I’ve been sitting here staring at my computer screen for about thirty minutes now trying to think of something to say about tuna salad.
Tuna salad. Seriously?
It’s one of those things that most of us throw together without much thought. And I’d bet that almost every person reading this makes theirs just a little differently. Maybe you like pickles in yours and maybe you don’t. Maybe someone else likes a tiny bit of mustard stirred in or some finely chopped scallion.
BeeBop definitely likes what I call a savory tuna salad. Finely chopped dill pickles, finely chopped green onion, a tiny touch of mustard and mayo to bind it all together. I, however, prefer this sweet tuna salad. It has just the right amount of sweetness from the apple and pickles and just the right amount of savory from the tuna and mayonnaise.
Must be my deep South roots. Southerners love their “sweet and salt” you know. Oh yes, give us a biscuit with a pat of butter, a slice of salty ham and spoonful of sweet peach preserves and we’re in heaven. Or some perfectly cooked field peas or butter beans with a bit of pear relish on the side. It’s as much a part of us as please and thank you, yes ma’am and no ma’am, and y’all.
So, with a nod to my fellow Southerners who no doubt understood the previous paragraph perfectly, here’s my favorite tuna salad.
Simply place all the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and stir gently to combine. Serve as sandwiches or as a salad with fresh, sliced tomatoes and crackers or melba toast.
Enjoy!
Tuna salad made with crispy, diced apple and sweet pickle relish.
Ingredients
- 2 4.5 oz cans light tuna in extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium apple, diced small
- 1 rib celery, diced small
- 2-3 tblsp. sweet pickle relish, lightly drained
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 4 tblsp. light mayonnaise
Instructions
- Drain the tuna of any excess oil.
- Place all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
- Stir gently to combine.
- Serve as sandwiches or a salad with fresh, sliced tomatoes and crackers or melba toast.
More tuna salad recipes you might enjoy from around the internet:
- Simply Recipes’ Tuna Salad Sandwich
- Simon’s Famous Tuna Salad from Taste of Home
- Ina Garten’s Tuna Salad on Food Network
- Tuna Caesar Antipasto Salad from Star Kist
- Chicken of the Sea’s Bloody Mary Tuna Salad
What I was cooking…
- One year ago: Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
- Two years ago: Meatloaf Burgers
- Three years ago: Herbed Baked Eggs
Enter your email address below to get each new post via email. We promise we'll never send spam or give your email address to anyone else.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I have never had apple in my tuna salad – so see, you did have something different to say about it!
Nancy – you must try a little apple in your tuna salad sometime. It’s different, unexpected, and altogether delicious!
Love the apples! And gotta have sweet pickles in tuna, it’s the best.
And, of course, celery. Gotta have that crunch.
The ultimate sweet and savory combinations: PayDay candy bars and pineapple casserole (which gets extra points for cheese). Yep. Can’t beat ‘em.
Miss P
Now you’ve done it. I’m suddenly craving a PayDay. I bet I haven’t had one in ten years. I’m on the verge of getting in the car and going to the store just to get one. Dang it.
I bet you could make one. Nougat + peanuts. Sounds great!
Miss P
BeeBop saw our comments and brought me one home from work. I think I’ll keep him :-)
I was stumped on what to write in my most recent post too, sometimes it is just okay to share a fun recipe I guess:-) Your tuna salad sounds yummy, love putting pickles with tuna salad! Hugs, Terra
I was just craving a tuna melt!
I hear ya on the sweet-salty Southern thing! I think we invented the trend, but we’ll let Yankees take credit with their fancy fleur de sel caramels. We’ll eat Velveeta fudge, thankyoumuch.
:)
Ha! That Velveeta fudge is really good, too.
Sounds like you have this recipe right. This is everything that I put in mine with a few exceptions. As you know, we have always added apple. Of course that comes from Polly. She learned it from her Mother so–it’s a family thing.
I didn’t know where that came from! I really like that crunchy, sweet apple in it. Bill likes his with dill and onion. I just make two different ones – one for him and one for me :-)
Seriously. Walmart Brand Tuna. They win hands down if you haven’t tried it. I like their canned Salmon better than the other brands too.
Seriously? I would have never guessed that! Is it water packed or oil packed?
Well I use the water packed. I’m not sure if they have oil packed or not, I’ve never looked. It’s hit or miss, but a lot of times it’s not that mashed up stuff you get with the name brand stuff – it’s chunky. The canned Salmon is more pink than the name brand stuff I’ve found. Of course I have to take out all the bones, skin and dark stuff before I can do anything with it, but I’ve bought the $$ brand and it’s the same way.