Tuscan Tuna Salad
51 Comments
Updated Aug 19, 2024
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It’s no surprise why this Tuscan tuna salad has become a staple in my meal prep salad routine. It’s light and healthy, layered with fresh Italian flavors, and made in just 15 minutes!
A Fresh New Spin On Tuna Salad
One thing I love about tinned fish is how well it presents itself in a classic tuna salad. But since many of you have been asking for a no-mayo option, here it is — an exciting riff with lots of bright and fresh Tuscan flavor. From briny olives to sun-dried tomatoes to an abundance of herbs and lemon juice, it’s an easy salad recipe I know you’ll make often. Especially since you all love my creamy Tuscan chicken! But here are a few other reasons to love it:
- It’s a tasty variation of a chopped salad. Like my Mediterranean chickpea salad, all the ingredients are chopped into uniform bits. This makes it hearty enough to enjoy on its own and allows you to savor all the flavors in one bite.
- It’s perfect for meal prep. Since there are no leafy greens, this salad can last 3 to 4 days in your fridge. Who doesn’t love an easy meal prep?
- It’s packed with protein. This salad has about 24 grams of protein per serving thanks to the combination of tuna and white beans.
Tuscan Tuna Salad Ingredients
- Tuna: For quality pieces of tuna (rather than mush), go for cans of Wild Planet albacore tuna. It’s a brand I highly recommend and is linked in the recipe card.
- White Beans: Any white bean variety will work for this salad, but I like using navy beans. They’re a bit smaller and usually hold their shape better when coming straight from the can.
- Jarred Vegetables: Grab a jar of green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and capers. If you’re not a fan of olives, you can swap them with artichoke hearts.
- Fresh Vegetables: Red onion and cucumber give this salad a refreshing, crisp bite.
- Fresh Herbs: Parsley and basil enhance that Tuscan flair, but any tender herbs work.
- Lemon Juice and Olive Oil: Just a little bit of each is all you need. But if your salad is still a bit too dry, feel free to add more! You can also swap in my lemon vinaigrette.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make This Tuscan Tuna Salad
- Add the first set of ingredients. Add the white beans, tuna, green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red pepper, red onion, cucumber, capers, parsley, and dill to a large mixing bowl. Side note: keep the tuna pieces fairly large as they will break down as you stir to combine.
- Add the finishing touches. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss to combine. I love to add crumbled feta or freshly grated parmesan for a cheesy touch, but you could also keep this dairy-free. It’s delicious either way!
Storage Tips
This is a durable, meal prep-friendly salad that’ll last 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Plus, it will taste even better as it soaks up the lemony oil.
You can store this salad in one large container or meal prep it into individual servings with these ½ Liter Weck jars. A great choice for an easy, grab-and-go option!
Ways To Enjoy This Salad
- Serve it over leafy greens: Make an even more bountiful salad by serving this over your favorite leafy greens. I love to use mixed greens, baby spinach, or massaged kale.
- Turn this into a tuna wrap: Layer a tortilla with baby spinach and a few dollops of this salad before rolling it up. If you prep this a day before, this is another great option for a grab-and-go lunch.
- With your favorite crackers: I often scoop up the salad with some gluten-free crackers for crunchy goodness. I’m currently loving these multi-grain crackers, super seed crackers, and garlic and herb crackers.
More Easy Salad Recipes
- Ultimate Chicken Salad: There’s a secret ingredient that makes it extra delicious.
- Shrimp Salad: This salad turns jumbo shrimp into a creamy sensation.
- Salmon Salad: A delicious way to make use of leftover salmon!
- Caesar Salad: Nothing beats this homemade Caesar dressing and the addition of roasted chickpeas.
- Or give these other summer salad recipes a try!
If you make this Tuscan tuna salad, I’d love to know how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration (and exclusive content), join my free newsletter.
Tuscan Tuna Salad
Description
Video
Equipment
- Pickle Jar Strainer The easiest way to strain a jar of olives!
- Glass Mixing Bowls My favorite set of nesting glass mixing bowls.
Ingredients
- 2 (5-ounce) cans tuna
- 1 (15-ounce) can white beans
- 10 green olives, sliced
- 3 sundried tomatoes, finely diced
- 1 large roasted red pepper , drained and chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
- ½ English cucumber , small diced
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped basil
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ lemon, juiced (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- optional: crumbled feta cheese or grated parmesan
Instructions
- Add the first set of ingredients. In a large bowl, add the tuna, white beans, green olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted red pepper, red onion, cucumber, capers, parsley, and basil.
- Add the finishing touches. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Then top with optional crumbled feta cheese.
Lisa’s Tips
- Any white bean will work for this recipe, but I like the texture and size of navy white beans. They don’t break apart as easily and come out as mushy from the can.
- If you don’t like olives, swap them for artichoke hearts, roughly chopped.
- This pickle jar strainer is a game changer for separating the liquid from the olives!
- I love to meal prep salads like this in these Weck ½ Liter jars for individual, grab-and-go servings. Plus, they can be used for other things such as freezing soups in the winter or storing pantry items.
Nutrition
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I loved this recipe. I skipped the sundried tomatoes because I didn’t have any, but looking forward to making this recipe again with all the ingredients. It’s a very refreshing salad.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Sofia!
Happy to hear you loved this Tuscan tuna salad!
We have made this salad more times than I can count and I can almost make it by memory now. It’s just that great. It is the best tuna salad I’ve ever made. Thank you, Lisa!
Thrilled to hear this tuna salad has become a staple, Quynh!
I just made this for a second time, subbing salmon for the tuna. It’s absolutely delicious and perfect for meal prep!
