A tuna salad unlike any other you’ve had before! Tabbouleh vibes with a creamy feta dressing, loaded with bright Mediterranean favourites like lemon, olives, tomato, cucumber and red radish. Eat in a bowl with a spoon. Or stuff into pita bread. SO GOOD!
What I really love about this salad: Chopping everything up so the salad has a spoon-able tabbouleh-like texture that acts like a mop for the creamy-lemony feta dressing. So you get a bit of everything in every single mouthful!
Mediterranean tuna salad
This is one of those recipes that was created with a specific goal: to make a healthy salad using canned tuna that was actually, properly I want to eat that tasty, not just meh, ok, I guess I have to make do with the canned tuna type meal, or even worse – but it’s healthy, so I’ll suffer through something bland.
No. I can’t. I just can’t sacrifice enjoyment of meals for the sake of low calorie eating. Life is too short to eat miserably, even for skinny jeans!
But, really tasty meals that also happen to be low carb, gluten-free, low calorie and economical are special.
Today’s Mediterranean Tuna Salad is one such recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Ingredients for this Mediterranean tuna salad
Think: a loaded tabbouleh. Except with tuna, a creamy feta dressing, added bulk and nutritional goodness from kale, plus olives, capsicum and red radish.
Hmmm…reading that back, it really doesn’t sound similar to tabbouleh at all! But you get my drift. It has a tabbouleh like spoon-able texture. But it’s more substantial so you can have it as a meal.
THE CREAMy FETA DRESSING
This salad gets good flavour from the tuna tumbled all throughout so the dressing itself doesn’t need a ton of ingredients. Also, the feta does a lot of heavy lifting here!
Danish feta – This is the creamy type of feta. The texture is halfway between a crumbly Greek feta and soft goats cheese. It crumbles but in a smeary way and it can be used to toss through salads but also easily purees into a creamy dressing.
If using Greek feta, the more crumbly type (ie your fingers don’t get smeary when you crumble it), the dressing will take a little more blitzing effort to make it smooth and a dollop of yogurt to help make it creamy wouldn’t go astray either.
Lemon juice – Fresh and tangy! The dressing is bright and tangy, reminiscent of tabbouleh but not as sharp (tabbouleh is usually just lemon). The lemon tang offsets the creaminess of the feta.
Extra virgin olive oil – The better the quality, the better the flavour!
Salt and pepper – For seasoning.
CANNED TUNA – CHOOSING
Not all tuna is created equal and not all tuna is sourced responsibly!
Use a tuna in olive oil for a tastier option, and choose:
best – skipjack tuna pole and line caught
acceptable – FAD-free purse seine caught skipjack tuna (most common at large Australian grocery stores)
Do not buy bluefin and big eye tuna (endangered), or tuna that is caught using FADs with purse seine nets, gillnetting and longlining (high cost to marine life). Opt for skipjack tuna, and eat less albacore and yellowfin tuna.
Check the canned tuna label to determine tuna species and fishing method. For recommended brands and more information on choosing responsible canned tuna, read this post: Choosing sustainable canned tuna.
THE SALAD STUFF
OK! And lastly the leafy green and vegetable stuff that goes inside this tuna salad. Pro tip: Curly kale is easy to chop into little pieces because it practically “self crumbles” once you start chopping!
Kale – I use curly kale in this salad because it’s easier to chop into little pieces thanks to the shape of leaf which lends itself to “crumbling” as you chop (as long as it’s fresh and perky not old and floppy). However, tuscan kale (aka cavolo nero/black or lacinato kale) can be used in a pinch.
Other options – baby spinach, cabbage or other greens sturdy enough to finely chop.
Red radish – For perky freshness and lovely little pops of pink! Substitute with red onion or green onion.
Red capsicum – A medium or large size one. Yellow would also be great and add to the kaleidoscope of colour here!
Tomatoes – Unlike many salads where tomato is chopped into small pieces, we are not deseeding it today. Scrape all the watery seeds into the salad – it forms part of the “dressing”!
Kalamata olives – Whole pitted olives that we will cut into four pieces. I like doing that because you get these little juicy briny bits of olives littered throughout the salad. Pre-sliced olives don’t have quite the same meaty little bite to it, though you can absolutely use it for convenience.
Parsley – For herby freshness, and a nod to the tabbouleh-aspiration.
Cucumber – I use what we call Lebanese cucumbers here, the ones that are around 18cm / 7″ long. If you are using the long telegraph cucumbers (about 30cm / 12″ long), you’ll need just over half.
How to make this fabulous tuna salad
One of the more technical recipes on this website:
Blitz the dressing
Toss everything together
(Forgive me, sometimes I have to find ways to amuse myself during long days working at home alone!😂)
1. MAKE Creamy feta dressing
I find it easiest to use a stick blender for this dressing. There’s not enough volume to use a regular size food processor though a small one would work. A blender is a bit of a pain for small volume creamy dressings, I find. Too hard to scrap it all out.
Blitz the feta, lemon, oil, salt and pepper until smooth.
