Want to throw together a quick tuna salad for lunch but don’t have any celery? Have no fear! I’ve developed a delicious recipe that uses ingredients you likely already have in your pantry or fridge.
Tuna salad is one of the easiest and tastiest things to have for lunch and it doesn’t need to stick to the same “celery and onion” method in order to turn out fantastic.
While the vast majority recipes do call for celery and some of them even call for hard-boiled eggs (this is far too much, if you ask me), not everyone always has these ingredients in their refrigerators and they can actually be a bit divisive for some.
Neither celery nor eggs are necessary in creating a delicious tuna salad so long as you have enough going on to keep the flavours interesting.
How to Make Tuna Salad Without Celery or Eggs
This is one of the easiest salads to make and it can come together in a flash. Much like in my chicken salad recipe, this one obviously doesn’t use celery or any ingredients like eggs – apart from the eggs included in the mayo, and vegan mayo can easily be swapped to make it egg-free.
In fact, the only things that are in this tuna salad are canned tuna, onion, red pepper, dill, mayo and a bit of whole grain mustard, a splash of vinegar and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. All that’s required is to mix it all up and then enjoy it right away or save it for later!
So, to begin with, we need to prep your tuna.
I recommend simply using canned tuna in water. For tuna salad, this is all that’s needed as the ones packed in olive oil tend to a) be more expensive and b) be pretty flavourful on their own so they don’t typically need to be a part of a dish like tuna salad. Save the oil-packed kind for something like a salad Nicoise or to add to a spaghetti puttanesca.
Open the cans and then drain the liquid from the tuna by pressing down on the lid over the tuna and pouring it into the sink. Then add it all to a large mixing bowel
Next, you need to add half of a finely diced onion. Any kind of onion will do — I call for a yellow onion in the recipe because that is what I typically have on hand at home but a red onion or a white onion will also work great here.
You can even sub in a finely diced shallot or some sliced green onions. Anything you have on hand will do — this recipe is great to riff on and you don’t need to follow it to the absolute letter!
Then, finely dice a red bell pepper. I like red peppers for the sweetness and vegetal flavour it lends to the tuna salad.
This is a great substitute for celery as I think it adds a bit more flavour and complexity along with texture to your tuna salad. It also gives the salad some colour, which is always welcome.
You can use a green, yellow or orange pepper here, too, if that’s what you’d like.
Now add a healthy amount of finely minced fresh dill. I think that dill and tuna go together perfectly and I always go a bit heavy with this herb, but if you don’t like it (as I know that dill can be a polarizing flavour), add some finely chopped parsley instead.
In the bowl with the tuna, onion, pepper and dill, add in a splash of apple cider vinegar (or any other vinegar or lemon juice you have on hand) to add some much-needed acidity to the dish.
Then, spoon in a small scoop of whole-grain mustard, which goes exceptionally well with the flavours. I love whole grain mustard in this but, again, use dijon or something else if you don’t have it.
Then, add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce for a slight bit of heat (this is optional if you don’t want any heat in there).
All that’s left is to add the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. I call for a bit less mayo than many recipes because I, personally, cannot stand tuna salad that is completely weighed down with mayonnaise.
I always recommend adding less than you may think you need because you can always add more, but you cannot take it away!
Now, simply mix everything together until it’s all evenly combined!
You can eat the salad right away (I love making tuna melts with it!) or it will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days. This makes it an excellent choice to prep ahead for some lunches throughout the week!
Tuna Salad Without Celery or Eggs
Ingredients
- 2 cans tuna in spring water
- ½ medium yellow onion diced
- 1 small red bell pepper diced
- 2 tbsp dill minced
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp whole grain mustard
- 5-6 dashes Tabasco sauce
- 50 g (¼ cup) mayonnaise
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days.
Video
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
As you can see, making tuna salad without celery cannot only be done, but it is incredibly easy and delicious. Super quick to throw together, this tuna salad recipe is sure to become one of your favourites!
Are you hunting for a perfect recipe for tuna salad? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
I made this recipe exactly as stated, except with about 1 teaspoon of dried dill and no Tabasco. It was tasty, and I would make it again.
Happy you enjoyed it!
recipe calls for mayo which is egg so it is not egg free
As I stated in the article, you can easily swap in vegan mayo to have it completely egg free.