Tuna salad sandwiches
Creamy, lemony tuna salad with little bits of celery and pickle for crunch, the kind of sandwich that makes a packed lunch feel like a treat.
- 15 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.16 a serving
- 400 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 4 cans canned tuna, drained
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- ¼ red onion, finely chopped
- 1 dill pickle, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 8 slices whole wheat bread
- 1 cup green leaf lettuce, about 4 leaves
- 1 tomato, sliced
From your pantry
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 400 calories, 34 g protein, 29 g carbs and 17 g fat, and costs about $2.16 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No canned tuna? Canned salmon works.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No tomatoes? Roma tomatoes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Open the tuna, press the lid down into each can and tip it over the sink to squeeze out the liquid. Tip the tuna into a medium bowl.
Dolly’s tip: Squeeze until nothing more drips. Dry tuna is what keeps the bread from going soggy.the celery, red onion and pickle into pieces about the size of a pea.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Dolly’s tip: Small pieces mean crunch in every bite instead of one big chunk of onion.Add the celery, onion, pickle, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper to the tuna and with a fork, breaking up any big flakes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Taste it and add more salt or a squeeze more lemon until it tastes bright to you.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
the tomato and the lettuce leaves, then them dry with a paper towel.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Spread the tuna salad over 4 of bread, top with lettuce and tomato, and close each sandwich with another slice. Cut in half.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dolly’s tip: For lunches, pack the tuna salad in its own container and build the sandwich when you eat. The salad keeps 3 days in the fridge.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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