Published: 03/08/2019 | Updated: 03/19/2024
This Mediterranean Tuna Salad is a fast and healthy lunch that you can make ahead of time! This mayo-free tuna salad is great served with avocado, in a sandwich or you can even use it as a dip!
This Mediterranean Tuna Salad came about after 2 visits in one week to a restaurant that serves one of my favorite dishes. They call it a Tuscan Bean Salad and it’s a molded salad of white beans, chopped tomatoes, red onions, feta, and a balsamic vinegar drizzle. I’m sure there’s more in there, but that’s the basic gist.
It is SO good and if you’re ever in Hershey, PA, shoot me a message and I’ll let you know where to find it. In the meantime, this Mediterranean Tuna Salad is a fantastic, homemade alternative!
I decided to leave out the white (cannellini) beans for mine to save on carbs. If you aren’t worried about low carb or keto, then feel free to add them back in to bulk up your meal a little more. Without the beans, though, it is a great keto lunch that can be meal prepped ahead of time!
How to Make Mediterranean Tuna Salad
My favorite part of this recipe is the tuna salad dressing! It is an olive oil-based dressing, so the end result is a healthy tuna salad, without mayo, that’s much better for you, with the right amount of Mediterranean flavors!
I use solid white albacore tuna fish in water. I really recommend it for you as well. It is a nice hearty, canned tuna that holds together well and isn’t too greasy. This recipe uses 2 12-ounce cans tuna, and be sure to drain tuna well.
In a medium bowl, add the drained tuna and use a fork to lightly flake it apart into smaller pieces. Then you’ll add diced red onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, dried basil, chives, salt, pepper, and quartered cherry tomatoes. Mix it all up well in the mixing bowl until the dressing coats everything nicely.
At this point, you can store it in the refrigerator until it’s ready to serve. I prefer my tuna salad cold, so I like to put it in the fridge for at least an hour to let it chill and let the flavors blend. You absolutely can eat it right away, though, if that’s what you prefer!
To serve, I just divide the greens among 4 plates. Then cut 2 avocados in half and remove the pits. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out each avocado half from the skin. Place the avocado half on top of the greens and fill with the Mediterranean Tuna Salad.
Suggestions for Mediterranean Tuna Salad
- I serve it in half an avocado over greens because that’s how I like it! Don’t get hung up on that, though! If you’re thinking that you’re never making this because you don’t like avocados… reframe that thinking! The tuna salad is good enough on its own that you could eat it with a spoon! You don’t even need an avocado! Or serve it straight on the lettuce leaves for actual green salads!
- You could also just serve this as a dip with some homemade pita chips or crackers! Or even better, toast some thin slices of a French baguette and brush them with olive oil then just pile the tuna salad on top! Perfection!
- Like I mentioned up above, feel free to add cannellini beans if you want as well. I would probably add about 1 cup of drained beans to this recipe.
- You could really use any type of tomato you wanted for this recipe or leave them out completely if you’re strict low carb. I do love the fresh little pop of flavor they add, though!
- And finally, feel free to replace the dried herbs with fresh basil and chives if you have them. I’m terrible at using fresh herbs up before they go bad, but I definitely agree they taste better so go for it! I would use about 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs in place of the dried.
Looking for more Dinner/Lunch recipes
We all know that dinner and lunch can be tricky to combine, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a delicious meal every night of the week. Here are some recipes for dinner and lunch that will help you get through those hectic days.
- Ham and Swiss Hawaiian Sandwich Rolls
- Salmon Cakes
- Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Honey Mustard Ham and Swiss Handwiches
- BBQ Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese
- Open-faced Tuna Melts
- Cheeseburger Stuffed Tomato
- Pork BBQ Sandwich
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 2 12 ounce cans Solid White Albacore Tuna in water drained
- 1/2 cup Red onion diced
- 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp. Dried Basil
- 1 tsp. Dried Chives
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes quartered
- 3 cups Greens
- 2 Avocados
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add drained tuna. Use a fork to flake it apart in smaller pieces.
- To the same bowl, add diced onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, basil, chives, salt, pepper and tomatoes. Toss carefully until it is well mixed and dressing is evenly distributed.
- Divide greens among 4 small plates. Cut avocados in half and remove pits. Use a small spoon to scoop avocados out from skins. Place half an avocado on the center of each plate. Divide tuna salad evenly over all 4 avocados and serve!
If you’re looking for other keto/low carb recipes, these are some of my favorites:
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Cheeseburger Casserole
- Ham & Veggie Breakfast Casserole
- Toasted Coconut Mousse
And be sure to pin this post so you can always find it!
4 Comments
Sandi
May 29, 2019 at 5:42 amThis recipe was a big hit with our family at our cookout last weekend!
Candi Elm
May 29, 2019 at 1:26 pmYou can’t go wrong with Tuna Salad and I love how many colors you have in this recipe. I am a big fan of Avocado so this woud be a winning recipe in my kitchen.
Sandra Shaffer
May 31, 2019 at 1:23 amDelicious dish for a pack ‘n go lunch. I meal prepped this for lunch and absolutely added the avocado. I just cut it at work so the avo wouldn’t turn brown while being transported. Super flavorful!
Taryn
May 31, 2019 at 3:30 pmNice change to standard tuna salad! I’m going to try it with chicken too!