Mexican Tuna Salad
Zesty, tangy, and full of vibrant ingredients, this loaded Mexican tuna salad is quick and easy to make plus a great combo of lean protein and vegetables. Serve it with crackers or tortilla chips, on top of a leafy green salad, or in taco salad bowls with a creamy dressing. Based on my Mexican chicken salad recipe and perfect for spring or summer!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- I’m a big fan of tuna salad for few reasons. Mainly, it’s SO easy to make, and it’s pretty versatile. Canned tuna + mayo + whatever seasonings and ingredients you like. Mexican tuna salad has the added benefit of being loaded with mixed vegetables, onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, and even shredded lettuce.
- Tuna salad keeps well for a few days, and this Mexican version is no different. You can prep a big batch on Sunday and eat on it throughout the week. It’s super easy to grab and enjoy no matter how busy your day, especially if you pack it into individual servings beforehand.
- I like to serve Mexican tuna salad with tortilla chips or crackers for some crunch. Feel free to throw it in a lettuce cup or soft tortilla, or even make it into a sandwich instead.
Chef’s Tips
- For more protein, you can easily throw a third can of tuna into your salad without much cost impact, especially if tuna’s on sale that week. A third 5-ounce can adds an extra 4 grams of protein to each serving of tuna salad, depending on your portion sizes.
- Add a splash of the juice from the jalapeño jar to the tuna salad for even more of that zesty flavor.
- It’ll increase the cost of the recipe a little, but for even more flavor, consider replacing some or all of the mayonnaise in this recipe with a little cilantro-lime dressing. It’ll make the consistency of the tuna salad slightly thinner than just using mayo alone, so that’s something to keep in mind. On the upside, it’ll add a touch of honey and lime juice along with jalapeño, cilantro, and sour cream.
More Tasty Tuna Fish Recipes
- Tuna Tetrazzini
- Smoked Tuna Dip
- Tuna Alfredo (with Jarred or Homemade Sauce)
- Tuna Tostadas
- Quick & Easy Tuna Salad Recipe
- Canned Tuna Nachos
- Smoked Tuna Dip
- Keto Tuna Salad
- Best Ever Tuna Noodle Casserole (Just Like Mom Made!)
Mexican Tuna Salad
Zesty, tangy, and full of vibrant fresh ingredients. This loaded Mexican tuna salad is quick and easy to make plus a great combo of protein and vegetables.
- large mixing bowl
- fork
- silicone spatula
- 2 5-ounce cans chunk tuna in water (drained completely)
- ½ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (more or less to taste)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup finely diced white onion (approximately [adjustable]1[/adjustable] small white onion)
- ½ cup mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans, peas; see Notes)
- ½ cup finely diced celery (approximately [adjustable]1[/adjustable] large stalk)
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
- 2 medium roma tomatoes (seeds removed, tomatoes finely chopped)
- ¼ cup chopped pickled jalapeños
- 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1 ¼ cup mayonnaise (plus more if desired)
Place [wprm-ingredient text=”2 5-ounce cans chunk tuna in water” uid=”0″], drained completely, in large mixing bowl. Use fork to break chunks of tuna into small pieces.
Add [wprm-ingredient text=”½ teaspoon salt” uid=”1″], [wprm-ingredient text=”¼ teaspoon black pepper” uid=”2″], and [wprm-ingredient text=”½ teaspoon garlic powder” uid=”3″] to mixing bowl. Stir ingredients together until spices are fully incorporated into tuna.
Add [wprm-ingredient text=”½ cup finely diced white onion” uid=”4″], [wprm-ingredient text=”½ cup mixed vegetables” uid=”5″], [wprm-ingredient text=”½ cup finely diced celery” uid=”6″], [wprm-ingredient text=”½ cup finely chopped cilantro” uid=”7″], [wprm-ingredient text=”2 medium roma tomatoes” uid=”8″] (chopped), [wprm-ingredient text=”¼ cup chopped pickled jalapeños” uid=”9″], and [wprm-ingredient text=”1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce” uid=”11″] to mixing bowl. Gently stir ingredients together until well incorporated.
Add [wprm-ingredient text=”1 ¼ cup mayonnaise” uid=”10″] to bowl. Gently stir ingredients together until mayonnaise is fully incorporated, adding more mayonnaise if needed to achieve preferred consistency.
Taste tuna salad and add salt, pepper, and/or garlic powder as desired.
When satisfied with flavor, serve tuna salad immediately. Alternately, cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate tuna salad until ready to serve.
- Mixed Vegetables: Canned or frozen are both fine here! If they’re canned, drain and rinse them well to reduce the extra sodium. If they’re frozen, defrost them in the fridge overnight and drain any liquid.
