Open-Faced Tuna Salad Sandwiches

sandwich recipesmeat & seafoodluncheasy recipesquick recipesfish & seafood

Sep 20

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If you’re looking for a protein-packed and super quick to make lunch that you can make in advance, then you need to make these **Open-Faced Tuna Salad Sandwiches**! With only a couple of basic and cheap ingredients, you can make these tuna salad sandwiches any time you’re pressed for time but want to save money from sandwich shops!

I don’t go to school and I’m lucky enough to work from home, so if I want a nice hot and fresh lunch, I can do that! However, I do get quite busy during lunch and having some meal prep or the option to whip up a quick meal in only 10 minutes is certainly welcome! I think the universal “quick lunch” go-to recipe is a Tuna Salad Sandwich.

Would you believe that I’ve wanted to make a Tuna Sandwich for years? Honestly, although canned tuna is so cheap, protein-packed, and versatile, canned tuna has been a pesky protein for me for years simply because I’ve been really adverse to using it! Let’s be honest here - it’s not very pleasing on the eyes when you open the can up… and it sure has a VERY distinct smell! Draining it is most definitely not something I jump out of bed to do.

However, like the process of many recipes, for instance, peeling and de-veining shrimp for some incredible Shrimp Scampi or to make Shrimp Tempura, the gross moments in the preparation certainly are worth the end results! If you also consider canned tuna a pesky protein because you feel “ick” about what’s on the inside of the can, then I certainly encourage you try out these Open-Faced Tuna Salad Sandwiches as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Not only will you get more comfortable with using canned tuna, but you’ll have a delicious and super easy sandwich as a result of conquering that obstacle! Get started on your cooking journey for free today by signing up to my email newsletter, plus all of my latest recipes will be sent directly to your inbox!

To see how these healthy and extremely delicious Tuna Salad Sandwiches come together in a matter of minutes, be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’re not already, and don’t forget to press the bell button to be notified when all of my latest video recipes are live! Let’s get started!

Tools Needed To Make Open-Faced Tuna Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients for The Best TUna Salad Sandwich Recipe

All ingredients with their quantities can be found by scrolling to the bottom of this post or by pressing the “Jump to Recipe” button for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card, plus you can save the recipe for later. You can also scale the recipe based on how many sandwiches you’re looking to make so that you have the right amount of tuna salad filling - no ratio calculations required for you!

Tuna: I used canned flaked light tuna. If you’re using solid tuna, you’ll need to flake it after draining it.
Dijon mustard: Any type of Dijon mustard will work here, but I’m using a jalapeño dijon mustard since that’s the only one I had on hand! As I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!, if there’s a suitable substitute that you’ve already got on hand, no need to get something else! The jalapeño flavour of this mustard definitely contributed to the flavour of my tuna salad, but no worries if you’ve got regular dijon mustard! If you want some extra kick, you could always add in whole jalapeños.
Dill pickles: You can use whatever type of dill pickles you like, but I’m sticking with plain baby dill pickles here!
Japanese mayo: If you don’t have Japanese mayo, you can certainly use some regular mayonnaise. The Kewpie variety is amazing to add creaminess to this sandwich that regular mayonnaise just won’t give.
Celery: If you really want to cut down on the prep time of this sandwich - or if you’re someone who doesn’t even like celery! - you can even substitute the whole celery with celery salt! You’ll get the same flavour with just a bit without that crunch and potential “overbearing” taste of raw celery.
Chives
Green onions
Sourdough bread

How to Make open-Faced Tuna Salad Sandwich

Drain any excess water from the cans of tuna and transfer the tuna to a large bowl. Add the chopped green onions, chives and celery (use celery salt instead if short on time).

Add mayonnaise, mustard and mix well to combine.

Add chopped dill pickles and some of the pickling juice.

Mix and then taste to adjust the ingredients as per your preferences.

Toast the bread if you prefer and then spread the tuna salad from earlier to the slices of bread.

Add as much or as little as you like.

Tuna salad sandwich is ready to enjoy!

Variations of Tuna Salad Sandwich

No mayo: If you don’t want to use mayo of any kind, you can make the recipe lighter by using sour cream, cottage cheese, or even Greek yogurt.
Heat: Add a touch of sriracha sauce to your tuna salad mixture to bump up the heat!
Fish: Feel free to swap out the canned tuna for canned salmon to experience the same sandwich but with a completely different flavour profile from the salmon!
Chicken: Fancy some poultry? I’ve never actually used canned chicken before, but I’m sure this mixture will be amazing with chicken in place of tuna!
Herbs: You can experiment with dill, basil, or parsley for slightly different flavour profiles.
Add-ins: Lettuce, tomato slices, onion slices, avocado.
Bread: The bread you use can have an impact on the overall experience of your sandwich! Feel free to experiment with white sandwich bread, Belgian bread, or even Ciabatta and discover your favourite with this tuna salad mix!