Adjust the thickness if needed using a teaspoon of water at a time. Goal: Thick drizzle-able consistency. ⚠️ Don’t make it too watery because the juices from the vegetables will dilute the dressing when it all gets tossed together.
2. TOSS SALAD
I haven’t included step photos for chopping the vegetables because it doesn’t really matter what shape or how you chop them, as long as they are small spoon-able size. However, I demo the vegetable chopping in the recipe video below.
Toss in stages – Put the kale, capsicum, tomato (scrape in all the juices too), cucumber, radish and olives. Pour over all the dressing and toss well. Crumble in the feta and toss again – it will smear which is a good thing!
Tuna chunks – Then add the tuna. Break it up gently into chunks as you gently toss it through. I personally like having chunks rather than tiny crumbly bits of tuna which is why I add the tuna last.
And you’re done – time to eat!
Ways to eat this tuna salad
It’s pretty well documented in the decade of recipes contained on this website that I’m a big fan of salads you can eat with a spoon rather than a knife and fork (proof here and here and here). Somehow just makes salads seem more satisfying as a meal, rather than a bowl of wimpy leafy greens that has me reaching into the cookie jar half an hour after dinner. (I can literally *hear* my mother rolling her eyes as she reads this, telling me to grow up! 😂)
Anyway, all that was leading to the ground-breaking instruction to serve this salad in a bowl and eat it with a spoon.
Or – stuff it into pita pockets for the best tuna sandwich of your life. – Nagi x
PS Mmmm, that might be a bit of an excessively grandiose statement! Let’s say it’s equal best with the classic Tuna Sandwich. I have a very big soft spot for that one. And also see below the recipe card for some more canned tuna recipe options that I’m proud to say all continue to receive rave reviews, even from canned tuna skeptics! 😇
Watch how to make it
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Mediterranean tuna salad with creamy feta dressing
Ingredients
Salad:
- 3 tightly packed cups finely chopped curly kale (~6 – 7 kale stems, yes really!) (Note 1)
- 2 tomatoes , chopped into 1 cm / 1/3″ squares (use the juices too!)
- 1 red capsicum / bell pepper , chopped into 8mm / 1/3″ squares
- 1 cucumber , cut lengthwise into 6 or 8 wedges, the chopped into 8mm/1/3″ pieces
- 1 cup roughly chopped parsley leaves
- 8 red radish , chopped into 8mm / 1/3″ squares (sub 1 small red onion or 2 green onion stems)
- 1/2 cup whole pitted kalamata olives , cut into quarters
- 50g/ 1.5 oz Danish feta (the creamy sort, not crumbly Greek feta) (Note 2)
- 425g/ 15 oz canned tuna in oil , drained (Note 3, choose responsibly)
Dressing:
- 100g/ 3.5 oz Danish feta (Note 2)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small garlic clove
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp water , if needed
Serving option:
- Pita bread pockets , warmed, cut in half
- Also see Dressing extra flavour options (Note 4)
Instructions
- Dressing – Put all the ingredients EXCEPT the water in a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until smooth. Add water 1 tsp at a time until it's a thick drizzle-able consistency (don't dilute flavour too much). Then taste and add more salt if needed (feta saltiness varies by brand).
- Salad – Place all the salad ingredients EXCEPT the feta and tuna in a large bowl. Pour over the dressing, toss. Crumble feta in, toss (it will smear – we like!). Add the tuna and gently toss, trying to keep some chunks rather than it all crumbling into tiny pieces.
- Taste and add more lemon if desired (I enjoy this on the tart side – tuna can take it!).
- Serve in bowls with spoons for digging in! Tuck warm pita pockets on the side, or use the tuna salad to stuff inside the pita (it's sooooo good!).
Recipe Notes:
1/8 – 1/4 tsp finely chopped garlic (use with caution, raw garlic flavour can be harsh)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Extra salt Leftovers holds up well for 2 days because kale doesn’t turn into a soggy mess even once dressed. It does get a little watery though (from tomato and cucumber juices) so if you intend to make ahead or keep leftovers, I would add a little extra feta in the dressing and skip the water to make it thicker (like mayo consistency) to anticipate the dilution. Nutrition per serving for 4 people.
Nutrition Information:
For canned tuna skeptics
Read the rave reviews! So many skeptics converted!
Life of Dozer
You’d swear they were big hunks of beef, the way he was eyeing off those (un-opened) cans. 😂
I just made this for lunch. It’s so good! A bit of chopping but worth it. I halved the recipe as it’s just me that would eat it and I had a very small can of tuna, so it was perfect. Made enough for 2-3 lunches
Get your bloody dog out of the kitchen- seems you are obsessed with this animal!
Keep your rug rat brats out a the kitchen and backyard pool
Good for you Nagi – we LOVE, LOVE Dozer and that idiot Geoff should just shut up and go away! It is your website NOT his! If you are not a dog lover, stay off your site! You were so polite, I certainly would NOT have been – stupid old fool!! So what if you are obsessed, he is your baby and it is your kitchen. Of all the positive feedback, only ONE negative idiot, proves a point, don’t you think Geoff??????
