices and potato chips. Does life get any better than this?

Luckily for you, tuna salad sandwiches are not just for kids. They make great lunches for adults, too. Recipe developer and registered dietitian nutritionist, Kristen Carli, MS, RD, brings us this recipe for a simple tuna salad sandwich. Though highly customizable, this recipe packs a punch of flavor with ingredients like Dijon mustard, red onion, and lemon pepper. If you want, you can easily get creative with different spices and add-ins. Some alternatives include diced pickles, fresh dill, paprika, Creole seasoning, Greek yogurt, or even diced apples. Whatever you decide, this recipe comes together in less than 10 minutes, meaning you can have a delicious and protein-packed lunch on the table in no time.

To make this simple tuna salad sandwich, you can start by gathering your ingredients. For this recipe, you will need tuna, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, diced celery, diced red onion, salt, lemon pepper, and rye bread.

Add the tuna into a small bowl, flaking it with a fork. Then, add the Dijon mustard and mayonnaise. We recommend using a chunk light tuna — the kind found in the aluminum pouch or the can. But feel free to use any other type of cooked tuna you would like, such as wild caught, albacore, or yellowfin.

Then, add the diced celery and red onion into the bowl. If you like a chunky-textured tuna salad, like us, keep the veggies in a standard dice size. If you want a more uniform consistency, you can dice your celery and onion even more finely. 

Finally, add the salt and lemon pepper before stirring the tuna salad well. We feel that lemon pepper is one of the most underused seasonings out there — it adds a little brightness and zest to this tuna salad recipe.

Lastly, toast up the rye bread slices. We are big fans of seeded rye bread for use with our tuna salad sandwiches, but feel free to substitute other types of bread, such as sourdough or whole wheat. Once the bread is toasted, scoop the prepared tuna salad onto the slices, assemble into a sandwich, and enjoy.