What If I want to add Cheese to My TUna Sandwich?

Of course you can add some cheese to your Tuna Salad Sandwich! This will turn your sandwich into a Tuna Melt, and it would be prepared in a similar way to grilled cheese. In this case, you want to work with bread slices that are not toasted. Butter two slices of bread, then put the tuna filling on the bottom bread. Next, simply add shredded or sliced cheese (I recommend a combination of cheddar cheese and mozzarella, or some other pully cheese to get flavour and cheesiness!) over the tuna salad mixture. You can either broil the breads if you’re leaving this sandwich open-faced, or you can add a top slice of bread and cook the sandwich over the pan until the cheese is molten.

What to Serve with Tasty Tuna Sandwich

These Open-Faced Tuna Sandwich are well-balanced and have everything you need for a satisfying lunch! However, if you want to pair the sandwiches with a side for a complete meal, then here are some ideas:

TIPS TO Make the Most Delicious Tuna Sandwiches

While regular mayonnaise will work well to make these sandwiches, to get a creamier and richer texture, use the Japanese (kewpie) mayonnaise instead.
Tuna salad sandwich is great on toasted or un-toasted bread, however, not all breads are created equal. I’d pair a regular sandwich bread with the tuna for an un-toasted sandwich while for a toasted sandwich, use something crusty like a sourdough.
Make sure you have drained most of the moisture from the canned tuna to ensure the sandwich does not become soggy.
The best type of canned tuna for this recipe would be a meaty albacore variety.
This tuna salad sandwich recipe can be used to make the most amazing tuna melts by grilling the sandwich with cheese, bacon, avocado and cucumbers for example. Go crazy and make these sandwiches your own.

How to Store Tuna SANDWICHES

The Tuna Salad Filling

Store any extra Tuna Salad filling in an airtight container in the fridge. Due to the tuna, fresh herbs, and mayo in this mixture, I would not keep it in the fridge for longer than 3 to 4 days. The longer you keep the tuna salad filling in the fridge, the more likely it is to become soggy.

The Tuna Salad Sandwiches

You can store assembled tuna salad sandwiches in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. To best preserve them, I recommend you tightly wrap them in plastic wrap. Then, place those wrapped sandwiches in an airtight container. You can reheat them gently over a non-stick pan, or enjoy them cold!

Other Quick And Easy Sandwich Recipes

WATCH HOW TO MAKE Open-Faced Tuna Salad Sandwiches HERE:

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!

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sandwiches & wraps, fish & seafood, easy recipes, quick recipes

American

Yield: 6-8 sandwiches

Author: Anadi

This 10 Minute Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe Will Save Lunchtimehttps://youtu.be/_e8bbdx543ILooking for a quick and easy lunch? Try this 10-minute tuna salad sandwich recipe! This open-faced tuna salad sandwich recipe only requires basic ingredients! This easy tuna salad sandwich recipe is budget-friendly, delicious, and perfect for saving lunchtime.2024-09-20

Super Easy Open-Faced Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe

If you’re looking for a protein-packed and super quick to make lunch that you can make in advance, then you need to make these Open-Faced Tuna Salad Sandwiches! With only a couple of basic and cheap ingredients, you can make these tuna salad sandwiches any time you’re pressed for time but want to save money from sandwich shops!

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 5 MinTotal time: 20 Min

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

For the tuna salad

2 cans of tuna, drained
1-2 dill pickles, chopped with a splash of pickling juice
2 green onions, green and white parts
1/4 Cup finely chopped chives
3/4 Cups Japanese mayo, adjust as needed
1-2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, adjust as needed
1 celery stalk (celery salt can be used as a substitute)
sourdough bread (un-toasted or toasted slices)

Instructions

Drain any excess water from the cans of tuna and transfer the tuna to a large bowl. Add the chopped green onions, chives and celery (use celery salt instead if short on time). Add mayonnaise, mustard and mix well to combine.
Add chopped dill pickles and some of the pickling juice. Mix and then taste to adjust the ingredients as per your preferences.
Toast the bread if you prefer and then spread the tuna salad from earlier to the slices of bread. Add as much or as little as you like and enjoy!