Leave the dog alone. They come as a team!
Hush Geoff!!
It’s dozer’s world and we’re just living in it! We love Nagi, Dozer and all the fabulous food. 🥰
Hush Geoff! It’s Dozer’s world and we’re just living in it!
Love to Nagi and Dozer!! We adore you (and your recipes).
Yes I am obsessed and if that annoys you, don’t come to my website because he is ALL over it, in every single post. Ha!
Sometimes I visit your website just to see Dozer! Don’t even think about not including him in any post! That would upset a lot of us
Good for you Nagi – we LOVE, LOVE Dozer and that idiot Geoff should just shut up and go away! It is your website NOT his! If you are not a dog lover, stay off your site! You were so polite, I would have certainly NOT have been – stupid old fool!!
You go girlfriend! And Dozer!
Oh myyyy Nagi, made this one this evening – I am actually mildly OUTRAGED that this is so good haha! Canned tuna has absolutely no business being that delicious, how dare it.
Can verify safcol no-net is perfectly tasty! I even went with the springwater option cos I am not big on oil, and it was still perfectly wonderful.
Thank you so much Nagi, you are an absolute legend!
I honestly don’t really eat tuna but this recipe is actually making my mouth water!!!!!
Thanks for another awesome recipe Nagi your recipes never disappoint.
I made this last night and it was fantastic – finally an imaginative way to eat tuna. Agree with commenter below! Your work “works”!
I made this last night and it was fantastic – finally an imaginative way to eat tuna. Agree with commenter below, I can count on RTE recipes working “every single time” thank you
I will try your recipe.
But my goto is:
2 cans tuna drained
4 hard boiled eggs finely chopped
4 celery stalks finely chopped
1 green pepper finely chopped
4 slices cooked bacon finely chopped
2 slices kosher pickle finely chopped
1 1/2 cup mayo
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
It’s amazing how they know what’s in an unopened can of tuna or lousy dog food!
Great post! Tuna…yay! One can always learn something new in your recipes. Ooo-o, that dreamy Feta Dressing!
Made this last night, as written, except that I used tuna from a jar packed in olive oil because the pieces of tuna are larger. Perfect meal for a hot summer night.
Just appreciate your wonderful recipes (and the earnest hard work it takes to invent & test them before you offer them to us!)
Enjoy Dozer’s photos of good health. 🙂
That is such a cute picture of Dozer pointing to what he wants (tuna). Oh also thanks for the salad recipe. Looks delicious. Love to all.
I have been chopping up salad ingredients small and serving the salad in a bowl, to eat with a spoon, for decades. My husband’s favourite comprises some kind of red lettuce (there’s some good stuff in them), tomatoes, cucumber, cooked beetroot, blueberries and chopped nuts. I do various versions of a French dressing starting with the best extra virgin olive oil. I serve this with meat. Or I could, stead, top each serving with a boiled egg, or feta chopped up, or grated parmesan, etc, etc.
Me too. A little of everything is what salad is to me.
While it looks great, I am allergic to tuna but I am sure chicken would be excellent substitution. Love Mediterranean food.
I was thinking that if you open and drain the can of tuna first, the oil from the tuna can be used towards making the dressing – less waste, less mess to dispose of. I’ll try it tonight.
It is best not to do that because the ‘oil’ will not have been a good one and could even have been one of those oils you are best off never using. Instead buy your tinned tuna in water and use extra virgin olive oil if you are using a French dressing.
I would have made this recipe except for the fact that once you put a bell pepper in a dish like this, it overpowers all the other wonderful flavors in the salad
Just leave it out or use less, or substitute it. Salads are forgiving like that.
I already do that but I wonder why people have to put all these ingredients in when a simple dressing highlights the tuna.
Experiencing with flavour combinations definitely enhances cooking. These combos seem to work, though I haven’t tried it yet, I’m making it today. Other combos definitely don’t work. That’s the point of making recipes. If you are confident enough, wing it and experiment without recipes. Most people don’t have a palate for this though, hence following recipes. Nagi’s palate if exceptional!
You can just leave the bell pepper out.
SeafoodWatch.org from Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has excellent information about sustainable seafood, including a pocket-size reference list that is handy.
Not much use for those of us who live in Cyprus!
Their information is not USA-specific.
Ellen, thank you for the ref to the .org. Appreciate it. Signed up for newsletter. Nagi’s readers are the best! Well, Dozer’s too…
I can’t have fish but this recipe looks like it would taste great without it. (or I could sub chicken)
Glad to see Dozer doing so well! My boy had more tests yesterday so hopefully things will be resolved soon.
All the best to you both!
I can’t wait to make this salad! I love tuna in any way, shape or form. This sounds delicious.
PS: My Goldens would take the tuna over beef chunks paws down!!! Good for you Dozer, the tuna is better for you 😊
Can’t wait to try!
ALL black burnt food leads to cancer! Also burnt pita bread.
And you felt the need to tell us this because? You are aware, I trust, that this is recipe where not heat of any kind is involved?
Where is anything burnt?