So happy you love it, Jennifer! And yes, salmon is a great swap in this salad. Enjoy!
This is fantastic! Second day in a row eating!
Thrilled to hear you’re loving this Tuscan tuna salad, Diane! It really does get better as it sits.
This salad is so delicious!! One of our new favorites!❤️
Hi Kathy – Wonderful! Happy to hear you love this tuna salad.
great recipe!
Hi Hanne – Glad you’re loving this tuna salad!
I love adding canned beans to canned fish salads n a lemon vinaigrette. When my daughter went to college, she was shocked to discover that not everyone put chickpeas in their tuna salads and that it was usually drowned in mayo!
A variation I like uses canned salmon with red kidney beans,. The colors are beautiful and salmon has less mercury risk than albacore tuna.
Hi Vikki – I love the idea of using salmon with red kidney beans!
Lisa, Thanks for this great salad recipe. It deserves more stars due its menu versatility and potential variations… optionability ? I used your lemon vinaigrette which was amazing!
I decided to add pan seared shrimp with the tuna and I thought it went well together, served over chopped romaine. Also liked your multi grain cracker idea but had none in the pantry so I made crostini on the Cuisinart grill brushing with the vinaigrette and finishing with sea salt.
Fantastic meal!
By the way, I really can’t spell vinaigrette, without spell check.
Hi Ray – I love the addition of pan seared shrimp to this tuna salad.
I made the Tuscan tuna salad using great northern beans. It was delicious! It really is even better after being in the refrigerator overnight. I ate whole grain crackers with it. Use an expensive, top level tuna for the best flavor.
Hi Mary – I would agree that it tastes even better as it sits! Glad you enjoyed this tuna salad.
Fabulous salad! Easy to prep, relatively inexpensive, and can be altered in so many ways. I used what I had on hand (chickpeas, black olives, dried herbs, fresh red bell pepper) and it was so good! I’ve subbed the tuna with shredded chicken, and made an all veggie version, and all were delicious. Great recipe!
Hi Mark – Loving all the variations you made of this salad!
DE-LI-CIOUS!
Hi Nancy – Glad you loved this Tuscan tuna salad!
Lisa, thank you so much for all of your delicious recipes! This one is super yummy and satisfying. I first found your video on Mediterranean meals after being diagnosed with diabetes this spring and went in search of healthy food ideas. I LOVE all of your food ideas and now enjoy eating better-for-me dishes. I’m proud to say that my A1C is already down .5 and I’m eager to kick this diagnosis to the curb! My meals, though, will continue to be inspired by your recipes! Thank you so much for the weekly inspiration emails! Take care and God bless you!
Hi Tammy – I’m so glad you found what you’re looking for and have been able to enjoy delicious meals again!
Looking forward to making this.
How long will it keep in the fridge?
Hi Gina! I typically will include storage instructions in the post, but this will last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
I made this today for the first time and oh my goodness! 😍 I’ve been waiting to fall back in love with salad and the Tuscan tuna salad made it happen. It has so much flavour, lots of protein so is satiating and was such a nice change from sad, leafy salads. I had it with crackers as suggested which added some nice crunch.
Hi Tash – Thanks for leaving a review and I’m thrilled to hear you loved this salad so much!
Hi! The nutrition section states that this salad has 323 calories per serving, is this on its own without crackers? Thank you!
Yes, that’s just for the portion of salad as the crackers are optional.
This recipe was everything I needed it to be, and more! WOW! The combination of flavors is so fresh and satisfying. I didn’t have feta so I opted for grated Parmesan – amazing! This will be a regularly occurring lunch for me. So happy I have leftovers for tomorrow!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this tuna salad Mary!
Quite tasty and very fresh! It’s a great warm weather meal salad!
Hi Jenn – Happy to hear you love this Tuscan tuna salad! It really is the best for a warm, sunny day.
This is fabulous. Just made it. I only had black beans so I use those. It was delicious!
That’s a great swap. So happy you loved the recipe, Andrea!
My new favorite salad!! I had two problems before this recipe found its way into my life. First, I love Greek salad, but eating it every day gets boring. Second, my husband hates tuna. This salad solved both of those problems! It was super quick and easy to make, and it tasted so interesting. I used garbanzo beans, and instead of regular olive oil, I used oil from sun-dried tomatoes. Yum!!
Hi Masha – I’m glad you were able to tweak this recipe to your liking and you both loved it in the end!
Very Tasty, perfect for summer lunches. I mixed it up with Romaine lettuce chopped in bottom of the dish. Thank you!!
Hi Jerry – Sounds great with chopped lettuce!
When I saw this recipe, I was intrigued as I do love Lisa’s Tuscan recipes. I actually went to the store for the ingredients. This was wonderful! I served it over some romaine lettuce and it gave just the right amount of crunch. My 14 year old son ate it up as well. It’s a keeper.
Hi Gina – Wonderful! I’m so glad you both enjoyed this Tuscan tuna salad.
Good sub for capers??
You can just omit them!
Thank you!
I haven’t made the tuna recipe yet, but I noticed part of the recipe calls for fresh basil and the other part of the recipe called for fresh dill. Is it either or?
Hi Geneva – Thanks for catching that! It should be fresh basil.
I used dried dill because that was all I had on hand, and it was still delicious. Try it :)
This sounds awesome! I love all of your recipes 😊
One thing I noticed is the recipe card calls for basil, but the description and recipe instructions say dill. I’m thinking it should be basil since it’s a Tuscan salad?
Hi Cristina – Thanks for catching that! It should be basil.